After reading the thread about overwork I wonder if there are political / social groups with critical positions about some aspects of the japanese society.
From an external point of view I have the perception that many japanese people just accept the things for what they are and they give for granted it must be the right thing without calling into question if things are right as they are or if there is space for any improvement. For example I see there is a strong subdivision in sexual genders and ages.
Some time ago I talked about this with a girl on lang-8 and I said I appreciate when in anime the female character is a strong one and not when she is subordinate to a man which is the hero. And she was like "yes but japanese women are like that, we are like that" and so on... like "marry a man and do house things and mother things". And she is like "things are right like they are, women must be like this, it's an innate quality of women and not a fruit of social evolution and past impositions" (she didn't say this clearly but it was obvious she was sure about this)
Obviously I know those differences are everywhere, not only in Japan, and that my little experience in regard to this can not be taken as a whole.
So I wonder what do those of you which live or used to live in Japan think about this? There are things like feminist movements, or movements aware of some fault of the working world in Japan? You ever heard things about "this politics about work sucks! we must change things!" or they are more like "we must do what we are supposed to do like puppets, there is no space for critical thinking, we must just shut up and accept the existent"?
Also, are there satirical autors, like the american George Carlin or Bill Hicks? What audience they have?

I don't think I've ever encountered any Japanese satire or, really, any movement that really criticises Japanese society. I've asked my students multiple times about satire in Japan and I'm assured that it exists, but actually I'm not entirely sure they understand what I'm talking about.

Now, I have trouble believing that there's no satire in Japan and I hope that someone's going to jump out and provide a bunch of examples, but I've just never encountered any, so I can't help but wonder if it doesn't exist. But, y'know, it must, right? And it's not like a know where to look - but I am told that political cartoons are a thing like in any other country. Can't verify it because who actually reads newspapers?

The girl you mention is, I think ... not so uncommon. Certainly feminism is not a thing in Japan. There's been no generations long struggle for women's rights or anything, and I think by and large people coast along and accept things as the way they are. Stuff like universal suffrage wasn't fought for in Japan (or, well, maybe it was - but they lost) - it was granted. Even the current push for more equality seems to me more like something granted by the old men in charge of the country for the benefit of the economy rather than something that anyone is actively fighting for.

Probably the people most vocally critical of current Japanese society are the ultra-nationalists who drive around in their black vans being obnoxious. The only time I felt anything counter-cultural in Japan was when I was in Hiroshima and there was some art gallery doing something that I don't really remember and some Japanese girl wearing a Sea Shepherd t-shirt and I was like 'wow, Hiroshima is hardcore', but that's just relative to the total lack of political engagement or opinion that I encounter in Tokyo. There are protests and stuff, but no one's out to change or critique society - just their pet issue (the anti-nuclear people, the pacifist constitution).

Well, that I've seen, anyway. Maybe they're just so ineffective that I've never encountered it.

And yeah, it's not like people are happy with the way things are, but 'that's the way it is'. My impression is that either people are too apathetic to do anything even if they don't like it, or they feel they have no power to change things in any way even if they were feeling motivated. Which is probably true.

Try asking a Japanese woman when they expect Japan to have a female prime minister. Of course, you'll have to ask again because they'll probably start off with 'I hope...', which is of course not what you're trying to find out. Maybe spoiler, but 'never' is a pretty popular answer.


(does anyone know if there's a Japanese politics hashtag on twitter? I often follow #auspol, where satire and criticism are pretty much the whole thing and it's quite fun - always wondered if Japan has anything similar)


edit: Now that I think of it, there are some manga series that might fall under the banner. When I was reading a lot of (English translated) manga back in the day I noticed a somewhat disturbing bunch of series about terrorist protagonists seeking to drastically change society. The most famous (apparently somewhat notorious in Japan?) is Akumetsu, which from what I understand basically took real political figures, changed the names, and had them killed in various ways for their corruption and such. It's a really bad series (imo), but it does at least have a bit of political awareness and criticism that I haven't seen a lot of. There's a bunch of other series that do similar things. Not really satire, even, but it's something. Can't imagine it's having any huge effect on society but remember thinking it strange that all these sympathetic terrorist protagonists were running around and wow Japan has issues.

