Hearted Youtube comments on The Japan Reporter (@TheJapanReporter) channel.

  1. This is a really great video, and I someone living in Japan with a few American Japanese friends I found it really interesting. I wish there were Japanese subtitles for this video because I think a lot of Japanese people need to see this to help them understand this issue.
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  2. Just wanna say thank you to Nobita for introducing us to her sister Akane. She seems like a lovely lady and you can tell she's very kind and friendly 😊
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  3. The work situation is the other way around at my home. My company switched to telework and my husbands is on forced holiday for over a month now. We did not fight once and naturally found a balance between work and each other’s private time. My husband is Japanese btw. It sounds harsh but maybe those complaining wife’s should be a LITTLE more grateful for their husbands being able to work from home and not having to go out and risk getting infected wich in return would affect the whole family....
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  4. Young people these days have more entertainment options, they would rather prefer playing games or browsing the Web for stress relief than drinking alcohol for fun. I have seen what alcohol does to a person and it is not nice. My dad used to always get drunk and then fight with my mum, I hate alcohol for that reason.
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  5. A very reasonable list. I enjoyed Nobita roasting immature women. The closest western equivalent would be some women acting dumb and helpless to try to not come off intimidating. It's just annoying.
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  6. Ai is such an intersting area. I do look forward to seeing how they advance its memory and data gathering system. The memory is what makes it feel so human.
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  7. I treat entering the marriage world as a phase of being selfless for both sides. There's no point to get married if even one side is being selfish (as in keeping the lifestyle when they were unmarried). I supposed that's one of the reasons why divorce rate is low in my society.
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  8. I've followed Chris for years and what kept me tuned into his content is his respect, understanding, and consistency and continual improvement in his videos. He is well spoken and also has many interesting video topics which makes you curious to click his videos despite it being something that initially may seem uninteresting.
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  9. Sadly it's easy money, and becomes more or less an addiction. Same goes with women who uses OF. But it's a great viewpoint and video you made there Nobita. Keep up the good work. ^^
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  10. Something interesting to note is that, as a Brit, I always recognised Connor's 'Japanese-esque' formalities that you pointed out in this video as British cultural habits. Of course, British people are not like this informally, but I find my peers and I often sell ourselves short and apologise excessively to strangers or superiors.
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  11. The problem is that this can easily become a vicious cycle: the people who feel that they're being selfless and helpful by having fewer kids so they can focus on caring for their older relatives are in turn setting up a situation where there will be fewer people to share the load when they get older and need care.
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  12. This video actually came at such a perfect time for me as I just visited Japan again for the first time since I was a small child. Any time I had to show my passport while in Japan I was terrified I would be “found out” as being both nationalities. The fear is very much there
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  13. It’s very common in Germany to have linguistic speciallized doctors help kids with this. Most forms are treatable with speech therapy. The most complicated ones are the ones with neurological components.. it’s often not worth taking the meds just for getting rid of a stutter.. sideffects can be pretty bad.. especially long term.. I can very well attest to that taking epilepsy meds forever.. but there is a multitude of speech impairments. It’s really disappointing to see how Japanese society handles it. From my point of view it’s shameful and backwards. You should have empathy and help rather than ignore or turn away. “Smiling does not solve problems.” That’s a good proverb my grandpa thaught me. But I think that might be difficult to apply with how different Japanese body language is..
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  14. I would like to hear what the elderly say about the situation. Many elderly do want their kids to get married and have children. Are the elderly aware of the problem or are the kids hiding how much they sacrifice to take care of them?
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  15. As an outsider looking in, one of the saddest aspects of this issue is that Japan has so much to offer in terms of social resources, quality of life, a mix of rural spaces and cities, affordable housing in certain areas, amazing culture, food, etc...The only real "problem" seems to be fear of the unknown.
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  16. I really wanna get in touch with these lonely people......
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  17. Japan has suffered many things in its life time, world wars, famines, earthquakes and tsunamis, invasions from other countries, etc. I am confident that with their incredible sense of community to bond together they will be able to overcome this problem too.
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  18. Japan isnt racist. i am basically bl4ck, and lived in the country side with a japanese family for a long time. I was taken in as family and the outer society, because I actually LEARNT the culture and language, and therefore showed my respect. Japan wants to preserve its culture, and as a foreignor, I beg the japanese to continue to do so. None of these things are racist at all!
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  19. As much as I understand how the father feel, I can also fully understand the daughter.. the system forced her into this situation.. props to her for having goals with studying abroad in spite of her family's financial situation.
