109: A Nice Country (1)

【Safe & Polite】
Safety. It’s the number 1 envy of many people around the world when referring to Japan.
 
The reason? It’s safe to walk around the cities even alone at night!
 
Although this may likely seem way too ordinary to most Japanese, it’s a fresh surprise for people around the world. Surely, despicable crimes do occur every day even in Japan, but generally speaking, its safety is top notch by global comparison.
 
And when it comes to safety, Japan deserves great praise especially for its strict gun control. Gun possessions are largely prohibited, and the enforcement of this law is superb. Guns are hardly ever accessible to the general public, and consequently people live without the fear of gun violence.
 
How wonderful is that? It’s evident when compared to the US, where the possession of firearms is widely allowed by the constitution.
 
In the US, where mass shootings are seemingly endless, our children need be prepared for the worst just going to school every day. Despite such foolishness, we still live in an absurd society with immature masculinity idolizing guns, senselessly murdering many people, daily. Even if not killed, people suffer injuries, disabilities, traumas, gun threats, gun assaults, the sorrows of losing a loved one, or the unmeasurable emotional toll from the fear of gun violence [See #68].
 
In addition to Japan’s safety, many people around the world also envy the politeness that they pleasantly encounter while visiting Japan. This could be seen as the positive side of Japan’s not-so-enviable “cookie-cutter” education system.
 
And for Japan’s safety/politeness, many people praise it as a “nice country.”
 
But let us ask, is it really?
 
We’re compelled to ask this question because Japan’s safety/politeness seem to be maintained by refusing/excluding those in real need of help around the world.
 
In fact, in Japan both the past and now, we hear of discriminatory sentiments like “We no longer feel safe because of the many foreigners moving into our neighborhood.” Or, we hear divisive comments such as “Better not go near the areas where many foreigners live because it’s dangerous.” The “foreigners” mentioned here likely refer not to those from overseas who appear to live fancy with glamorous jobs, but rather, to the people from overseas studying/working the hard labor who aren’t necessarily well off socio-economically.
 
On the other hand, the US and many European nations that are often referred to as developed countries work hard to welcome diversity and many immigrants. These nations work hard to also welcome many refugees fleeing war/violence/conflict/persecution in their home countries.
 
Immigrants Welcomed  (% of population):
US                       50.63 million  (15%)
Germany         15.76 million  (16%)
UK                          9.36 million  (14%)
France                  8.52 million  (14%)
Japan                    2.77 million     (2%)
 
Refugees Welcomed:
Germany            2,590 thousand
France                      660 thousand
UK                              450 thousand
US                               410 thousand
Japan                           20 thousand
 
Ukrainian Refugees Welcomed:
Poland                19,900 thousand
Germany              1,170 thousand
US                                 540 thousand
UK                                240 thousand
France                           70 thousand
Japan                                2 thousand
 
To be sure, it’s a great challenge for people of different cultures/customs to share and live together in the same place. It’s rather common to find that our “norms and common sense” aren’t really at all a norm or common sense to others from diverse backgrounds.
 
Welcoming diversity and mixing people from various backgrounds can sometimes be quite messy. Inclusivity is a very difficult task even with a big heart, requiring now and then to compromise on safety/politeness to a certain extent.
 
In the next post, let’s dig in a little deeper on this point.

Read Next: A Nice Country (2)【Nice Person】

Read Theme: Perspective