Why is Japan so Peaceful? (A Foreigner's Voluntaryist View)
I recently was directed to a Facebook thread
in a page I follow which posed the question:
An interesting conversation ensued in the comments section, and a lot of really pertinent points were raised. I wanted to add my 2 yen as a foreigner and voluntaryist who has been living here for over 7 years now.
As far as violent crimes go, Japan is comparatively, and even remarkably, peaceful, as compared to other places in the world. Here's why I think this is so:
CULTURE in general (even prior to industrialization/westernization)
- GENUINE MINDFULNESS OF/CARE FOR OTHERS
- FAMILY HONOR
- PLACING "WA," OR HARMONY HIGH ON THE VALUE SCALE
- FEAR / SHAME
- NON-VIOLENCE AS THE "ONLY OPTION"
Please enjoy the video above, and let me know what you think, in the comments!
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)
Random uninformed opinion incoming:
Can I say that their culture of politeness is strict and allows broad scope for people to issue a correction with the offender normally first apologising for their behaviour and thanking the corrector.
Since the politeness and behaviour expected is so far away from violence that anybody tending towards violence very quickly spotted.
That's an interesting perspective and I think you may be onto something there, honestly. That dynamic is so far-removed from violence that it likely creates a kind of mental "wall" "limiting" what can be viewed as possible responses.
I had a similar impression of Japan when I lived there. The only thieves or violent criminals are the truly deviant people, including the yakuza (gangsters) and the bosozoku (youth bike gangs, often the children of yakuza).
Apart from those groups, one is in almost no danger of having anything stolen or of being a victim of any violence.
Even the yakuza and bosozoku will generally leave you alone. And the only time I or my friends had any confrontations with them, there was more bluster and shouting and tough-boy posturing than any danger.
The other danger is from the occasional sociopath / psychopath. But even they are usually not malicious or malevolent. They're just sick.
(An interesting note: When I lived in Singapore, some of my office mates were Japanese women. They told me that they felt safer in Singapore than in Japan. Primarily because there is that small percentage of Japanese psychopath that just might be lurking somewhere in the dark.)
Really interesting about the Japanese women in Singapore. Thanks for your engaging commentary. Really enjoyed reading this and agree with pretty much everything you've written. Cheers!
I always say Japan is very safe for men (particularly adults), but much less so for women/girls. Know lots of people who have been harassed/assaulted.
Right. Now that I read that, I realize that is probably so.
Even if it's not actually "dangerous" for women, it is in many ways unpleasant. Think of all the chikan and hentai scumballs, and the soft porn in comic books for young boys.
Definitely not a society in which women would feel safe and secure.
@kafkanarchy84 Yeah Japan is on the 5th rank among peaceful asian countries. National constitution is playing a great role in this matter.
HEy japan A PAkistani would come to you in future :D haha :D surely :D
Hey Graham, CJ here. I first want to congratulate you on your completion of your first marathon (I meant to on Tuesday, but forgot). It is honestly very inspiring, and I was moved to tears reading your final post about it. Thanks for sharing that with us.
Regarding the topic at hand, I'm surprised no one brought up the issue I've seen mentioned a lot during discussions of violence in the US compared to other countries, which is homogeneity.
I think it's much easier for people to get along in places that have cultural homogeneity versus the huge amount of diversity in the US. The wide range of different cultures and ethnicities present in many American cities is a double edged sword, with the benefit of diversity and the drawback of lots of conflict and distrust between different groups of people. Most small cities and towns in the US with more homogeneous populations are quite safe. It's the big cities where crime becomes common due to people having less respect for those outside their ethnic or cultural group, among other factors including broken homes and the teen parent rate, which is much higher than in Japan. Kids from these backgrounds are less likely to learn good values.
Add to that the much stricter immigration policies of Japan, usually only accepting highly skilled workers, compared to the many poorer low skilled workers that come to the US, Latinos and others, whose kids grow up in ghettoes, furthering the group mentality.
Scandinavian countries that have also been very homogeneous and known for being safe are now rife with violence between natives and what they view as Muslim immigrants "invading" their country and culture.
Having gun ownership or not has nothing to do with violence rates compared to all these other factors.
People typically are peaceful with those they see as being in their in-group. I've heard from acquaintances who are foreigners in Japan that they get treated like shit at their workplace oftentimes. It would be interesting to see how peaceful many Japanese would be if some other ethnic groups moved there in large numbers and were "invading and taking over their country." From what I've heard, they have a lot of ethnic pride, similar to Scandinavians. And if dark skinned people started moving there? Forget about it.
Sucks to hear how strict they are with drugs. Having grown up with a strict Filipino mom though, I'm not surprised. As a side note, I've been told that some other Asian groups don't see Filipinos as Asian because of their Spanish blood, thanks to centuries of Empire. But I digress.
I have more thoughts on this but this comment is already long enough, haha.
Keep it real!
Hey man. Great to see you on here.
I definitely agree that homogeneity often helps to minimize conflict. The caveat I would put on that, though, is that (as I am sure we both agree) forced inclusion and forced exclusion (via statism/borders/state violence) are illegitimate.
I think that there could definitely be (and that there already are) very multicultural societies that are able to exist in relative peace, but that when the state forces people to "intergrate" or to stay away, based on non-private property-based "laws," everybody loses.
Individualists know that if principles are shared, private property is respected, and association is neither forced nor prohibited, there can be peaceful societies of all types--homogenous or otherwise.
It is largely the statist potato types that are not able to handle individuals not of their own cultural background, but again, there is absolutely nothing or illegitimate or wrong about preferring to associate with one's own culture, either, even exclusively. The problem is when the state ignores private property and attempts to force this, or prohibit it.
It's a tough issue. But pretty simply solved if everything is privatized. One example that stands out to me, though, is the south side of Chicago. In many ways quite homogenous, and still one of the most dangerous places in the world, regarding homicides.
Hope we can talk about this more soon.
You too!
Great post, Japan is really a different world, the mix between traditionnal way and modern way create an unique environnement. Definitively a peaceful country.
@originalworks
Being a visitor to Japan several times, I always enjoyed the peaceful and politeness of the culture. I think though that you forgot to include 'deterrence' (which affects honor I suppose) as a contributor to that lack of crime statistic. Now discrimination, that is another topic of discussion.
Yes Japan is ranked 5 th most peaceful country in world..the people of this country may be very proud for this....when you love all the people ,respect every one....there will be no violence ....and the country become very peaceful....
Yes, of course the the situation of a country depends upon the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of the public from certain angle.. It is not possible to fulfil all the needs and demands of those citizens within a short period of time.. of a particular govement.If we wait patiently instead of creating any violent situation, then the peace of that country will exist and Govement will take the time to judge the situation... May be Japanese people, so choose non-violence to get a peaceful country... Beside those of the good quality "care for others "is also an important factor to continue the bond between each and every people of the country..." Unity is a great power"..Thanks for your post taking your lovely country..
@kafkanarchy84 Excellent, follow up . Thank you very much