Article: Japan's sexual apathy is endangering the economy

[greg]

Boy, it has been quiet here for the past several days. I know I have been rather busy lately myself. Here is an interesting article that was sent to me by a friend, which I retweeted (as if anyone ever really reads my sporadic crap on Twitter).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wor ... l-economy/

I have a lot of thoughts on this subject, and I plan to enumerate and articulate them into a coherent dissertation. There is a lot of factors that this article doesn't even address, and I can certainly offer my opinions. One thing I can say right now is that in the medium-sized cities, the birth rate isn't too lacking. However in the big cities, the cost of living combined with the cost of raising a child, with the tendency to focus too much on one's career is certainly harming the birth rate. On the opposite hand, rural town in the countryside are drying up. There used to be a nursery school just up the road from my in-laws' house in their small town in Nagano-ken, but it closed down due to a lack of enrollment and parents have to take their children further away to attend school. Kids who grow up in that area all seem to leave and settle elsewhere, often dreaming of life in Tokyo and so they go to college there and not return. Becoming a farmer just isn't glamorous.

Another huge problem is how Japanese males and females seem to be intentionally making themselves incompatible with each other. They indulge themselves in too much escapist fantasy (and men indulge themselves in too much of TEH PR0N) that they make themselves only attracted to fantasy. This article touches on that, with otaku-types who shun the touch of a real woman because they are not the same as their "waifu" anime moe girls and dating sim games on their Playstations. Their ideal girl basically resembles a damned Precious Moments figure and they reject the opportunity to get close to a woman's body. That's basically what it's like. Meanwhile, women get caught up with these lousy morons in Johnny's Jr, Golden Bomber, and all these other Visual Kei "guys" who seem to suffer from some major gender identity disorder issues. So their ideal man is basically a narcissistic, effeminite dimwit who only loves himself. These guys don't really exist in real life.

What is also scary is that just as in America, the people who really shouldn't be allowed to breed are not having problems having kids. This happens in poorer areas of cities, as can be expected. This, along with divorced single mothers raising kids alone, leads to kids who don't have a stable personality and just don't bother studying.

That'sall for now. I've gotta go.

[davemerrill]

I read the original Guardian story that the WP piece links to, and while it makes some good points, overall the Guardian piece felt kind of weak. I mean, it makes a big deal out of how the first name of the dominatrix they interview (??) is "Ai" - and that means LOVE!! Overall the Guardian article had a "gosh-wow-I went to Japan once and I can extrapolate an entire culture out of that one visit" feel to it.

Certainly there didn't seem to be any shortage of babies and kids in Tokyo the last time I was there.

Question for you, Greg - you work with kids, do they seem to still be as gender-stratified as in the past? Do boys stick with boys and girls stick with girls and god forbid they talk to each other? Because that always seemed to me, at least, to be one reason they might not be getting together later in life.

[Heero]

My wife and I were actually talking about a similar issue last night. We noted that we seem to know an increasing number of people that "are 'ok' talking to people 1-on-1 but 'want to shut down' when confronted with groups". (and in this case, by groups I mean "5-10 people" not 50) I am fully aware that introverted people exist, and I can even accept that a disproportionate number may travel in the geek circles I inhabit. But I seem to here this explanation more frequently recently and I wonder if introverts are "escaping" to the internet too much and it is damaging their ability to have basic interactions. I realize that some people will likely never be "comfortable" talking to other people, but it seems like technology has made it too easy for people to avoid doing it, so they let any capability to do so atrophy. I think part of the political issues is the same thing in reverse, people are used to self-segregating so they only hear opinions they agree with and online you can spout whatever you want semi-anonymously so we're unable to have mature intelligent conversations about difficult concepts. Anyone who disagrees is obviously a wack-job and we should all just shout them down like we would online.

[davemerrill]

What I notice about people of all ages these days is that they have their face constantly staring at their smart phone, whether they're at dinner with others, walking across a busy street, or anywhere. Human interaction of any kind takes a back seat to the little thing in their hand. I feel bad for them, especially when they hurl themselves in front of my car.

[greg]

I read the original Guardian story that the WP piece links to, and while it makes some good points, overall the Guardian piece felt kind of weak. I mean, it makes a big deal out of how the first name of the dominatrix they interview (??) is "Ai" - and that means LOVE!! Overall the Guardian article had a "gosh-wow-I went to Japan once and I can extrapolate an entire culture out of that one visit" feel to it.

