r/AskAJapanese

Like how safe is it in Japan and how toxic is the work culture for someone whose queer?

Hey guys! I have been a little curious so far about how Japanese people naturally think about their own names. I’m a writer, and I’ve been trying to learn more about Japanese culture so I can write a Japanese character’s POV more naturally. Recently, though, I’ve run into something I’m not quite sure about during my practices. In your everyday life, what feels more natural after being addressed with it for so long? Your first or last name? Which is more natural and the most personal to you?

The reason this came up is because I am confused about it in general. From what I understand, people in Japan often address others by their family name, especially if they aren’t particularly close. Whereas their given names are more commonly used by family members, close friends, or people you have a more personal relationship with. Because of that, it made me wonder how this affects the way you think about your own name.

For example, since I am an American, and people always called me using my first name for as long as I remembered, it became more natural for me to use my first name when introducing myself such as "Hi, my name is Alex.". The name used isn't my real name, just a placeholder example. So yeah, how does it work for you guys? For example, if someone asked, “What’s your name?” what would naturally come to mind first? What feels more natural to you? Would you think of your family name because that’s what many people call you in everyday life? Or does your given name feel more personally like your first name, even if fewer people actually call you by it?

I’m also curious about writing a character’s internal thoughts. If a Japanese character were thinking about themselves or their identity, would their given name generally feel more personal to them, or is that not really how Japanese people think about their names at all? I know this probably varies depending on the person, age, setting, and relationships, so I’d especially like to hear about your personal experience rather than just the formal rules around Japanese names.

Thank you!

I never traveled to Nihon, but I love Japanese culture(more than just manga/anime), but in many creative works the sects appears, do you belive Nihon have a problem with sects? and why?

EDIT: I'm talking about cults/ dangerous religious groups

I'm going to travel to Japan and I understand Japan is the home of many bespoke/formal/artisan otaku. It is sort of similar to the United Kingdom's production of high quality goods. Is there any place that has a lot of specialty or formal clothing and item shops? Thanks.

There were any cases? I've had that question...

I always notice that there are countries in the developed world with young populations looking to immigrate—like Spain or South Korea, where many people live abroad—but how many average Japanese people actually want to leave Japan? Especially with the economy not at its best.

I’m not sure if this counts as a taboo or not.

Is there a lot of stigma towards it?

When I was on a vacation to Japan last year, I noticed that Italian and Thai restaurants were quite common. So it seems like those were pretty popular options.

What non-Japanese foods do Japanese people generally enjoy? Or just one that you personally enjoy.

So I was shopping and saw a cooler on a case of beer. I've bought this brand before and they have had freebies before like koozies. I debated taking the case with the cooler. I ultimately took it and bought the beer. No one stopped me but now I'm curious if I fudged up. I Googled but all the answers were AI pulling from websites and those websites were ebay and Amazon, so not sure if those are the best sources. But the synopsis said that it's common that stores do this and it's called "omake." Is this true?

usually in the west it’s understood that becoming famous comes at the cost of your privacy (depending on how famous you are) and fans will come up to you asking for a picture. is it okay as a fan to go up to a celebrity in japan and talk to them and ask for pictures?

If anyone has any interesting facts about Japan and it’s history that you think are mostly unknown, I’d love to hear.

Hello I'm Mike I'm a student living in Japan for an undergraduate degree. My question is why do Japanese women often like to date foreign men regardless of the language barrier?. Like sometimes they don't understand each other but the idea of someone being tall muscular or even foreign seems to interest them a lot. I have a friend She's Japanese and I speak Japanese with her a lot and We often talk about love and types and for sure I know that her type is blue eyes tall biceps guy because she talks about it so much when we hangout. The main problem is she can't speak English very well even tho she practices a lot and tends to escape Japanese when she's talking to foreigners as well. I don't see the comparison or compatibility to her and foreigners that don't speak Japanese. I mean sure there are some people that do speak Japanese but that's less than a few thousand foreigners living in Japan.

One other aspect of it is maybe because I tried countless times to find a date in Japan but failed 😛 🗿 is it because they prefer another country not particularly Asian? but European or American?

