WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:05.799 Meaning a live man like this man letting butterfly flapping 2 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:07.400 his wing. They've down in a forest. 3 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:10.240 Man, it gonna cause the tree fall, letting five thousand 4 00:00:10.279 --> 00:00:10.880 miles away. 5 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:17.839 Man, nobody see it. Nobody else you might see that. 6 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:19.920 You don't need to know, man, You don't they like 7 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:22.800 you fall another point and you got back to fro 8 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:23.640 like that. 9 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:24.399 That's the point. 10 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:26.079 Man got blackly Da on the pan. 11 00:00:26.359 --> 00:00:37.880 Man. Now you don't matter, man. I think that Japan 12 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:44.840 holds a special place, certainly culturally in the US, but 13 00:00:44.920 --> 00:00:47.679 particularly on the American right. We're we're fascinated by it, 14 00:00:48.119 --> 00:00:50.799 at least so far. It's a country that has missed 15 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:55.520 many of the worst elements of globalism. It's still largely homogeneous, 16 00:00:55.960 --> 00:01:00.439 very safe, and culturally unified. Obviously, you are also have 17 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:07.480 the explosion of Japanese culture on the internet, with martial arts, anime, manga, 18 00:01:07.879 --> 00:01:12.519 car culture, things that many of us will be familiar with. Anime, 19 00:01:12.680 --> 00:01:16.879 for example, has gone fully mainstrain in the US. Instead 20 00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:19.439 of being the weird kids with their own table in 21 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:22.840 the lunch room, now many many people under the age 22 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:27.799 of about thirty five watch anime. It's completely and totally normalized. 23 00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:30.400 And when I say that this is interesting to the 24 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:36.560 American right wing because of their ethnic homogeneity and relative stability. 25 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:41.799 It also has a sort of inverse obsession on the 26 00:01:41.879 --> 00:01:45.879 left where they sort of have to delude themselves about 27 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:49.000 this little ethno state halfway across the world. Look at 28 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:53.719 how beautiful it is in a country where our attitudes 29 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:58.519 towards women, minorities and sexual minorities are shall we say, 30 00:01:58.920 --> 00:02:05.640 not exactly replicated. But unfortunately globalism has come to Japan. 31 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:09.080 They are nowhere near as far along as we are, 32 00:02:09.159 --> 00:02:14.080 but we've seen immigration, specifically from Kurdistan, although also from 33 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:19.319 countries like Nigeria and India start to hit the Japanese populace. 34 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:24.439 This has produced a backlash in politics and in the populace, 35 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:28.840 but it's still very, very small. It hasn't necessarily become 36 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:31.680 ubiquitous yet. And so I think a lot of us 37 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:35.719 are watching Japan eagerly. What will they decide to do? 38 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:39.719 Will they follow the rest of the developed world quote unquote, 39 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:44.800 or will they sidestep this bizarre, self destructive obsession. That's 40 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:48.759 exactly why I reached out to my guest Lone Star. 41 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:52.039 He's an expat. You may have heard him elsewhere. A 42 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:56.080 guy living in Japan for fifteen years, and so he 43 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:59.240 understands exactly what's going on. He spent a lot of 44 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:03.280 time in the country. He's a sober thinker. This isn't 45 00:03:03.319 --> 00:03:07.639 a sensational podcast telling you it's all over. He provides 46 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:10.879 the context you need to understand what you may or 47 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:13.599 may not be seeing. I think a lot of us 48 00:03:13.639 --> 00:03:18.159 have been especially enchanted with our Japanese brothers because of 49 00:03:18.199 --> 00:03:21.039 a sort of a quirk of the social media algorithm. 50 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:25.039 Several weeks back, where the streams got crossed. We had 51 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:30.039 easy access to AI translation and the American chuds and 52 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:34.639 the everyday Japanese, well they got crossed up. We started 53 00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:37.199 running a little cultural exchange. It was a ton of 54 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:41.120 fun pulpo. A mutual of mine started a trend, a 55 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:44.960 craze in Japan, you know, doing something that your grandpa did, right, 56 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:48.199 salted peanuts and coke swept the nation. And most of 57 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:50.560 it was exactly that, you know, this kind of harmless 58 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:53.199 cultural exchange. And I think, like a lot of us, 59 00:03:53.240 --> 00:03:55.599 I realized, well, we're not so different, you and I. 60 00:03:56.439 --> 00:03:59.240 In the more serious conversations, you heard the same issues 61 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:02.840 with immigration, the same issues with feminism, and on each 62 