6 Little-Known Facts About Japan

1.

There is a special term for many youth in Japan. "Hikikomori", or shut-in hermits. Sure, many people in the world may be reclusive, or prefer to shield themselves from society due to a number of reasons, many psychological. But in Japan, hikikomori are overwhelmingly young, within their teens to twenties, and withdraw to the point where psychiatrists must make house calls to investigate cases. It is guessed that video games, internet, stresses from school, or coddling parents may be to blame, but it's anyone's guess. No specific reasons have been pinpointed, but the situation is considered by some so dire hikikomori are labeled the "missing million".

2.

Although crime rates in Japan are so low the country ranks higher only than Monaco, it's pretty much guaranteed that if you do ever end up in front of a Judge, you will be going straight to jail or prison.The conviction rate there is a staggering 99 percent, made worse by the fact that Judges don't like it when one of them lets a person just go free. Capital punishment is also still used in Japan. Several inmates are executed by hanging every year. Not only are things like acquittals or appeals pretty much non-existent, but when someone finally is executed, they're not even told until the day they die. This goes for their family as well, who aren't even informed until their loved one is gone.

3.

To the vast majority of people, the idea of dying alone is terrifying. To the people in Japan, it's almost a guarantee. Constantly, a person is experiencing "kodokushi", or a lonely death. Many thousands of these cases will occur year after year. Although some may believe this is due to a large geriatric population of 1 in 5, in less than 20 years, that number is slated to rise to 1 in 3. If kodokushi is so prevalent today that many bodies are found mummified due to being left alone so long, and business booms with those who make a living cleaning "kodokushi stains" left behind, what would that mean for those still young today?

4.

One way for committing suicide in Japan is by jumping out in front of railway cars, called "tobikomi", or dive. Considering the suicide rate in the country has always been tops, it isn't uncommon for your commute to be delayed because someone needs to be scraped off the front of the train. It's also not uncommon to receive government fines of considerable amounts... because you can be charged money in Japan for your loved ones' inconvenient method of what is after all, a normal pastime. All in all, the suicides occurring in Japan are ranked in method: Hangings, inhalants or suffocation, jumping, stabbing or cutting, drownings, and "tobikomi".

5.

It's commonly believed that no society can outdo the sheer level of kink and imagination in comparison to what you'll see with a lot of Japanese porn. In fact, modern pornographic terminology and the ever-growing range of fetishes adopted by individuals and groups are based on influences from the country. In reality though, Japan has always been in many ways a more shy and restrictive society. This means that although anything hardcore can be filmed, pubic hair, a point of penetration, or sometimes all genitalia, is blurred out for moral reasons. This is how "bukkake" was introduced. It actually stands for any 'tangible display of resultant fluids'. In other words, undeniable proof your porno actors are really engaging in, and benefitting from, sexual acts performed. Furthermore, an overwhelming number of young Japanese claim they either don't engage in sex, or have little interest in it. Believe it or not, this is more prevalent in males, who are nicknamed "soshoku danshi", meaning "herbivore men".

6.

Think of this for a second: How much money do you think Las Vegas casinos rake in a year? How much pain and suffering stemming from gambling addiction do you think that money pays for? Now double the dollar amount you guessed, and you'll start to get what kind of situation you have in Japan over Pachinko parlors. Pachinko is a pinball-type game that works through a slot machine. And unbelievable numbers of Japanese are obsessed with it to the point of playing it for hours every day, year after year. And gambling in illegal in Japan... the player doesn't even receive money in return for winning the game! All he gets is specialized tokens or certificates he can redeem at various places for prizes, kind of like at a child's ticket-based arcade. Needless to say, citizens are begging for Pachinko to be legalized for money gambling, which could bring in sums of almost 10 BILLION a year.