Hey everyone. I’m doing my undergrad in Kuala Lumpur currently however since the climate here is so horrible I can’t bring over my dog . I kind of miss him as well since he’s 8 now and I kind of want to be there with him in his final years too. I’ve thought of doing a year in Japan and bring him over since Japan has 4 seasons like Istanbul and climate is perfect for dogs except summer . However I’m kind of worried how I would be seen there. Would people see me as the same way we Turks see Syrians/Afghans in Turkey? How are Turks seen there? I’ve been to Japan by the way . Just returned 2 weeks ago . I also know Japan is very dog friendly

I am curious as to how your opinion of America has shifted in the past 15 years. Has it gotten worse, better, or about the same?

この15年間で、アメリカに対する印象がどう変わったのか気になります。以前より良くなりましたか？悪くなりましたか？それとも、あまり変わっていませんか？

Hey all I'll be hosting a Japanese student for the school year. I'd like to make her a little welcome basket with possibly some things she'll be familiar with but I have No clue what to include. Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated

I’m half British and half Japanese, and I was born and raised in Japan. I now (sadly!) live in London, but I come home every year to visit my family, who recently moved from Tokyo to Kyoto.

I recently married my Italian husband, and we’re back in Japan visiting family this month. This time, I’ve noticed much more tension when we enter places together, particularly restaurants. We’re often immediately perceived as “foreign tourists,” and we’ve received quite a few looks—and occasionally comments—about “these foreigners.” Even when I speak Japanese, I feel much more quickly “othered” than I used to.

I completely understand the frustration surrounding overtourism and have a lot of sympathy for local residents. I know how easily the balance and atmosphere of a place can be disrupted. At the same time, the shift feels quite noticeable and, honestly, a little sad.

Has anyone else felt this tension more strongly over the past year or so? I’m especially interested in hearing from Japanese people and long-term foreign residents who are familiar with the subtle social cues and body language here. I’m curious whether others have noticed a genuine change, or whether it may simply be more apparent to me on this particular trip.

———

私はイギリス人と日本人のハーフで、日本で生まれ育ちました。今は（残念ながら！）ロンドンに住んでいますが、毎年家族に会いに日本へ帰ってきています。両親は最近、東京から京都に引っ越しました。

先日イタリア人の夫と結婚し、今月は二人で家族に会いに日本へ来ています。ただ今回、夫と一緒にレストランなどに入ると、以前よりも少しピリッとした空気を感じることが増えました。最初から「外国人観光客」とひとくくりに見られているように感じることが多く、視線を感じたり、ときには「この外国人たちは……」というような言葉が聞こえてきたりすることもあります。私が日本語を話しても、以前よりすぐに「外国人」「よそ者」として見られてしまう気がします。

もちろん、オーバーツーリズムに対する地元の方々の不満はよく分かります。観光客が急激に増えることで、その土地のバランスや雰囲気が崩れてしまうことも理解しています。それでも、以前とは少し空気が変わったように感じて、正直ちょっと寂しくなりました。

この1年ほどで、同じような変化を感じた方はいらっしゃいますか？ 特に、日本人の方や、日本に長く住んでいて、その場の空気や微妙な表情、仕草などに慣れている外国人の方の意見を聞いてみたいです。

本当に社会の空気が変わってきているのか、それとも今回の滞在でたまたま私がそう感じただけなのか、皆さんの体験を聞かせていただけたら嬉しいです。

Apologies if this question doesn't qualify. Ever since Zohran's win in New York City last year, the Dem party voter base has been ousting long term representatives with more progressive Dem candidates and even self identifying socialists. This has been happening in elections across the US this year.

Alot of the US media is comparing this to the Tea Party Movement that the Republican party had in 2009. However, the Tea Party Movement was heavily astro turfed as it was funded and supported by the Coke brothers, whereas the progressive candidates running across the country are grassroots campaigns with messaging about not taking corporate money as well as getting money out of politics. These messages are resonating with the voter base as they are looking for new leadership after the last decade of failures among the Democrat party.

What are your thoughts on this insurgence? Is there anything politically in Japan that's happening or has happened that you would compare it to?

Ciao. Let me go straight to the topic.

Modern world is vast. And with many popular technology and possibility that came along with this globalization, at least.

I’ve met few people from Japan living in Italy and running their own business. That most of the time it is something tipical japanese.
Those people now already have kids. Mostly among the japanese couple or with an italian person. Either way. Some of them, may be the majority, it is choosing for their kids language tuition to not even speaking at home and teaching them japanese any more. As their business in Italy and life it is florid. So kids could be way more competitive and concentrate on lenguages and other materia teached in italian schools.

But, as many many italian does, when those kids will travel alone to visit Japan as tourist.

How would you react to a japanese looking that don’t know japanese language?