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:06.719 side of the Pacific Ocean, guys were realizing, wait a minute, 63 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:10.319 what the media told us, You know that you were 64 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:14.439 all lib tarts. That isn't true. There's a very analogous 65 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:18.240 culture to ours over there, and sure they're very, very different, 66 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:21.759 that's what makes them charming and interesting. But I think 67 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:24.279 a lot of us realized we're in kind of a 68 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:27.800 similar boat. Also, given the fact that the World's Cup 69 00:04:27.879 --> 00:04:30.720 is going on, I'm sure you have seen the videos 70 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:35.079 of Japanese fans in the US both behaving very well, right, 71 00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:38.199 cleaning up after themselves in the stadium, leaving it spotless, 72 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:42.879 and also at bars and Texas right, Japanese guys getting 73 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:47.000 absolutely blasted with good old fashioned you know, American cowboys 74 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:49.600 having the time of their life. So there's a lot 75 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:53.959 of cultural admiration going both directions, and so for that reason, 76 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:56.600 as well as the kind of unique test case that 77 00:04:56.639 --> 00:04:59.040 is Japan, I think all of us are watching what 78 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:03.439 happens with bated breath. And the off chance that you 79 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:07.120 are Japanese listening to this, godspeed, do not make the 80 00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:10.199 mistakes that we have had. But for the Americans, I 81 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:14.000 think this will be useful to give you the real context, 82 00:05:14.040 --> 00:05:18.439 not the sensationalist garbage pushed on social media, very oftentimes 83 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:22.360 by people who are not Japanese or even American, write 84 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:25.519 these sort of slop accounts designed to profit off of 85 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:30.600 doom and gloom. So, without further ado, I will start 86 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:35.399 this episode as per usual, sponsored by Axios Remote Fitness 87 00:05:35.399 --> 00:05:38.079 and Coaching and Fox and Sons Coffee. Use the code 88 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:40.639 j Burden get fifteen percent off. I know I'm not 89 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:43.759 the only one in these circles associated with Fox and Sons. 90 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:47.040 It's because one, the guy who owns it's one of us, 91 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:50.480 and two makes a good product. Had it this morning, 92 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:53.439 it every morning. It's delicious. Also, if you want the 93 00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:55.920 episodes early in ad free a few bucks a month 94 00:05:55.959 --> 00:05:58.879 on Patreon, Substack or come road now thanks to inflation, 95 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:01.120 less than the cup leus than the cost of a 96 00:06:01.160 --> 00:06:04.839 cup of coffee gets you hours and hours of me 97 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:09.560 every month with no ads before anyone else, So if 98 00:06:09.560 --> 00:06:12.839 you're interested, be sure to check that out. I will 99 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:17.160 be on vacation when this comes out. You shouldn't notice anything. 100 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:19.959 I've pre recorded a ton, But if I'm slow getting 101 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:22.279 back to you, it's because for once in my life, 102 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:27.199 I've decided to unpluck. So all of this is pre recorded. 103 00:06:27.959 --> 00:06:30.480 There will be no interruption to your stream of content. 104 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:32.680 But if I don't get back to you, that's why. 105 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:37.639 So anyway, here's lone Star. All right, lone Star, how 106 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:38.000 you doing? 107 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:40.120 Man doing all right? Thanks for having me on. 108 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:45.560 Yeah, you and I got connected on X not too 109 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:50.959 long ago, and you have a pretty interesting area of expertise, 110 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:52.439 I think, something that a lot of people are going 111 00:06:52.519 --> 00:06:54.800 to be interested in. But before we get into that, 112 00:06:54.839 --> 00:06:57.120 if you don't mind as much as you're comfortable, well 113 00:06:57.360 --> 00:06:58.720 who are you? And well what do you do? 114 00:06:59.560 --> 00:06:59.759 Yeah? 115 00:07:00.120 --> 00:07:03.920 So, kind of long story short. I'm a long term 116 00:07:04.279 --> 00:07:08.800 expat living in Japan. I'm currently living in Tokyo. Been 117 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:15.079 in Japan about going on eighteen years now. So it's, 118 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:17.600 as I say, you know, time flies. It's kind of 119 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:22.360 an old adage, but it really does, you know. When I, 120 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:25.160 you know, I first came here, it was a completely 121 00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:28.399 new environment. I was fresh off the plane, had never 122 00:07:28.439 --> 00:07:32.360 even visited Japan before. I was just curious about traveling 123 00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:36.920 the world after graduating college. And it was right at 124 00:07:36.920 --> 