Thank you Aikynaro for telling your experience, you confirmed what I was suspecting ._.
Your example about the female prime minister makes me think about one thing: isn't the south Korean prime minister a female? I, in my ignorance, have always seen those two cowntries as similar ones, like canada and usa, or france and spain. With their difference but still pretty similar. But the south Korean prime minister is a female while in Japan they see a female prime minister as something impossible.
Even watching idol's variety shows I see the mentality you described shine through. The idol's phenomenon itself is full of this mentality. And hell I love some of those idols xD but still... Pretty sad...
Some times ago a girl from AKB48 was seen with a boy and sentimental relationships being banned by contract, her manager said she was childish and immature and so she was a disappointment for him. Yes, the immature here is a girl who does exactly what girls do at that age, not a grown adult which pretends a young girl not to be in a relationship and yet when Akimoto was seen with one of those girls no one said nothing.
What makes me sad is not as much the fact that things are like this, but the fact that japanese people seems to accept this passively and I wonder how they would perceive a foreigner which criticizes those aspect of japanese society.

PS: it seems they learned nothing from great teacher Onizuka ._.

The closest thing I can think of is this:
http://myanimelist.net/anime/6946/Mudazu...of_Koizumi
But it's more silly satire than biting satire unfortunately.

EDIT: Thought of another:
http://kyoko-np.net is like a Japanese version of TheOnion.com.

of course there's satire in japan. in fact, one of the most notorious and extreme examples of satire in literature is from japan - yapoo the human cattle by shozo numa.

I am probably alone here, but one of the things I like about Japan is the relative absence of the current cynical, nagging, constantly-critical culture of Western countries.

I sincerely hope "biting satire" never becomes a thing in Japan.

umetani666 Wrote:of course there's satire in japan. in fact, one of the most notorious and extreme examples of satire in literature is from japan - yapoo the human cattle by shozo numa.

Just looked up Yapoo:
http://homepage2.nifty.com/equus/numa_manimal_01.htm
What the heck? That's...something else alright.

CureDolly Wrote:I am probably alone here, but one of the things I like about Japan is the relative absence of the current cynical, nagging, constantly-critical culture of Western countries.

I sincerely hope "biting satire" never becomes a thing in Japan.

So you're saying if Japan had a show similar to "The Daily Show" (comparable in production value, writing, etc), you'd have a problem with that? Because if it's good satire then I'm all for it. I'm quite sick of the people who try to make issues out of nothing, but nothing wrong with quality satire.

I have seen The Daily Show once and wouldn't watch it again. It isn't that I think it is badly produced or anything. That kind of thing just doesn't appeal to me, and neither does the cynical mentality that goes with it.

I am not trying to "make a point" here and I am quite aware that I am probably in a minority of one, but I just think - purely personally - that a society without that kind of cynicism is more pleasant and harmonious.

I know harmony is not much of a valued thing in the West. I suppose that is a lot of the reason I am not very interested in Western popular culture as a whole.

CureDolly Wrote:I know harmony is not much of a valued thing in the West. I suppose that is a lot of the reason I am not very interested in Western popular culture as a whole.

I think a healthy level of cynicism comes from a healthy level of critical thinking. Even if you can keep laughing at never-ending rehashes of Laurel and Hardy (Japanese humour), never criticising things that are clearly problematic is as good as putting your head in the sand. Making jokes out of those things we have little immediate control over, like politics and social inequalities, at least helps maintain sanity. If you're wondering why more people seem to be becoming overly cynical, then you only need to read the news every day.

cophnia6 Wrote:I wonder how they would perceive a foreigner which criticizes those aspect of japanese society.

At least in my experience, people are happy to listen, but you'll rarely, if ever, get into a debate about it or receive anything other than the most non-committal あいづち. Of course, there are people who break the mould, especially among English learners or those interested in Western or world culture.

jimeux Wrote:

CureDolly Wrote:I know harmony is not much of a valued thing in the West. I suppose that is a lot of the reason I am not very interested in Western popular culture as a whole.

I think a healthy level of cynicism comes from a healthy level of critical thinking. Even if you can keep laughing at never-ending rehashes of Laurel and Hardy (Japanese humour), never criticising things that are clearly problematic is as good as putting your head in the sand. Making jokes out of those things we have little immediate control over, like politics and social inequalities, at least helps maintain sanity. If you're wondering why more people seem to be becoming overly cynical, then you only need to read the news every day.

Jimeux hits the nail on the head here. Personally, I think Japan could benefit greatly from the introduction of more satire. Or less commercials with jingles.

