Quote: (10-20-2013 01:10 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:
1. The stifling control and restrictions placed on people as a result of societal rules and etiquette.
2. A deeply pervasive corruption in public and government life where the big companies are in cahoots with the government, and you can't get ahead unless you play ball. The small business owner faces real hurdles.
3. . Too much peace rots away the soul of a people.
4. The increasingly difficult financial costs to raise a family and get along in Japanese society.
So. . . most of this is actually bullshit, same with the article. . .Yes there IS a problem. These points are pretty much the crux of the issue, the rest are bulshit and can be proven wrong just by living there for a couple of years and getting to know people, exlporing shit, traveling around the country etc. . .
the Main issue though is the economy. It's been in the toilet for 30 years, and with the 2008 worldwide economic crisis, Japan was actually hit HARD, hard enough to make people pretty much turn even MORE inward/conservative almost overnight. That and the cost of sex is rediculous. since the economy is crap and Japanese people live with their families untill they get married for the most part, the only place to have sex is a love hotel. Which can cost in upwards of 120-300+ bucks. Add that to the cost of taking a woman out a few times dealing with flakey B.S. Japanese women have gotten notoriously difficult to deal with since 2008. . .and the advent of facebook's popularity due to smart phones becoming the rage there. . .
case in point: Mixi was pretty much the facebook of Japan, and TONS of people used that to hook up with each other, but pretty much since the crash they've pretty much tried their hardest to stop people from meeting each other (failing misrable but yeah it was pretty rediculous)BAsically they were trying to compete with facebook as the iphones were coming in, and facebook has been invading through that avenue.
So with the cost of just HAVING sex being so rediculous, a lot of guys ARE saying "fuck it" and using pocket pussies etc to relieve themselves. . .
BUT
There's a lot that this article misses out on, and that most people don't know unless you actually live there, make freinds with people enouh that they drop that "tatemae" wall and give you the real info on what's going on there.
(I'm not going to go into too much specifics for privacy reasons, but let's just say. . .there's a LOT of sex going on in lots of everyday places that no journalist would ever get close enough to write a silly article about.)
You don't even have to go that far to realize that the VAST MAJORITY of men are. . .men there. Just go to a crowded Tokyo club on a weekend (Club Atom, Club Camelot for starters. . .both in Shibuya, go from 12PM on) There are TONS of dudes on a MISSION to get some sex that night. Most clubs DO NOT allow cameras, for video or otherwise unless the club gives explicit permission. Or its before the club actually opens (I have a few myself but that was before the club opened) But clubs would NEVER allow a journalist to come and video tape a club (for very practical, yet long winded reasons that I wont be going over here. . .I touched on them in previous posts). . .there are a few videos of clubs doin self promotion, but thats only on youtube/other online places that wont get the club in trouble.
The thing they are missing that it's not that guys aren't having sex with women. . .
THEY AREN'T HAVING CHILDREN WITH THEM.
That's pretty much the factors listed in the beginning of this post, with an emphasis on the cost of getting laid. . .it's actually GROSSELY CHEAPER for J guys to go to prostitutes that to date women. Prostitution is by far the largest industry in Japan. . .the only reason why westerners don't know about it, is that 99.9 percent of places dont allow non-Japanese people in(unless a Japanese regular brings you in, introuduces you to the establishment and gives you the OK. . .(again, from personal experience)), AND the ones that do, charge 2-3 times more, and have the worst/ugliest girls you can find)
There is a reason why I didnt mention the Japanese corporate work culture as a culprit:
Because
1) a LOT of guys get laid/find their wives through their job. . .its not frowned upon, its EXPECTED! A lot of women get jobs at companies JUST TO LAND A HUSBAND (this is good. . .and something that western media would NEVER get a chance to write about. . .and for good reason)
2)THE man basically lives and works for the company, This is bad. . .very bad, and one of the main reasons that Japanese folks arent having kids (you can actually find info on this) The other is a cultural reason. . .but its tied too strongly into the bad economy for me to give it a seperate section to talk about.
So no, the article is pretty much flat out wrong, young Men ARE having sex, or are trying very hard to have sex with women. A LOT more than what this article portrays. . .