00:07:42.120 the time of the financial crisis, so it was a 125 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:44.680 bit lost on what to do. So I figured I'd 126 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:48.160 take a year and just travel a bit and kind 127 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:51.959 of find out what I want to do. Japan wasn't 128 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:55.720 my only option. I looked at you know, China, Korea, 129 00:07:56.120 --> 00:08:01.480 places in South America as well, but lied to company 130 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:06.040 in Japan, had some interviews stateside, and yeah, about eight 131 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:09.399 months later, they offered me a contract, got the plane ticket, 132 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:13.720 sold my car, and you know, packed my bags and 133 00:08:14.519 --> 00:08:17.839 you know, landed in Japan and with not a clue 134 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:20.399 of what I was going to do. Pretty much, I 135 00:08:20.439 --> 00:08:23.199 had a job, but outside of that, I didn't know 136 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:29.519 where I was going to go. So, yeah, it's been 137 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:36.039 about a year in Japan. I returned to the States briefly, 138 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:38.960 but then I came back right around the time of 139 00:08:39.559 --> 00:08:44.720 there's a big earthquake around twenty eleven, and yeah, I've 140 00:08:44.759 --> 00:08:48.240 been in Japan since. So it wasn't always in Tokyo. 141 00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:52.919 I kind of managed to ran some English schools in 142 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:56.240 a city up north of Tokyo, but yeah, the last 143 00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:02.000 five years been living in Tokyo now, So it's especially 144 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:06.440 in the last five to six years. The changes, as 145 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:10.039 you know you've alluded to in our chat previously, are 146 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:12.159 are are a parent, So. 147 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:16.519 Yeah, so a couple of things there. I think like 148 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:19.480 a lot of people, uh, just kind of due to 149 00:09:19.480 --> 00:09:22.639 culture osmosis being you know, on the internet, Internet natives, 150 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:25.759 there's always been, you know, an appreciation for Japanese culture, 151 00:09:25.799 --> 00:09:29.399 both on the level obviously of media, but also it's 152 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:33.600 an orderly place. Themes, things seem to work there in 153 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:36.799 a way that well they used to in America and 154 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:40.879 don't anymore. And when you combine, as I mentioned earlier 155 00:09:40.919 --> 00:09:44.679 before we started recording the recent I guess kind of 156 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:50.000 random algorithmic change which cross pollinated a ton of normal 157 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:53.279 Japanese guys and kind of you know, chud Americans on 158 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:56.279 social media, you know, where we have an auto translate feature, 159 00:09:56.320 --> 00:09:58.279 we can actually talk to each other. I'm not sure 160 00:09:58.279 --> 00:10:02.000 if you caught the U the peanut coke craze that 161 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:03.519 my friend Polpo started. 162 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:08.919 Yeah, yeah, I saw that, and I'll go ahead, I 163 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:11.159 let you finish. But I have some coinor colary on that. 164 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:14.120 So no, but it was it was this great moment 165 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:16.799 of good feeling, you know, where we finally had been 166 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:19.200 able to talk one to another and realized, no, hey, 167 00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:23.039 we're pretty similar, similar interests, you know, enjoy many of 168 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:24.759 the same things, and honestly, I think a lot of 169 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:29.720 people were surprised at how, not to say similar the 170 00:10:29.720 --> 00:10:32.120 politics were, but at least there was a cohort of 171 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:34.679 you know, right wing Japanese guys on the internet who 172 00:10:34.679 --> 00:10:39.360 were noticing the same things, particularly around feminism and immigration, 173 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:41.720 and there was kind of this funny discourse for a 174 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:44.080 few days of wait a minute, we thought you were 175 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:47.399 all libtards because that's what we see on media. Oh wait, 176 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:49.919 you know, there is a you know, some semblance of 177 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:54.840 a resistance there. And with that obviously came the realization 178 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:59.120 that you know, in Japan, you guys are facing the 179 00:10:59.159 --> 00:11:02.320 same problems with immigration we are, albeit thankfully at a 180 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:07.600 much relatively lower scale. But you're seeing in real time 181 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:13.639 a graded on a curve, perfectly ordered society all of 182 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:16.039 a sudden speed running what we've gone through over the 183 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:18.559 last sixty years. So just a little bit of background 184 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:20.679 their loan star obviously, you know this just for the 185 00:11:20.679 --> 00:11:24.799 sake of the audience, But I'm curious as regards immigration, 186 00:11:25.879 --> 00:11:28.120 when did that start to be a problem, because you know, 187 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:31.480 obviously there's a difference between you know, getting a job 188 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:36.320 moving over and Johnny Somali, right. 