Hee hee. Well I kind of expected to be in a minority of one on an English-speaking forum.

It is interesting how the views of most English speakers (and possibly Westerners in general) on subjects like this don't vary much.

This isn't a criticism at all. People think how they think. Though the general tenor of a thread like this seems to be "we all think the same, so why don't Japanese people 'see it' and think the way we do?"

CureDolly Wrote:Hee hee. Well I kind of expected to be in a minority of one on an English-speaking forum.

It is interesting how the views of most English speakers (and possibly Westerners in general) on subjects like this don't vary much.

This isn't a criticism at all. People think how they think. Though the general tenor of a thread like this seems to be "we all think the same, so why don't Japanese people 'see it' and think the way we do?"

Uhhhh, right. With that last line of yours I'll just excuse myself because no constructive discussion will come of this.

I apologize if I said more than I should have.

cophnia61 Wrote:What makes me sad is not as much the fact that things are like this, but the fact that japanese people seems to accept this passively and I wonder how they would perceive a foreigner which criticizes those aspect of japanese society.

Probably something like in this video:

Japan doesn't seem to have the long history of debating things that the West does, so Japanese people in general take it much more personally if you try to have even a civilized, casual debate.
That's why I've learned to avoid controversial topics with Japanese people, unless I know they won't take it personally...

Great thread. There are some worrying messages in Japanese media and I've always wondered to what extent they're representative of attitudes in Japan. I think the daily show and last week tonight etc are actually quite special by TV broadcasting standards though. Multiple comedians in the UK have spoken up regarding how they're often forbidden from talking about certain issues on TV and national radio and specifically that no one is allowed to make a British equivalent to the Daily Show.

Bokusenou Wrote:

umetani666 Wrote:of course there's satire in japan. in fact, one of the most notorious and extreme examples of satire in literature is from japan - yapoo the human cattle by shozo numa.

Just looked up Yapoo:
http://homepage2.nifty.com/equus/numa_manimal_01.htm
What the heck? That's...something else alright.

Oo

The summary alone was one of the most unpleasant things I've read in a while.

CureDolly Wrote:I apologize if I said more than I should have.

I don't this is harmony... I love armony, I love many aspects of japanese culture like respect, education and so on... but harmony is about equilibrium, for harmony to be true there must be a balance between the parts... this balance is synonimoum of justice, like it is represented by the libra. If there is not balance then there is not harmony but hipocrisy.
It's the same harmony you perceive in countries where women count nothing. Obviously there is harmony, no gelousy, no cheatings and so on... men live in harmony while women are segregated at home.
I see the same thing here in Italy now that girls can do what they want just as men do. Obviously on the past there was a stronger perceived harmony because women were close in house to do house things while mdn were all relaxed outside cheating with other women.
So I think harmony is good and important but there must be equilibrium or there will be injustice.
To accuse satire to break harmony is like if at time of slavery we said to afroamerican "shut up with your complains, you are breaking harmony".

Without critics of power we would be still like 1000 years ago... and unless japan has reached a sort of social perfection there is need for this critical voices... be they satire, journalism or other form of critical analysis of reality...

Ps: sorfg if I don't respond to other but I'm on my phone which is sh*t so I will reply later from pc :p
Also for curedolly, mine is not a critics, I appreciate very much your posts here on the forum, and I love your blog! I think you are right about the too much complaining thing, maybe in the usa there is too much complaining about everything... but you must recognize even a total lack of critics is no good... even in this there must be equilibrium or in other words harmony :p

cophnia61 Wrote:

CureDolly Wrote:I apologize if I said more than I should have.

I don't this is harmony... I love armony, I love many aspects of japanese culture like respect, education and so on... but harmony is about equilibrium, for harmony to be true there must be a balance between the parts... this balance is synonimoum of justice, like it is represented by the libra. If there is not balance then there is not harmony but hipocrisy.
It's the same harmony you perceive in countries where women count nothing. Obviously there is harmony, no gelousy, no cheatings and so on... men live in harmony while women are segregated at home.
I see the same thing here in Italy now that girls can do what they want just as men do. Obviously on the past there was a stronger perceived harmony because women were close in house to do house things while mdn were all relaxed outside cheating with other women.
So I think harmony is good and important but there must be equilibrium or there will be injustice.
To accuse satire to break harmony is like if at time of slavery we said to afroamerican "shut up with your complains, you are breaking harmony".