No way... seriously? I hadn't read that at all. That is ridiculous. Ai is an extremely common name in Japan for women. It's not like the ridiculous names that strippers come up with, which are not far off from the nicknames redneck moms give their beauty pagent toddlers. (I swear, CPS needs to step in and put an end to that shit.)

Question for you, Greg - you work with kids, do they seem to still be as gender-stratified as in the past? Do boys stick with boys and girls stick with girls and god forbid they talk to each other? Because that always seemed to me, at least, to be one reason they might not be getting together later in life.

Actually, they seem to interact better than my own classmates when I was their age. When I was growing up, it was like "girls have cooties and boys do too" and we lived in separate worlds. I think that it is not until they get older and they start to understand how things work when things become awkward. Walk into any convenience store and you will see a section of nothing but manga and such with covers of kyounyuu (huge boobs) ladies, both photographs and manga drawings. Boys who avoid that sort of thing as best they can become decent I suppose, but the boys who succumb to temptation will be convinced that sex is all about punishing women (if not flat out rape). I've encountered some of those boys. One at my school last year was 14 or so and his teacher told me that he often draws this sort of manga. He is also always handling a cutter and such all the time, much as someone would play with something idly. Talk about a walking time bomb!

Meanwhile, girls may be getting the vibe from this sort of thing that sex is just creepy. Boys are creeps, and what they want is creepy. They focus on stuff like Hello Kitty, My Melody, and Rilakkuma. They cling to what is innocent and pure, and it is comfortable. Why can't boys be like that? I am just speculating, but I think this tends to happen.

My wife and I were actually talking about a similar issue last night. We noted that we seem to know an increasing number of people that "are 'ok' talking to people 1-on-1 but 'want to shut down' when confronted with groups". (and in this case, by groups I mean "5-10 people" not 50) I am fully aware that introverted people exist, and I can even accept that a disproportionate number may travel in the geek circles I inhabit.

Actually, I am like this. I have always been an introvert. I am fine standing in front of large groups of kids and adults to teach English lessons. I can talk to people just fine. But when it is a situation such as a party or other such setting where the purpose is to socialize, unless I know the people, I clam up and would prefer to avoid it. I will need to find common ground with others somehow, lest I be uncomfortable the whole time.

About what you mentioned about society polarizing itself, I couldn't agree with you more. It becomes groupthink. I actually get along with people more who have different views on topics like politics or religion. You don't have to agree with somebody; you just have to understand where they are coming from and learn to appreciate their point of view that way.

[_D_]

I guess no one is taking a cue from Futari Ecchi?

[usamimi]

I guess no one is taking a cue from Futari Ecchi?

Futari Ecchi is OLD! No one cares about old titles anymore...young anime fans watch the new shows, which don't always portray sex in a very good light.

[_D_]

It may be old but it's still going like the Eveready Bunny. Up to what, 57 volumes now? Have to enjoy reading it online since it's not a title I could buy off Amazon or Chapters. Funny that it's popular in places like Germany, France and Italy but the publisher from here gave up after producing only 4 volumes. Oh well, I will be buying the last Omaha The Cat Dancer volume and Asterix vs. The Picts next time round, so I'll have something to read at least...

[usamimi]

It may be old but it's still going like the Eveready Bunny. Up to what, 57 volumes now? Have to enjoy reading it online since it's not a title I could buy off Amazon or Chapters. Funny that it's popular in places like Germany, France and Italy but the publisher from here gave up after producing only 4 volumes. Oh well, I will be buying the last Omaha The Cat Dancer volume and Asterix vs. The Picts next time round, so I'll have something to read at least...

Heh, well, I meant that kinda jokingly...I'm sure it still sells relatively well (as most sex-comedies do). I've also wondered how that series could last so long, but then again "sex sells", right? I think Tokyopop only released 4 vols after they realized that most people reading mainstream manga at the time might not be old enough to actually buy it (and most bookstores didn't want to stock something called "Manga Kama Sutra" ) Which is kind of a shame, Futari Ecchi is actually pretty tame and cute from what I've seen.

[_D_]

I think it's because there are some characters and situations that they would have problems with given the current climate and draconian laws in the US. Might be for the best in that instance...