Westerners, especially American and Canadians are the most verbally opinionated people on the planet. The author is perfectly right. Ambrosia, do we live in the same neighbourhood? There are some very weird people out there on these psychotrophic meds also. This lack of support by society and the entities that employ these women has had a negative impact on the Japanese economy because of the rapid aging of the majority of Japans population. One is just mean and ignorant and one is criminal and thoroughly disgusting. Yes, Americans and Canadians may be more open about it but if you think, for even one second, that Japanese do not believe they are superior to most, if not all other countries, then you really don't know your fellow countrymen at all. they were. Did anyone say they thought Toronto was a safe utopia? Same goes for everywhere else. Jennifer Lawrence stars in 'No Hard Feelings,' a raunchy comedy Crime How Dangerous Is Japan? Why is any type of abuse, sexual or otherwise okay as long as a person wasn't shot? They could be spirits, demons, animalistic beings, or apparitions. Wow! BTW, I personally know several foreign men who were perfectly happy about living here until they became parents of daughters. 1. As a girl who has lived 3 years in Canada, I can as well understand that this kind of thing seems awful for canadians girls who are not used to be harassed AT ALL. Woman He kept looking back down the road so I thought he was waiting for a friend or family member. Because saying such things usually results in a comment back saying your blaming the victim. It isn't. That advice goes for women Any where! I'm studying Japanese now and can't way until I come to Japan, I visit Japan twice already and plans to stay much longer the third time. 6 Years After Japan Launched Its Womenomics Policy Is It Working? NPR. You need to be careful since you are dealing with a child also. I think this article is needlessly alarmist. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781475512922.001. That whole incident was creepy, disgusting and extremely angering, especially when people laughed about it with a "boys will be boys" attitude. How many Japanese women are reading this? For example they found that when a driver is aware that a car has more safety features such as anti-lock brakes that they will drive faster and they will also tail gate the cars in front of them much more often. My wife travels by Subway (nyc) every day & is always following her instict as well as common sense rules for travelers anywhere. Does an elementary school girl in a uniform encourage a pervert? [8] Steinberg, Chad, and Masato Nakane. Japan redefines rape and raises age of consent in landmark move Would they have given out the same info on a Japanese member of staff? I don't know about your co-workers Tessa but if your friends are laughing it off like it's no big deal, I'd take the time to educate them on the reality of the situation or consider making new friends, as harsh as that sounds. The writer never says foreign women are in greater peril than men. Maybe Women need to have a highly visible camera/cell phone. Can Women Save Japan?. That's sexual harassment. It's wrong. I even dress modestly during my stay in Japan so I don't attract unwanted attention(though what I wear shouldn't be permission for such actions), but I am a blonde Gaijin, of course I'm going to get attention as much as I don't want it. Because some of us have spouses and close friends in Japan we tend to get defensive if something negative, but true is said about the country. But this sort of behavior really needs to be nipped in the bud. Which are outright disgraceful and disgusting to me. watch out for the closet knife wielding slashers. If you haven't been in Japan for more than two or three years you might not know about the murder of Lindsey Hawker. Right in the face! I'm sorry that you had someone stalking you, or at least that's what it sounds like you're suggesting they did and you're right to caution people to be very careful about what information they allow others access to. Good article for the ladies. If you think that the way a woman dresses gives you permission to leer at, touch, threaten or pursue her then you are lacking some very basic awareness in regard to appropriate social behavior and I strongly suggest you get some help. By the way, as far as train groping goes, being in a crowd of people has never protected women from being targeted, on the contrary it seems to embolden the pervs. It is simply applying experience to life. America and Ukraine: Analyzing the Two Differing Interests on the Battlefield, The Economic war Behind Russias Invasion of Ukraine, Mutual Technological Destruction (MTD): Why the U.S. Should Avoid Taiwan Like Quicksand. WebHow safe is it for a woman in Japan? What is she to do? When they are touched or feel threatened they start to panic and complain about being a victim.They want you to look at them, but not touch or pursue unless you have ESP and know she is really desireable of you also. If only I could cash in the amount of time I was insulted growing in Toronto because of how my slang eyes and Asian looks didn't match the blonde hair and blue eyes they were looking for. Again, with the blame-the-victim mentality. Well, that's not what you said. The foreign woman moves out of arms reach, but alas that is not enough. No, she wasn't, because I didn't want her to get into trouble over an honest rookie mistake, but I made it clear to her that it wasn't to happen again. I learned my lesson after I caught my drunk and aroused landlord peeping through my living room window one summer night. RANKED: Most Dangerous Countries for Women Travelers to Visit Domestic violence is very common in Japan, but only behind closed doors. 