Without critics of power we would be still like 1000 years ago... and unless japan has reached a sort of social perfection there is need for this critical voices... be they satire, journalism or other form of critical analysis of reality...

Well said.

One of the reasons you don't see so much political satire is that Japanese political dialogue takes place a lot through newspapers, books and magazines, that is, through writing.

For example, magazines do long interviews with celebrities, in those you see them talking about politics or criticizing media(some clueless, some surprisingly knowledgeable) much like you see in US.

Japanese read a lot, they are not as uninformed as their TV makes is it look.

The comedy you see in TV in Japan is a thousandth of what actually takes place, they have a lot of theater events and such, not to mention Internet, there is much more variety outside TV. (Much like Japanese may not be aware of the acerbic stand-up acts of comedians they see in silly Hollywood movies)

Feminism is not a thing in "the west" either, they are mocked and dehumanized constantly, and many woman make a point of affirming they are ANTI-feminism.

visualsense Wrote:One of the reasons you don't see so much political satire is that Japanese political dialogue takes place a lot through newspapers, books and magazines, that is, through writing.

For example, magazines do long interviews with celebrities, in those you see them talking about politics or criticizing media(some clueless, some surprisingly knowledgeable) much like you see in US.

Japanese read a lot, they are not as uninformed as their TV makes is it look.

The comedy you see in TV in Japan is a thousandth of what actually takes place, they have a lot of theater events and such, not to mention Internet, there is much more variety outside TV. (Much like Japanese may not be aware of the acerbic stand-up acts of comedians they see in silly Hollywood movies)

Feminism is not a thing in "the west" either, they are mocked and dehumanized constantly, and many woman make a point of affirming they are ANTI-feminism.

I'm greatly rassured by your comment! Could I ask if you know some japanese forum where young people discuss about those topics? For example, forum discussions where they talk about the possibility of a woman prime minister? Or about issues in the working system? And what about the "suicide thing" (the fact that there are many suicides caused by stress)? Or the fact that many salary men use to drink because of stress? (if those things are true and not only a distortion made by western media)

I know those things also exist in the west, maybe in different forms, for example less suicides but very much drugs abuse (both legal and illegal ones), so I'm not talking about Japan vs east. The fact is I know a lot of internet places where american and european peolpe discuss those issues, while I know nothing about similar places in Japan. Not because I think there aren't, but because my Japanese still sucks and I don't know how to find them, but I'm sure there are and I would like very much to read them to see what young japanese say about those topics.

While I wait for suggestions I will look on 2chan even if I don't know if it's the right place where to search, but if I find something interesting I'll post it here

Thank you Cophinia-san.

I do understand and respect your point of view, even though I don't share it. Whatever effect satire may or may not have on the social situation, I am afraid I just don't like it, and I am not convinced that the generally cynical and hostile atmosphere it generates really improves much or makes people any happier.

It is not necessary to be cynical or disrespectful or coarse in order to criticize things that are wrong. Slavery is a very good example. Many, many people, such as Williiam Wilberforce and the Grimke Sisters criticized slavery. So did African Americans like Absalom Jones and Alexander Crummel and as a result of their efforts and many others it was ended, but none of them ever did so in a cynical or coarse manner. Neither did they advocate cynical and harsh mockery or coarse speech as entertainment.

That is a matter of taste. And taste and style is what I was talking about, not "issues".

To indicate what I do think, I will tell you a little story:

A friend of mine, a translator who lives in Japan mentioned a travel pamphlet to me. She said.

"It has been translated into English but it is still Japanese."

I asked what she meant and she explained that while the words were now English it had a lack of cynicism that just didn't make it sound English at all.

Now a travel pamphlet is one of the least cynical documents you can find in English (or any language, presumably). Its job is to make the place you are visiting seem wonderful and to tell you all the good, happy things about it. It is less cynical than advertising (which often tries to be hard-edged and "cool"). It is less cynical than song lyrics, or most entertainment. It is just about the most inoffensive kind of writing you can find, and deliberately so.

But I knew exactly what she meant. Cynicism has so deeply permeated modern English that it seeps through everything. A travel pamphlet translated from Japanese that hasn't been "hardened up" quite a lot seems far too soft and uncynical to sound "right" to a modern English speaker's ear.

