What's it like for an American to live in Japan?

[dogsbody70]

well I was under the impression that the Japanese Military were definitely proud to fight and even die for their emperor. those who flew the planes and expected to kill themselves in the process. The way they fought like tigers and also they were expected never to be taken prisoner-- they were expected to commit seppaku.THey treated captured prisoners really badly and despised the POW's for allowing themselves to be captured. I believe the military were brain washed. considering what they did in ChiNa andother parts of ASIA. I do not compare them at all with american troops etc. Many captured Brits and those allies including australian and dutch were treated horribly.

THe Emperor was thought of as a GOD.

I believe that General McCARTHUR kept the emperor on in order to prevent further conflict.

There is much history on this period.

MY japanese friend told me that the EMPEROR was highly thought of and said the Japanese were not to know his name. she was very much in awe of him.

It was the Emperor who announced the end of the war.

[dogsbody70]

Originally Posted by PumaMan

Jeez, I just asked a simple question and look what it has turned into. I can't believe that I've been called to task also. I just asked the question because I'm thinking about moving to Japan. That's all. I found this forum and it seemed like a good place to ask. I guess I was wrong. I'll continue my search for another forum -- the internet is a huge place.

For those that gave me good helpful responses, I thank you.

forgive me PUMA I gues I took offence-- so please forgive me.

So surely as well as AMERICANS there are others who live and work in Japan.

I guess I over reacted so my apologies-- I am from UK.

[dogsbody70]

Originally Posted by GoNative

I find it amusing though when foreigners complain about other foreigners getting drunk and obnoxious as though this is just something peculiar to foreigners! Either some people don't go out much or they choose to ignore all the Japanese guys getting drunk, obnoxious and trying to pick up girls as well. In the bar I own in Hakodate it's hardly unusual to see Japanese girls getting drunk, obnoxious and trying to pick up foreign guys for that matter.

I personally don't act like that myself but I am almost 40, been married for over 10 years and have a kid so my days of heading out partying and trying to pick up girls are well and truly over!

I don't think I would want to live in Japan though if I didn't live in the Niseko area. Most of the foreigners and Japanese alike who live at the ski resort are here for very similar reasons. We love skiing/boarding and the laid back lifestyle of living at a ski resort in an absolutely beautiful part of the world. This commonality very quickly breaks down any barriers between the different peoples living here. Extremely few of the foreigners here are english teachers just over for a year or two. Many have settled in the region with their families and hope to be here for good or at least very long term.

This makes a big difference to their behaviour I think because if you're only here short term it's easy not to care how you effect others around you or how you are perceived. When you've committed yourself to a place long term and invested time and money into the local community you're much more likely to be respectful and caring of that community.

With Binge drinking that is too common in UK there is much lack of control.

I have seen films where some BRITS really let their country down with their awful behaviour.

Personally I feel that if a country makes you welcome then you should show respect to that country. It is a bad advert to behave badly in another country--

When I read the book TOKYO HOSTESS that was about the sex and drinking clubs and the YAKUZA influence and how many backpackers or even trainee students mix with the wrong crowd at some of those clubs-- they can earn a lot of money very quickly-- but also place themselves at risk. I believe all countries have similar situations of course.

Some of the programmes we have seen on TV about Japan tend to pick out the unusual-- such as the MAID cafes, places where you can take in oxygen-- Love Hotels etc but I am sure there is so much more to JAPAN than those few instances.

[chiuchimu]

I'm not an American living in Japan - I'm Japanese living in America, but I've seen enough of the former to say the answer depends on the person.

Some Americans are going to have a great time while some are going to regret their stay.

Knowing both cultures pretty well, My word of advice to an American going to Japan is:
1) Learn as much as possible about manners and etiquette. Manners are important in Japan and are different from U.S.

2) Learn to read the atmosphere and brush up on your social graces. It's impossible to read and remember every dos and don'ts from a book, so good people skills helps smooth things over.

3) Japan is a group oriented country rather than an individual oriented country. Make good presentable Japanese friends, specially of the same sex as yourself. From everything to getting a job or finding an apartment, not only can they help you by word of mouth, but they give you credibility.