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  20. I'm originally from the UK but my wife is Chinese. I speak enough to get by but can struggle a bit in group conversations with lots of people talking at once. While you do get comments like "哇，你说的中文真好!" (Wow, you speak Chinese really well) for even basic communication, my experience is most people are happy simply because they can communicate with you. It isn't very common for foreigners to put in the time and effort to really learn such a different language so of course they are surprised. So am I when I find another foreigner who speaks Chinese well!
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  21. Thank you Nobita, for bringing up this topic. It is really interesting to see different cultural perspectives. Upon seeing the woman you interviewed saying that she won't consider divorce until her child gets to college, I couldn't help but think of seeing my own parents, in a loveless marriage. And then you interviewed someone in an almost identical situation to mine. I asked my father, when I was 7-9 years old(can't remember exact age) why he was with my mother, because they fought so much. His reply was "we're together because of you." That's a really destructive burden to put on a child. My mother ended up having an affair, which I discovered when I was 13, my parents separated and divorced by the time I was 15. Don't stay together for "the children", we already know that your relationship is fucked. It's far better to split and teach your child about healthy relationships, as those lessons unfortunately carry into adulthood for the child.
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  22. All my respect to you for having the courage to make these videos! Especially because Japan is the all mighty country for many people nowadays. As you said, there are more reasons to move to Japan than not to move here. I totally agree!^^ Basically, if someone doesn't mind that they'll constantly have the sense of 'not belonging here completely/lonely/no one to talk to properly' or having no problems living in a relationship where most conflicts are solved by the 'we're not talking about these things' statement because you should be able to learn everything by observation (maybe in between locals it can work - not always, but cultural differences are way too big for this), then everything is fine. In exchange, there are tons of other stuff to enjoy and discover.^^
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  23. Nobita's documentary making skills are getting better! The documentary was well paced and very informative and it covered a lot of different perspectives!
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  24. Thank you for interviewing me Nobita san. 😊 I'm more carefull of using the word 'Gaijin' because I know the word can be very offensive. I never thought about it when I was using that word. But I now try to use 'gaikoku jin' Any way, you did a great work interviewing so many people..! I hope we keep learning and try to understand each other's differences!🙏😊
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  25. Big No, thanks. Building a healthy relationship is much more rewarding for everyone than just taking a chance with someone that's seeing countless other men everyday, it will also create a horrible mental habit and toll, aside from STDs and/or scams, which then contributes even more into the societal cycle of relationships failing... the snake bites its own tail and will even blame the bird instead. Not everything has to be advertised (this is how I low key felt it) and making it appealing. Of course, the quick warning will keep some on their toes for whoever partakes in this.
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  26. Please do everything to aim this kind of documentary to Japanese eyes, the Japanese public needs to see this kind of information because it's one more way to change minds, educate and have a better understanding of the whole situation and what can be done about it 🙏🏽 I hope things will get better for Japan, I want to believe that people will overcome their fears and take a step forward to improve everything 🙌🏽 personally I will have kids, not yet but I'm determined to have small versions of me and my partner to enjoy life with 🌞 life is funnier when it's shared with more people to love 😇
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  27. If you're a foreigner in any country visiting or living in what do you expect there's always some people that will treat you like an outsider it is what it is.
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  28. Living in Japan for almost 20 years now. I have encountered similar situations as being talked about in the video but not often. A lot has to do with your own attitude. Many people seem to see things as racism although I think in the majority of the cases is just ignorance. You will always be treated different here because you are a foreigner. Foreigners only make out 2.2% of the total population. No matter if you're fluent in Japanese or have a Japanese spouse with kids, you are different plus the fact that Japan is faaar from a multicultural society. 75% of the time I get treated with respect and people are very nice and helpful. the other 25% I just don't care about. Sounds like in any other country doesn't it? with the difference of the only 2,2% foreign citizens
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  29. To begin with, the birth of two or more children to a couple has not changed for more than 40 years. The problem is that the negative spiral continues, with more young people not wanting to marry and fewer future fathers and mothers due to population decline. Moreover, Japanese women continue to work due to the labor shortage. Single women do not even have the energy to look for attractive men because the probability is high that a man with a higher income than her is already married.
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  30. I think this a general Asian thing, and not limited to Japan.
