Comments on Never Stop Dreaming: What makes USA different from Japan?

@Anonymous, it's interesting to read your views on...

2009-10-23T23:23:19.811+09:00

@Anonymous, it's interesting to read your views on prevailing consumer rights in both countries.

@IvanGroznyIV, I agree with you that Japan was never meant to be an immigrant society, and has trouble dealing with non-Japanese immigrants even now. Thanks for sharing your opinion on the two societies which despite being so identical (from developmental point of view) are yet so different.

@anonymous, glad to know that you found the article interesting.

As an American who has lived in Japan (only for a ...

2009-10-22T07:16:04.049+09:00

As an American who has lived in Japan (only for a short while!), this is very interesting to me. Please post more of your impressions of the US, compared to Japan.

The big draw for the US over Japan will always be ...

2009-10-21T22:32:41.022+09:00

The big draw for the US over Japan will always be the nature of the society. Japan was never meant to be an immigrant society, and has trouble dealing with non-Japanese immigrants even now. A foreigner could get citizenship, speak fluent Japanese, live in Japan for decades and still be immediately seen as a foreigner just because of his skin color or his native language or where he was born. Japanese are Japanese by virtue of race almost as much as citizenship.

The United States, by contrast, has as a core value that it is a nation of immigrants. If you have citizenship, then no matter what you look like or where you're originally from Americans are taught to treat you as another American, no different than if you were born there. Obviously, there are ignorant people who are very xenophobic and don't do this, but on the whole American inclusiveness is taken as a point of great pride.

Nice job in comparing those two although you were ...

2009-07-30T06:05:30.648+09:00

Nice job in comparing those two although you were only few weeks in the U.S. But there are things I want to ask.I can say your opinions are wrong about safety, road width, store closed before 10PM, and cleanliness. But in the same time, I can't accept everything.

First, based on 25 most liveable cities 2009 by Monocle, Japan is sure has plenty winners; while U.S. is incomparably less.

Second, I hope you will explain more about the consumerism rights. That one is one of the biggest problems the world has. It’s true that the return policy in US is greatly convenient for most people. But what I want to point out is the purpose and the effect of the right. The consumerism in the U.S., debated recently, is ‘dehumanizing’ people. The purpose of the right may be to protect the buyers and most of the time, to maintain/increase economy. However, the fact is that the society becomes so greedy in buying stuffs. They are spoiled with this right and closing their minds when buying stuffs. Japan probably doesn’t have this right, nor most countries in Asia. But Japan probably does prepare how the consumerism will affect other aspects. Over there, trashes must be separated in proper ways. In the U.S., although it’s been started, the act to balance the consumerism with others (such as environments or pollution) are not equally treated. Japan has high consumerisms too, I think Eastern Asia countries are like that recently, but the cities are clean. I agree that it’s so impressing about the right of consumerism in the U.S.; but when I look again at the effect, I definitely dissatisfied.

The title of this article is captivating. But I wish it could be more specific rather than saying this is the comparison of every aspect for those two countries; although if you did that, this article would be more like a scientific sociological paper rather than a blog article.
Thank you.

Milan ji, welcome to this blog! I agree with you t...

2009-04-05T14:20:00.000+09:00

Milan ji, welcome to this blog! I agree with you that there exists a mixed culture in the United States! Even during my short visit, I could get that sense! It's good to know that you are enjoying your stay there.

Dear Prabesh, I am glad that you found the post interesting.

Dear Lokman, I hope you have found the answer to your query in the comment made by Anonymous. Frankly, I don't have enough experience of the US culture! :-)

Basantaji and Sujanji, Thanks for your words. I will continue to share my experiences in future as well. Please keep visiting.

Dilipji and Netraji, I appreciate your comments and happy that you found this post worth reading.

Thanks to 'Anonymous' for answering one of the queries put here. I hope to hear from you in future as well.

In Japan, the correlation coefficient (between sen...

2009-04-04T17:50:00.000+09:00

In Japan, the correlation coefficient (between sensei & student) is less than 2, whereas it is 8 plus over there. There, gakusei don need to say "hai sensei its raining" while it is sunny outside.

I agree with Dipendrajee's arguments. The views th...