189 00:11:37.399 --> 00:11:39.639 Yeah, so it's. 190 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:44.440 It's a bit more nuanced and obviously what's a what 191 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:49.440 you see on Twitter. Basically, there's always been you know, 192 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:54.799 a small minority of people from pretty much everywhere in Japan, 193 00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:58.279 but it's always been about one, maybe two percent of 194 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:03.399 the population among all the foreign population. The large majority 195 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:07.639 of the foreign population here are other East Asians, mostly 196 00:12:07.720 --> 00:12:11.279 Chinese and Koreans, so that makes up the huge bulk 197 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:16.480 of the foreign population in Japan. Outside of that, you 198 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:23.440 have Southeast Asians like Vietnamese, Laotians, Thai people coming here 199 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:25.440 as well. A lot of the a lot of those 200 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:30.639 people come you know as cheap labor pretty much, right, 201 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:35.480 not all, but there's a lot in that sector. And 202 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:43.159 then you have all the other foreigners, which includes Europeans, Americans, Africans, 203 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:48.159 South Americans, Brazilians, et cetera. Right, So, even amongst the 204 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:53.639 foreign population, someone like myself is still relatively small, so 205 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:57.360 to speak. So the image of what foreigners are in 206 00:12:57.440 --> 00:13:02.000 Japan is different, and the Japanese have slightly different attitudes 207 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:07.919 towards foreign population so to depend, especially because of the history. 208 00:13:08.679 --> 00:13:10.879 Won't really go into too many details about that, but 209 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:15.720 there is you know, a long history along rivalry between 210 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:21.960 Japan and especially China and Korea. But the real issues 211 00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:26.919 kind of started I would say maybe ten ten years 212 00:13:26.919 --> 00:13:30.840 ago or so, maybe a little bit before that. I 213 00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:32.759 wasn't living in Tokyo at the time, but there were 214 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:37.639 you know, reports of a growing population of Kurdish refugees 215 00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:41.799 in kind of North Tokyo, and they would seek refugee 216 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:46.399 status come here, and then apparently what's happening is some 217 00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:49.960 of them are overstaying the visas and they're unemployed, so 218 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:53.320 they're kind of, as people say, kind of you know, 219 00:13:53.399 --> 00:13:59.159 leeching off the system. But they've all mostly kind of 220 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:04.159 congregated area. So in general, Japan is still a relatively 221 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:08.440 safe country. It's just they there are some like concentrated 222 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:12.759 pockets where there is higher you know, like petty crime. 223 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:17.639 I don't have any statistics about that, but that's usually 224 00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:21.679 been an issue that you see in the news. Local 225 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:28.440 news here is about the Kurdish issue. Right outside of that, 226 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:32.399 you hear random reports about in terms of foreign crime, 227 00:14:32.759 --> 00:14:38.120 you know, usually about you know, people stripping carper wires 228 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:40.840 out of buildings and selling it on the black market. 229 00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:41.039 You know. 230 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:47.399 So all that being said, relatively speaking, Japan is still 231 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:54.120 I would say it's it's still a great place to live. 232 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:56.960 It's it's still safe, it's still orderly, it's still clean. 233 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:04.759 But the trend is actually posts uh covid has you 234 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:08.799 see a large demographic shift, and especially even in you know, 235 00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:12.679 the smaller cities, And that's the biggest change that I've 236 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:14.320 been hearing from people as well. 237 00:15:15.799 --> 00:15:16.279 Yeah, and I. 238 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:21.519 Think it's important to stress the relative nature because just 239 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:25.000 to hazard a guess, I'm guessing that the worst block 240 00:15:25.080 --> 00:15:28.600 in Tokyo is still safer than oh block in Chicago. 