248 (2012): 150. Several of his students called up the office and demanded to know where he was staying and they were all given details of his illness, treatment and whereabouts. The same animal went on to attack multiple other tourists, including a seven-year-old boy and a 42-year-old woman, before QPWS made the decision to humanely I have had exactly the same experiences, exactly the same number of times, apart from the panty-snatching thing (live in a high-rise). This is exactly what you said. I've had friends who've experienced similar things with the information having been given out by people who really should've known better, especially in light of the Personal Information Protection Act which went into effect in Japan in 2005. http://www.jonesday.com/newsknowledge/publicationdetail.aspx?publication=2920. To me, I'm honestly just disgusted at the fact no one tried to help. NONE of these stories have shocked me. Mymy To: RightCanadian girls are not used to being harrassed at all and Canada is all rainbows and sunshine with tonnes of snow. . I guess having a white male coming up to me and said you're very tall for an Asian woman isn't insulting right? The other reason and in my opinion the primary reason is because Japan has a reputation of being such a safe nation that these women may think that because Japan is so safe that these "security behaviors" that they did in their own country or in another country are not needed because again Japan is such a safe nation. There were 54 homicides in 2012 in Toronto, that's pretty high for a city of over 3 million people. The point being made, from my understanding, is that foreigners sometimes get too relaxed with the notion that Japan is safe. When I read the article my first thought was: where the hell did that journalist lived before? Totally different, please read my posts more carefully in future before replying to them. As for your advice, first, it was pretty unrealistic for the reasons already pointed out and second, it was rather contradictory since you first suggested that they had no need to worry about their safety and then went on to offer ways that they could stay safe. It is an attempt to educate women to be aware of their safety and to not be complacent about things just because of a false image other people have tried to project about Japan. However, a rather obvious solution to this problem has existed since the issue arose in mid to the late 20, [8] Steinberg, Chad, and Masato Nakane. On record, Japan is a rather safe country for women with 1 in 15 reporting they have been sexually assaulted within their lifetime, according to surveys done by the government; however, another study found that at least 95 percent of women do not report these crimes to the authorities, likely due to the overall negative stigma that exists around reporting sexual assault [4]. The 1889 Meiji Constitution exemplifies some of the prejudice that is rather engrained within Japanese politics and society, because Japanese royalty has been recently struggling to continue its lineage; therefore, even though an easy solution has presented itselfthat solution being the inclusion of women as heiressesthose in power to make these decisions are so against the notion of women having this title that they would rather struggle to maintain a cultural standard than alter it, much like was done in ancient times [3]. Everyone should expect and demand to be treated equally. I guess we have a very different sense of what's funny and what's not. It is an attempt to educate women to be aware of their safety and to not be complacent about things just because of a false image other people have tried to project about Japan. The majority of women I know who have been assaulted have been assaulted on trains, in well-lit public places and in the places where they work. And although certain improvements have been made regarding more parental leave and the inclusion of women in more entry-level job opportunities, there is still a noticeable lack of women in management positions across multiple types of employment sectors and in the Japanese government [12]. I have been groped and have had people say directly to me "kakko warui gaijin", "baka janai", "damatte yo" (when the same was not said to drunken businessmen or schoolgirls who were actually loud), "buta" and "kono ama". It's insulting. Foreign women attract a Jesse Watters Primetime 6/19/23 HD | FOX BREAKING NEWS June 19, 2023 | Fox News I personally think westerners have always had a negative image of Japanese and their country. Being groped or being shot dead which one is safer, take your pick. Also, to suggest that Japanese stalkers are any less dangerous than those of Europe, America, etc. It also happens to Japanese girls on a regular basis, especially in crowded trains. Yakudoshi The article is about how women in Japan can stay safe and you do yourself no favors by facetiously equating the very real dangerous of being sexually assaulted to "being