Uniquely Japanese

Bowing is synonymous with Japan. Most Japanese take the custom seriously and perform it with zeal. If you ever witness two Japanese bowing to each other, you would be stunned at how much force is used to execute this customary form of greeting. There are instances each year of people suffering moderate-to-serious head injuries, resulted from them bumping heads while bowing to each other. In some cases, these injuries have led to deaths.

Japanese bowers sometimes would try to outdo each other (not as a competition but as an expression of respect). A Japanese would bow to another Japanese. The recipient would respond by bowing lower. The other person would reciprocate by bowing even lower. This exchange continues until someone hits the ground or gives up.

Valentine’s Day is a day on which lovers everywhere express their love for each other. One of the ways the man in a relationship can express his love for the woman of his life is to give her candy and flowers as tokens of his love. This day is observed in most Western countries. The Japanese also celebrate Valentine’s Day, but not without an interesting twist. It is the woman who is supposed to give her man gifts (mostly chocolates) and not the other way around.

Japanese men almost always prefer Valentine chocolates bought from stores over homemade chocolates. This is due to their fear of “contamination”. There have been many instances of overzealous girls inserting their saliva or blood into their homemade chocolates. Men find this form of witchcraft or extreme obsession rather disgusting. How did they find out? Some girls confessed to this, right after their men ate the chocolates of course.

The Japanese consider punctuality a golden rule. Being late to work without a valid excuse is a taboo. Oversleeping, missing the train or being mildly ill is not a valid excuse. Offenders will have to publicly apologize to everyone in the office.

Since most Japanese use high-speed trains and these trains run like clockwork, getting to work on time is not really an issue. Over the years, however, Japanese workers have from time to time arrived late to work for something beyond their control. Every week, there is at least one person who jumps in front of a fast train somewhere in Japan. In 2017, 266 people died by this method. The disruptive action causes trains to temporarily stop or slow down and workers arriving late to work.

The Japanese don't see suicides as a big deal unless it is nuisance to others. Causing people to be late to work is a nuisance. Japan Rail has recently put in place a policy of charging the family of the suicidal person for the cost of the clean-up. The bill could be in the millions of dollars. If the deceased person does not have an immediate family, his relatives may be billed instead. Japan Rail hopes this will dissuade people from using fast trains as suicide weapons and from being an unnecessary burden to others.

When you visit the profile pages of athletes and celebrities, you generally see information like the person's birthday, birthplace, height and weight. When you visit a Japanese profile page, you will see most of these plus the person's blood type. Indeed, Japanese people really want to know your blood type. Blood types are prominently featured on profile pages as though they are mandatory information. You are frequently asked about your blood type at school, at work and even at social gatherings.

But why do the Japanese want to know your blood type?

They want to know your blood type, not because they want to hold a blood drive in the event you get hurt and need a blood transfusion or to play family detective, but because they believe your blood type reveals your personality and prospective talent. For example, a Type-B person could be a good romantic partner but is also predicted to be lazy and irresponsible; Type-0 people could be good at baseball; Type-AB people could be great actors or singers. In Japan, they call it blood personality theory. The upside is that people are empowered to achieve their dreams, given the right blood type. The downside is outright discrimination.

You love acting but your blood type is not a right fit, so you have to pursue a career as an accountant instead. I can't marry you because our blood types are incompatible.

Although blood discrimination is not a widespread problem in Japan, it probably contributes to school bullying, social alienation and suicide.

Japan is a gun-banning society. With the exceptions of the police and military, no one is allowed to own or carry a gun. But here is a neat caveat. Japanese police members on duty can carry guns, but they are absolutely prohibited from shooting at a target. The most they could do is to fire warning shots (to the sky). Special police forces are of course exempted. Regular police members who violate this rule could be criminally prosecuted, and Japan is known for its harsh penalties for gun crimes. This information came straight from a Japanese friend.

The good thing about this is the elimination of gun abuses by the police. The downside is that ordinary criminals are less fearful of the police and will occasionally challenge them. Fortunately, crime rates are relatively low in Japan. Most Japanese gang members have abandoned the use of guns, since the country’s stringent gun laws are not worth challenging.

Japanese police has recently added a usable weapon to their arsenal – paintball guns. They can now shoot non-lethal, irremovable paintball at targets for the purpose of identifying and tracking criminals.