That is why I avoid English-language popular culture, and can't empathize with it even when I do encounter it. It isn't just about criticizing bad things. It is about a whole deeply-ingrained culture of cynicism and harshness.

Now by having said this, it is clear that I am not representative of Western popular culture. I don't like it. I never have liked it. So I probably shouldn't have joined this particular discussion at all. It is a discussion of Japanese culture by Western people from the point of view of Western tastes and attitudes. And that is natural. People do discuss things from their own group point of view. Why wouldn't they?

I just really don't share those tastes and attitudes. So it isn't a discussion I should ever have become involved in.

I don't expect anyone to agree with me. In fact I knew nobody would. Which is another reason I should not have said anything. I am a doll, and no one really thinks like a doll, not even Japanese people.

I am sure most Western people don't find their own culture harsh and soul-abrasive. They are happy with it, or if they aren't happy with it, that isn't the aspect that bothers them (or if it does, they aren't aware of it).

And now I have said far more than I should have in explaining why I should not have said anything, to people who will not agree with or like a word I say.

So I am not just a doll, I am a silly doll.

CureDolly Wrote:Thank you Cophinia-san.

I do understand and respect your point of view, even though I don't share it. Whatever effect satire may or may not have on the social situation, I am afraid I just don't like it, and I am not convinced that the generally cynical and hostile atmosphere it generates really improves much or makes people any happier.

It is not necessary to be cynical or disrespectful or coarse in order to criticize things that are wrong. Slavery is a very good example. Many, many people, such as Williiam Wilberforce and the Grimke Sisters criticized slavery. So did African Americans like Absalom Jones and Alexander Crummel and as a result of their efforts and many others it was ended, but none of them ever did so in a cynical or coarse manner. Neither did they advocate cynical and harsh mockery or coarse speech as entertainment.

That is a matter of taste. And taste and style is what I was talking about, not "issues".

To indicate what I do think, I will tell you a little story:

A friend of mine, a translator who lives in Japan mentioned a travel pamphlet to me. She said.

"It has been translated into English but it is still Japanese."

I asked what she meant and she explained that while the words were now English it had a lack of cynicism that just didn't make it sound English at all.

Now a travel pamphlet is one of the least cynical documents you can find in English (or any language, presumably). Its job is to make the place you are visiting seem wonderful and to tell you all the good, happy things about it. It is less cynical than advertising (which often tries to be hard-edged and "cool"). It is less cynical than song lyrics, or most entertainment. It is just about the most inoffensive kind of writing you can find, and deliberately so.

But I knew exactly what she meant. Cynicism has so deeply permeated modern English that it seeps through everything. A travel pamphlet translated from Japanese that hasn't been "hardened up" quite a lot seems far too soft and uncynical to sound "right" to a modern English speaker's ear.

That is why I avoid English-language popular culture, and can't empathize with it even when I do encounter it. It isn't just about criticizing bad things. It is about a whole deeply-ingrained culture of cynicism and harshness.

Now by having said this, it is clear that I am not representative of Western popular culture. I don't like it. I never have liked it. So I probably shouldn't have joined this particular discussion at all. It is a discussion of Japanese culture by Western people from the point of view of Western tastes and attitudes. And that is natural. People do discuss things from their own group point of view. Why wouldn't they?

I just really don't share those tastes and attitudes. So it isn't a discussion I should ever have become involved in.

I don't expect anyone to agree with me. In fact I knew nobody would. Which is another reason I should not have said anything. I am a doll, and no one really thinks like a doll, not even Japanese people.

I am sure most Western people don't find their own culture harsh and soul-abrasive. They are happy with it, or if they aren't happy with it, that isn't the aspect that bothers them (or if it does, they aren't aware of it).

And now I have said far more than I should have in explaining why I should not have said anything, to people who will not agree with or like a word I say.

So I am not just a doll, I am a silly doll.

No, I think I understand what you mean and I think you have done a good thing by partecipating in this thread! I understand satire is a controversial question because of what you said. Also satire, if done the wrong way, could misinforme instead of informe. Obviously this is not satire for me but just a tendency to criticize everything with lot of bad language just to seem transgressive.