pinched on the buttocks" . take care. 25, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/Demographic-trends#ref23254. reinforces the "boys will be boys" attitude and the notion that what has happened is no big deal so just let it go. He is 'drunk'. I don't know why so many people that all Japanese men are polite, my impression is quite different. I would take the words over the groping any day though certainly neither is desirable. Can Women Save Japan? IMF Working Papers 12, no. Japan's nationwide Flower Demo campaign against sexual violence started in 2019 A 2021 survey by the government showed that only about 6 per cent of women Whereas greater London, a comparably sized area, in 2011 had only 117 murders. I think it is particularly important for women to be careful in foreign countries because it's not so easy to read people whose culture you are not familiar with. What happened to that receptionist? A reasonable awareness and not walking and watching one's iScreen is enough. You do realize that many non-Japanese women live here without fathers or brothers to escort them around throughout the day, right? 10 Most Dangerous Places For Women Travelers (And How To Asian in Canada are not treated with respect, they're viewed as inferiors people. And I don't think that will ever change. ( 2 stars) In the blandly inoffensive sex comedy No Hard Feelings, Jennifer Lawrence plays Maddie, an emotionally stunted, sexually liberated 30-year-old Didn't you get the memo? The feeling of superior complex, I will not take sh*t from anyone are well documented. I have never said that anyone wants to be a victim of Japan. And whatever made him believe that he could get away with it? I guess all those JHS and HS girls were out drinking, walking around late at night and slagging off Japan. 2-8-16 Higashi-Kanda One thought I was hitting on her gaijin boyfriend (he was an acquaintance and I just came up to say hello an to thank him for something and the next thing I know - wham! And if one bad thing happened on a Tokyo subway ride it's became a violation of rights, and they go home and never want to deal with that again. Being positive and good to others seems to keep trouble at bay. Lucky for you because racism isn't a crime in Toronto, we Asian obviously can't report this to the police and tell them that someone verbally insulted us because of how we look. It may be what you meant but it's not what you said. It's called assault. Only trying to help women to be and feel as safe as the eomen in my family and i get negative responses. Being positive and good to others seems to keep trouble at bay. RT @ateez_charts: BOUNCY on Shazam Top Songs #114 Japan (-4) #131 South Korea (+18) #187 Taiwan (NEW) #OUTLAW #BOUNCY # @ATEEZofficial My fiancee is a typical Northern European female. Use you hunch and always listen to your inner feelings. In reality he could've been 24 for all I know. Totally different, please read my posts more carefully in future before replying to them. WebEven excluding the US, which is an outlier among industrialized nations, Japan is incredibly safe regarding serious physical harm and violence. [2] Larson, Brooke. Mar 30, 2023 12:25 AM EDT. I am a Asian woman living in Toronto (Canada), stands at 5"8. dangerous Does a baby encourage a pervert? It's happened last summer inside the Eaton centre, this sort of thing happened all the time in Toronto. It belittles the traumatizing and criminal events many women in Japan have gone through and diminishes any attempts to deal with such criminals and violence against women in general. I have trouble believing that you actually live in Japan, you seem so out of touch. But she experienced a chikan on the subway in Tokyo once though. Japan are hardly a perfect country, NEVER WAS and NEVER WILL BE. Over my three years living all over Japan, I can recall numerous incidents involving a stalker, or a "chikan" (groper) on crowded trains or empty streets. A major aspect of this specific issue has to do with Japanese culture, and how many people heavily practice a sense of silence when it comes to unspeakable or seemingly shameful acts, even if one is unable to control what has been done to them against their will. As a public journalist you will be by yourself many times in locations that are foreign to you. The myth of "safety" country is wide open on this thread. I'm also shocked that - yet again - there are people who suggest these women who are molested are "asking for it". she can also physically look after herself and knows how to defend herself and how to behave so as not to encourage perverts. Overall it feels a It is very important to talk so people around you are aware. As a european girl when I read this I think: gosh we get so much worse in Europe, those japanese stalkers seems like naughty kids for me. I've even been followed by a uniformed boy on a bicycle who managed the remarkable feat of steering his bike with one hand, and . doing something else with the other. Japan Many foreign men cannot imagine being frightened of Japan males, perhaps because of the natural physical advantages that they have over them, but also because they are not targeted for creepy unwanted attention in the way that foreign women often are. [1] Hijino, Shigeki. If you don't only talk about how great it is, you must hate it! If you give private English lessons, NEVER go to their house, only meet