2009-04-02T19:48:00.000+09:00

I agree with Dipendrajee's arguments. The views that Natsusan has brought are, indeed, throwing light on the hidden aspects of Japanese crime, but in global comparision, it still emerges as safer place.
Regarding to the road network, obviously USA has very large area of unpopulated plain land than the that of Japan. This i think helps to build wider highway there.

Though I have never been to both of the countries,...

2009-03-31T11:03:00.000+09:00

Though I have never been to both of the countries, I had some notions and feelings, which perfectly fits with your narration.

I don't hesitate to express that, this post has widen my knowledge and information about both of the USA an Japan.

Waiting for the remaining stories in your coming posts!

Dear Natsu, you are free to disagree on the issues...

2009-03-31T09:19:00.000+09:00

Dear Natsu, you are free to disagree on the issues raised here in the post! I appreciate your comment but, let me elaborate few of my points:

Regarding your statement 'Japan is safer than USA and many parts of the world but it more depends on what U call safe', I request you to go through the various parameters that have been considered while preparing the Global Peace Index Rankings (please click on the respective countries to view the details: JAPAN/ USA). However, when we say 'Japan is one of the safest country', one should NOT think of safety in absolute terms. In this era of globalization, nothing like 'ideal' can be achieved!

When I wrote in favor of vending machines, I emphasized only the convenience aspect. yes, it comes for a cost. However, there are always researches going on to reduce the environmental impacts being caused by these vending machines.

I can understand the fact why there are narrower roads in Japan but this does not change the truth. There is problem of space here in Japan and that has resulted into smaller house/room sizes as well as narrower roads. And I have just tried to say this little fact!

Regarding the consumer's right, I will try to elaborate my point in my coming posts!

If U allow me, I want to disagree on few points U ...

2009-03-30T14:00:00.000+09:00

If U allow me, I want to disagree on few points U have mentioned.

Well, Japan is safer than USA and many parts of the world but it more depends on what U call safe. There are sporadic events in Japan that are becoming more common recently. Only the victims can understand why Japan is not safe and talk to any Japanese and they will tell U the inner fear they have in dark allies and lonely streets. Yet, safer than USA because even Junior high school students can walk home safely well past midnight alone though almost 3rd of Japanese girls are victims of sexual harassment making us rethink if it is really safe. Japan the biggest network of organised crime.

Vending machines are indeed very convenient. But, it comes for a cost. Every street and every corner has 2-3 vending machines and at some places there are long walls of vending machines. It is mere a competition between the companies. How it is harming the environment and overusing/misusing the resources is something to think about. Some places in Japan are already thinking over this and reducing the number of vending machines. They have it and they can put more does not mean they are good.

The roads according to U are smaller in Japan than USA but might not be a fair comparison if U take in consideration the sizes of the two countries but densities of the population is yet another factor.

You have not elaborated what you wanted to say about 'consumer's right' and in what ways in US better than Japan.

Dipendra dai thanx for sharing ure views on the tw...

2009-03-30T13:56:00.000+09:00

Dipendra dai thanx for sharing ure views on the two big economies in the world. I hope to see more about ure trip in the upcoming blog- especially your experience of presentation in the USA and other non English speaking countries.......J'pan, China, Europe....as u already had an experince in these countries.

Nice analysis Deependrajee! Enjoyed it very much. ...

2009-03-30T12:56:00.000+09:00

Nice analysis Deependrajee! Enjoyed it very much. I haven't been to US, so don't have any firsthand experience about US. I agree with you on what you wrote about Japan.

hi Deependra!could you also elaborate the teacher-...

2009-03-30T07:04:00.000+09:00

hi Deependra!
could you also elaborate the teacher-student relationship between Japan and America?

we feel very happy to know about abroad places as ...

2009-03-30T00:55:00.000+09:00

we feel very happy to know about abroad places as we are really far away from those technological advancements. Thank you very much for providing information about two advanced giants !!

I never been japan yet, so donn know how is that. ...

2009-03-30T00:40:00.000+09:00

I never been japan yet, so donn know how is that.

But yes as much as i felt, usa is a gud place to reside. i love mixed culture here. i felt usa is not only the country of white native english speaking guys, rather u can find many chinese, indian, nepali and others people from all around the world. i never feel alone here... sometimes i confuse whether im in nepal or usa.. i always feel like to be in my own home..