These three things should help you the most into integrating into Japanese society and start opening up doors for you.

Final not: If your going to Japan for the girls, then leave the average girl alone. you'll just add to the bad foreigner gossip and hardly score anyway. The Japanese girls that want foreign guys go out of there way to seek them out; military bars, sports bars etc... where foreign guys hang out, that's' where they go. The ones I saw at the Nagasaki Navel base bar were very pretty but they didn't want to have anything to do with me since I'm Japanese.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by dogsbody70

well I was under the impression that the Japanese Military were definitely proud to fight and even die for their emperor. those who flew the planes and expected to kill themselves in the process. The way they fought like tigers and also they were expected never to be taken prisoner-- they were expected to commit seppaku.THey treated captured prisoners really badly and despised the POW's for allowing themselves to be captured. I believe the military were brain washed. considering what they did in ChiNa andother parts of ASIA. I do not compare them at all with american troops etc. Many captured Brits and those allies including australian and dutch were treated horribly.

I think that some of what you are saying is correct, but the majority of it is skewed by long term propaganda. The thinking that they couldn`t be the same as us comes across quite strongly in what you say.

I have talked to quite a few people who served in the war. I have yet to encounter someone who joined the army for anything other than the following three reasons - 1) It was a well paid job, 2) To be respected/"cool", or 3) To protect home and country.
Japan was not in good economical shape at the beginning of the war. Jobs and resources were pretty scarce. The military was marketed to young men as a way to make money for their families, secure a better future, and to just be cool and respected. Most of the guys who joined didn`t join for the glory of the emperor - they joined because it paid well and you could gain a lot of respect by climbing the military ladder... Something that relied on skill and not family background.
Later, when Japan was the one being attacked - people joined to defend home and family. They believed that the lives of their families were at stake, and were indeed ready to die to protect them.

The rest were basically drafted.

It`s influencing through propaganda, but not really brain washing. Soldiers do what they`re told. I think this is true in ANY military. Personal feelings about things don`t really matter in a group. I have yet to hear any praise of the emperor from any of the guys who served in the war - most of them thought the whole thing was crazy and hated the government for putting them into the whole mess... But if you think your family and your home is at risk, you will fight to the death to defend it.

I recall watching a documentary about the suicide pilots - including interviews with a few who had been lucky enough to have not been sent off to die.

They were told that the Americans were murdering and raping all in their path, and to think very hard about their own families, homes, friends, and the life they`d lived up until now... And they were prepared to die not for glory, not for the emperor - but to protect their homes and all those left behind in Japan. They were prepared to die to protect home and country. Whether what they were told was true or not is irrelevant. What is important is that they believed it.

At the individual level, is this so different from service men elsewhere during WWII?

THe Emperor was thought of as a GOD.

Maybe on paper and "officially". The war wasn`t so long ago that you can`t ask people what they thought. Japan was not such a backward and strange place that people were unable to think for themselves.

It was the Emperor who announced the end of the war.

Because the emperor was the head of government.
Would not someone high in the government announce that sort of thing outside Japan?

ETA; Something people who were around and heard that announcement have expressed was not about the emperor seeming like a god, etc - But more the incredible sense of betrayal as they`d been led to believe things were much much better than they really were... And those who did know the real situation were disgusted that it had taken so long.

To get more of a feel for what people actually thought, and not how Japan was interpreted in western propaganda of the time (which has a very strong influence on how it is depicted today) - try reading some Japanese literature from around that period. I think you`ll be surprised to find just how similar in thinking and "normal" people were.

[cranks]

Yeah, I have never heard my grand father, who was 21 when the war started, say anything about Emperor. Older people probably have more respect for him, but it was not like Emperor ruled Japan, unlike a lot of westerners believe. If you study Japanese history, you'll see Emperors stopped being an actual ruler about 800 years ago. After that, they were more or less the symbol of other actually rulers' legitimacy. You might know, the title Shogun(将軍) means "a (military) general", and its unabridged version is 征夷大将軍 (Great general of North conqueror). This title had been given by the Emperor to almost all rulers of Japan for 700 years but that does not mean the Emperor had much power over them. This is a peculiar Japanese political game which may be hard to understand at the first glance.

