Comments by "Razear" (@Razear) on "What's Considered Rude in Japan? (The Japanese Elderly Perspective) | Street Interview" video.

  1. Is it really "polite" to assume everything your teachers/parents say is right, or is that more so having to obey authority because of filial piety? I'm not sure it would be considered polite to take an authority figure's word as gospel if you know they're wrong but are too afraid to speak up. There's a fine line between being unnecessarily rebellious vs having a healthy degree of skepticism. "And if the other party is late, I'll wait for 30 minutes." But shouldn't the expectation of being punctual be reciprocated? If the person you're meeting is a half hr late, what does that say about their character for you to accommodate and dismiss their tardiness? Japan is the pinnacle of a high-trust society. If everyone collectively agrees to abstain from littering, then those who do litter will automatically be seen as deviant. But in many other places, there is no sense of communal trust, so people just behave in ways that serve their individual needs without considering the consequences of their actions on others. Smartphone addiction is a generational problem, not a Japanese problem, and there doesn't seem to be an antidote for it now that the tech has become widely adopted, at least when it comes to adults. The best thing a parent could do to curb this early is by restricting smartphone use until their kids become teens, at minimum. "I try not to look around and judge other people's behaviors." That's a luxury that only a country like Japan can afford, unfortunately. There are a lot of malicious actors in this world who actively prey on the vulnerable like the elderly. Gotta be acutely aware of your surroundings if you don't want to be rendered an easy target.
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