in a crowded cafe. Where do we draw the line? They don't have to be told. In martial arts footwork and body position are really the most important thing. She gave it to him without question. Yes, those amazon women surely should have no issues taking on those weak Japanese boys And now you want women to beat their attackers? If our teenage son was going around groping people we would very much want to know about it to get him appropriate help and nip any potential issues in the bud. You also state that you are a runner and your pictures are all over the internet(s). Zelenskyy hits out at 'Russian savages' I was forever RETURNING the underwear of the woman above us! They point to the Samurai practice of committing "seppuku" or to the Why not just advice for women anywhere? Moving to Japan as a single foreign woman is quite safe, but there are some things you should be aware of if youre considering living here. There are a few things to consider when answering this question. WebRescuers managed to pull an injured woman from the rubble as night began to fall. I don't know if we did or not but I have lived in a couple of different places in Japan so I can say from experience that nasty things like the panty theft and groping are not limited to Tokyo or even the big cities. First, you suggested that avoiding darkly lit places, not taking taxis alone and not insulting Asians in pubs would keep you safe. Have many emergency numbers on hand and let people know you dont feel safe. May 23, 2019. https://savvytokyo.com/where-does-japan-stand-in-its-approach-to-women-rights/. [11] Boykoff, Pamela, and Cardiff Garcia. I guess having a white male coming up to me and said you're very tall for an Asian woman isn't insulting right? I must say some of the comments are rather opinionated. shall be deemed to be aggravating circumstances.'' I wish that the world would treat women and children with much care and respect for the fact they exist and without women no one would have been born. Toronto by far are the most racist and discriminatory city in Canada, if not in North America. TOKYO One of the toughest places to be a woman in Japan is within its royal family. I decided to get off at the next stop (which was still far from my stop), making sure he wasn't following me and decided to just wait for the next train. Rio de Janeiro is one of the most fun places to visit, but Brazil is fairly unsafe Again, I quoted you exactly as you wrote it, cut and pasted. and whether or not they've experienced racism in their home countries? She has rules to follow and they are learnt well, she can also physically look after herself and knows how to defend herself and how to behave so as not to encourage perverts. And yes, it's very important to protect one's privacy, but I think in Japan, despite the new laws in effect, the rules are different for foreigners and probably will be for some time if we continue to tolerate it. It amazes me how people will go on and on about how 'safe" Japan is and use the useless crime stats to prove their point. 3 Tips For Avoiding Tourist Traps When Travelling To Japan Do you not remember the madman in Akihabara, or the guy who recently attacked kids in a school in Fukushima or the stabbings in Ikebukuro and Shibuya? A A day after former Tokyo Olympics boss Yoshiro Mori made global headlines with his sexist comments, Momoko Nojo, 23, helped start a petition calling for action Much prefer to live here and be able to walk or bike around at night unmolested and without fear than in my home country, the very scary and heavily armed U.S.A. Does it sound like they do to you because that's not what I got out of this at all. Mostly, I just pity them their ignorance and hatred because that kind of stuff has to be eating them up inside. 21:59:59. Risks and Dangers In Japan | Travel Guide | SCTI NZ By the time I got my wits together to go after him he was long gone. JapanToday If women are being groped that doesn't suggest that they are "safe" or is safety in your mind simply the distinction between being dead or alive? I'm sure the families of Shiori Ino, Rie Miyoshi, Ayano Hatansuka, Lucy Blackman, Lindsay Hawker and all of the other women who have been murdered by those "naughty kids" would be appalled to hear such comments. Try finding a Japanese woman who hasnt been harrassed, grabbed by chikan/perverts etc, it is very pervasive here so yeah its pretty important for foreign women here, espceially if they are new or yet to arrive, heck just read the posts. Personally, I'd be furious. It's more likely if she reported it she would be accused of teasing. What's not true about that? The feeling of superior complex, I will not take sh*t from anyone are well documented. Phoolan Devi was once considered one of the most dangerous and feared women in India. This dichotomy then radiates throughout other aspects of Japanese culture, including the treatment of women in the workplace. I'm curious? I thought that was a bit weird considering there were a bunch of empty seats and this was the express train. If anything, it only shows how divided we minority groups are. Actually given that Japan promotes its "safety" very heavily this article is VERY Japan specific, although obviously can apply anywhere. Like after reading about Junko Furuta's murder, I was really horrified of what she had to go through and the sentences her captors received and