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  31. As a German, Im disapointed in the japanese youth, I thought we still had some Things in Common 😢 Jokes aside Alkohol is Just Like chocolate a Thing that should be enjoyed and not overly consumed. It's a good direction, keep it up 👍
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  32. I’m Japanese Canadian, and have similar experiences to Chika and Barrett. Great video Nobita! ✌🏻
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  33. 1) The term "hikikomori" encompasses a wide range of traumas---in the West, these may be divided into terms such as "Burnout" (workplace), PTSD (violence Trauma), school-related-trauma,....etc.... Both ways of framing issues of trauma might be insightful---the western framing separates by cause, the eastern framing emphasizes a behavior resulting from trauma. 2) Biochemistry also plays a part. It is our biochemistry that controls our moods, energy levels...etc. When these get out of whack....the "mind" can come up with reasons to make sense of it---because it is what our mental reasoning always wants to do. ....so, stress is not just a mental issue---it creates a cycle of changes in our biochemistry that then effects our emotions and body.... 3) some schools in the west are trying to implement "trauma-informed-practices"....that is, training adults to deal with children's behavior issues in a trauma-sensitive manner and understanding the role of triggers....etc....Maybe....Children can then also learn how to understand and deal with trauma behaviors of themselves as well as others making them more compassionate human beings? 4) All the interviewees were insightful. I agree with the lady (Rei Kato) in the video....moving forward, I think people/hikikomori who have experience with trauma can become a big asset in advising the new structure of society as we begin to adjust to our new social reality of dealing with health issues that easily cross borders and a technology-assisted lifestyle.....?..... I remember when covid first started---netizens were seeking advice from those who suffer from various degrees of mysophobia (phobia of germs)..... In any case---a society that caters only to the neurotypical is discriminatory and prejudicial. A "good" society/community/nation should care for and be compassionate towards a diversity of non-neurotypical lifestyles and perspectives....?......to do so requires the input and advise of those who are non-neurotypical. 5) 8050---I wonder if there is a relation between powerhara of the economic boom and bubble economy era and karoshi /hikikomori/burnout?
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  34. Socialising in general is hard, most of my social circle are hitting 60-80 hours at work. I get to see my close friends, once a month currently, so meeting new people isn’t ever considered.
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  35. Early Happy Father’s days to those single dad’s in Japan!
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  36. I'm 34 and I have ASD, growing up with Aspergers has been very difficult and making friends is also hard for me. If Rei would like to chat and be friends that would be great 🤝.
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  37. Why last? I loved every single video in this series. Please reconsider.
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  38. i really love seeing all these different views form different kinds of people.
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  39. I think the feeling of isolation has become more and more prevalent in our world and seems to be getting worse with the latest trends. Instead of thinking, "I don't want to burden someone else with my problems" you should instead think, "I want to continue to improve myself with the help of others who also want to do the same thing as me". We need to reach out to others and stop neglecting ourselves.
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  40. Thank you for discussing another interesting topic Nobita-san. Unfortunately youth poverty is a huge problem. Btw I'm glad to see Meru-san after a long time. Hope she's doing well. Keep up the good work👍
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  41. Great nuance on hard conversations as usual Nobita, always a pleasure
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  42. I was in Japan as an American (Middle Eastern race). I was never discriminated against. In fact, everyone I encountered were super friendly and helpful. Every single one. When I was with my Japanese girlfriend, no one looked at us weirdly for being a mixed race couple. When I was on my own and needed help, everyone I asked were extremely friendly. One time I was in the middle of a busy street and I had to use the restroom and couldn't find anywhere so I asked a Japanese guy who didn't speak English. Through some universal sign language though, he understood what I meant and he walked me into a 7 floor building and took me personally to the rest room and bowed. So I bowed. And he would have none of it. He bowed again, bowing deeper. So I bowed again, deeper. Then he still wouldn't have it and bowed again even deeper. Then I said thanks man and gave him a hug. Random encounter that I will never forget for the rest of my life. Japan is not racist. In fact it is the friendliest country I have ever been to.
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  43. Nobita san, thank you for interviewing her. She's very strong and beautiful inside out😊 I wish her lots of happiness🙏✨
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  44. Wow, what a wonderful young lady. I like the way she thinks.
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  45. Love your accent man , while it sounds authentic Japanese you're still easy to understand .
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  46. This is so sad what's happening in Japan but thanks to this topic, we became aware of it
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  47. Nobita-san, thank you for shedding light on this topic. Please, can you make another video with the perspective of men, who are in a sexless marriage. It would be very interesting to understand their views on that matter.
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  48. Awesome video, Nobita. Loving hearing and seeing and understanding more of the Japanese people. Also Dating in Japan is more about personality and more about trying understand one and other. Love Japan as well
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  49. Asians: i want bigger eyes! Rest of the world: but we like them like that 😞
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  50. This is a brilliant video and very helpful. I am marrying my Japanese girlfriend in Japan very soon. I live in the UK. We are both Christians and we will live in Japan. I recently said to my fiance that Japan needs more Christianity and more Samauri! Everyone that I have spoken to who have visited Japan say how amazing it is. I am very much looking forwards to living there. God bless Japan🙏
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