[dogsbody70]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

I think that some of what you are saying is correct, but the majority of it is skewed by long term propaganda. The thinking that they couldn`t be the same as us comes across quite strongly in what you say.

I have talked to quite a few people who served in the war. I have yet to encounter someone who joined the army for anything other than the following three reasons - 1) It was a well paid job, 2) To be respected/"cool", or 3) To protect home and country.
Japan was not in good economical shape at the beginning of the war. Jobs and resources were pretty scarce. The military was marketed to young men as a way to make money for their families, secure a better future, and to just be cool and respected. Most of the guys who joined didn`t join for the glory of the emperor - they joined because it paid well and you could gain a lot of respect by climbing the military ladder... Something that relied on skill and not family background.
Later, when Japan was the one being attacked - people joined to defend home and family. They believed that the lives of their families were at stake, and were indeed ready to die to protect them.

The rest were basically drafted.

It`s influencing through propaganda, but not really brain washing. Soldiers do what they`re told. I think this is true in ANY military. Personal feelings about things don`t really matter in a group. I have yet to hear any praise of the emperor from any of the guys who served in the war - most of them thought the whole thing was crazy and hated the government for putting them into the whole mess... But if you think your family and your home is at risk, you will fight to the death to defend it.

I recall watching a documentary about the suicide pilots - including interviews with a few who had been lucky enough to have not been sent off to die.

They were told that the Americans were murdering and raping all in their path, and to think very hard about their own families, homes, friends, and the life they`d lived up until now... And they were prepared to die not for glory, not for the emperor - but to protect their homes and all those left behind in Japan. They were prepared to die to protect home and country. Whether what they were told was true or not is irrelevant. What is important is that they believed it.

At the individual level, is this so different from service men elsewhere during WWII?



Maybe on paper and "officially". The war wasn`t so long ago that you can`t ask people what they thought. Japan was not such a backward and strange place that people were unable to think for themselves.



Because the emperor was the head of government.
Would not someone high in the government announce that sort of thing outside Japan?

ETA; Something people who were around and heard that announcement have expressed was not about the emperor seeming like a god, etc - But more the incredible sense of betrayal as they`d been led to believe things were much much better than they really were... And those who did know the real situation were disgusted that it had taken so long.

To get more of a feel for what people actually thought, and not how Japan was interpreted in western propaganda of the time (which has a very strong influence on how it is depicted today) - try reading some Japanese literature from around that period. I think you`ll be surprised to find just how similar in thinking and "normal" people were.

Okay Nyrorin, which books would you suggest. I have already read a great deal but not in japanese.

[dogsbody70]

I have the book that contains many letters from those involved in that war written to the ASAHI SHIMBUM.

We are talking from 1941 as far as AMerica is concerned-- I have seen many films on this subject also


I wonder if the people you have come across were involved in that war?

okay ask survivors actually in that war.

Why were they so cruel? why was seppaku expected from any who were captured. those young pilots attacking ships giving up their own lives-- suicide bombers.

I have heard so much about this.


THe burmese railway-- the copper mines-- the cruelty was horrific.


I have heard that much has been kept back from the japanese people about the truth of that war

The Japanese Emperor: man god?

[cranks]

mmm. It is becoming extremely off topic, so I'll just say that view is very different from what I know from my experiences with my 3 grand parents, and from my knowledge of Japanese history. If you or someone start up a new thread on it and I have time, I'll comment in there.

[mousee09]

Well, being an African American living in kyoto, Japan I have experience just mostly death stares from all the Japanese I walk pass. Not once has anyone came up to me and ask a question or helped in anyway; But I already expected that. I mostly walk with a someone whenever go some where in Kyoto, I dont know if that the reason why they nevered appoached me or not. I try my best to speak the language and follow cultural guidelines. I not on the heavy im actually fairly skinny and short ( not saying that really matters). I do however overhear some japanese compliment on me on my clothing without them actually telling me...but whatever the case maybe, im going to stay positive and continue to enjoy me stay here.

I am a student studying in Japan for one year.