So let's put apart satire and change the topic to a more general "critical thinking":

1) Japanese culture, as in every society, is not perfect;
2) In order to improve itself, a society (that is, an organized group of people) must be able to identify its own issues;
3) Obviously Japan, as every society, has this capability and has exercised / exercise it;
4) Be 3) not true, there would be no improvement in Japanese society, but evidence shows there is;
5) Considered Japanese society develops as other societies do, this is no by magic but because people thinks about issues and find solutions;
6) To find solutions about issues you must discute them;

So in the light of what I said, I'm sure those debates are not confined to newspapers and political interviews, but even young people use to discuss those issues from time to time (maybe not in a satyrical way, but still in a critical way, where for critical I means "this things are ok but could still be better, let's politely talk about how to improve them"), and knowing many young people use internet, I wonder where can I read discussions like those?

For example I don't believe there are no young people out there discussing about the fact that to find employement is more difficult for women. In fact a couple of days ago I've seen a clip on youtube where a canadian girl who lives in Japan asked to a Japanse girl about what she wants to change of japanese society and she said she wants things to be easier for women about the employement thing. Other criticize the actual political gestion of the city, and so on.

But it was a very "superficial" thing, I want to read more critical discussions about those topics

Thank you again, Cophinia-san. I don't think we are in disagreement at all!

I confess I don't have very strong views about political issues (most dolls don't), but what you say sounds reasonable to me.

As far as I know one of the founding fathers in the 19th century of manga published a lot of satire.
Don't ask me names, though.

But I would also like to add that I'm often a bit annoyed by the almost unilateral positive way in which people in YT video's talk about Japan, as if nothing's wrong there.
There is one guy, though, who publishes his (very short) video's on the channel Arrgh Garry, and I think yu can see a lot of real Japan in his video's, provided you are willing to look. Although he never explicitly says that something's wrong, you often can feel it.

And I would also like to add that as long as you aren't able of reading and understanding another language, it's very difficult to pick up the negative signals. But for Arrgh Garry you don't need to, because his vid's are all in English -and almost nobody watches them.

PMotte Wrote:As far as I know one of the founding fathers in the 19th century of manga published a lot of satire.
Don't ask me names, though.

But I would also like to add that I'm often a bit annoyed by the almost unilateral positive way in which people in YT video's talk about Japan, as if nothing's wrong there.
There is one guy, though, who publishes his (very short) video's on the channel Arrgh Garry, and I think yu can see a lot of real Japan in his video's, provided you are willing to look. Although he never explicitly says that something's wrong, you often can feel it.

And I would also like to add that as long as you aren't able of reading and understanding another language, it's very difficult to pick up the negative signals. But for Arrgh Garry you don't need to, because his vid's are all in English -and almost nobody watches them.

Thank you PMotte, I will definitely look at Arrgh Garry!

CureDolly Wrote:Thank you again, Cophinia-san. I don't think we are in disagreement at all!

I confess I don't have very strong views about political issues (most dolls don't), but what you say sounds reasonable to me.

Sorry if I insist but, do you actually live or have you lived in Japan? There's nothing of Japanese society that bothers you? This exact moment I'm reading your site presentation and I see that for you "kawaii" is really a "state of mind".
I like very much the things you have written on the site introduction, even I like those aspects of Japan.
Exactly for that same reason I am concerned about this: isn't it like all the "kawaii" thing is mostly a superficial and formal one? Is japanese society "kawaii" in its innermost essence?
For example the "idol" thing I brought before, it is indeed kawaii but then you read about a 17 years old girl which was sexually molested by a manager in exchange for her to enter the idol group, and she was like "I'm innocent and pure" all the time until she graduated from the group, and not much time after this she decided to do a porn movie. If satire is vulgar and rude, then reality sometime is even more vulgar and rude.

Who doesn't like pureness and wisdom? But only if it's not a facade thing. True wisdom is beyond what eyes can see, and I don't doubt Japan is full of it! But as I just said, it is far from being an utopian reality, so there is always space for improvement! Also the fact you love "kawaii" so much must be an incentive to think more about the ways Japanese society can became even more "kawaii". It's not political thinking in the way media intend it, it's just thinking and we all do this, and I think it's a good thing and even japanese people do it, nothing to feel ashamed of, or to escape as it would undermine the japanese society depriving it from its kawaiiness!

Just my 5 cents and not intention to keep you in a conversation you don't want to take part in! But I feel obliged to answer, but feel free to ignore my message!

Also I'm reading your last blog post and I love it! Great work with your site!

I must add, one is free to just ignore this part of reality (all absolutely not-kawaii aspects of Japan) but this doesn't make them less true