241 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:32.120 I don't know that. I'm not a statistician, but I'm 242 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:35.360 pretty sure. And this is something you see a lot 243 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:37.799 from the kind of like as much as I hate 244 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:40.440 to use this term, but kind of the immigration slop, 245 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:43.799 you know, big Maga account where you know, they will 246 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:47.200 take a video out of you know, England or you know, 247 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:50.919 even continental Europe Japan and basically say, you know, oh, 248 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:55.440 X y Z country has fallen and look, we're the 249 00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:58.559 trend lines aren't good, but we need to we need 250 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:02.159 to understand what we're talking about in relative terms. Even 251 00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:06.200 within America, Like my city is perfectly safe. I could 252 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:09.200 go almost anywhere, you know, with one hundred dollars bill 253 00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:11.360 sticking out of my back pocket, and I'd be fine. 254 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:15.120 So my relative crime weight is next to nothing. Now 255 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:17.919 if my city goes from an average of one murder 256 00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:20.720 a year to two, well it's big enough. I probably 257 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:24.360 don't know a difference, but that's that's one hundred percent increase, right, 258 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:27.320 And I think that there's a vested interest in selling 259 00:16:27.320 --> 00:16:29.000 this kind of if I can use a crude term, 260 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:32.440 kind of doom porn, you know, it's all over because 261 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:35.720 it sells, and so I don't want to, you know, 262 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:38.960 put words in your mouth, certainly, But it's not as 263 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:45.440 if Japan is now forty percent Japanese, right, but a 264 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:49.639 change from again one percent primarily East Asian, with a 265 00:16:49.639 --> 00:16:54.039 few other you know, kind of assorted foreigners to you know, 266 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:57.720 even Kurds, which graded on a curve, aren't that bad 267 00:16:57.960 --> 00:17:02.320 compared to other populations. It's notable change. So what has 268 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:06.799 the reaction been like from the Japanese public, at least 269 00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:09.920 in the West, we are assured that this new I 270 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:12.279 think it's a female prime minister, correct. 271 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:16.400 Right, yeah, yeah, you know we female prime minister. Japan 272 00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:20.799 has had two, which is interesting because the controversy around 273 00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:24.480 her is not usually around that, which is surprising for Japan. 274 00:17:24.680 --> 00:17:27.759 I would say, well, and at least in the West, 275 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:30.920 somewhat similar to you know Maloney or Orbon or any 276 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:33.759 other of these leaders. The coverage we get from mainstream 277 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:37.240 media is, you know, this is the reincarnation of you know, 278 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:40.640 General Hirohito. The farthest right. You can imagine she's you know, 279 00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:43.799 putting immigrants up on gibbets in public, you know, letting 280 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:47.839 the crows feed on them. I'm guessing that's not accurate, 281 00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:52.119 but nonetheless, one what is the reaction from both the 282 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:54.559 populace and kind of the political class to this new 283 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:57.279 changing immigration landscape? 284 00:17:57.559 --> 00:18:01.480 Right, so, kind there's a touch on your first point 285 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:04.440 about you know, people sharing like this, as you said, 286 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:09.000 like doom porn or these almost like sensationalists posts, which, 287 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:13.519 just to be clear, a lot of what you see 288 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:17.920 posted about Japan, they use real videos, those are real 289 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:23.640 incidences that happen, but oftentimes they're years old, or they're 290 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:27.039 they're posted out of context in some way, and they 291 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:33.359 are sensationalists. There's a lot of LARPing accounts that are 292 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:36.440 people who are not Japanese who are posing as Japanese 293 00:18:36.599 --> 00:18:41.839 posting this kind of slop and well, actually, yeah, go ahead. 294 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:44.400 One of the things that was really interesting, sorry to 295 00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:47.160 just build on that point talking to the you know, 296 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:49.839 the Japanese bros. Was they were like, wait a minute, 297 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:53.440 you have Nigerians pretending to be Americans on social media 298 00:18:53.480 --> 00:18:56.759 and making money from it. We have that too, and again, 299 00:18:56.960 --> 00:18:59.160 you know, it's the business model is the same everywhere. 300 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:01.480 But to your point, yes, I've I've heard, you know, 301 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:05.279 from my mutuals on social media the same thing. Sorry, lugstar, 302 00:19:05.359 --> 00:19:05.960 I'll stop. 303 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:09.480 It or uh no, no problem. But yeah, even amongst 304 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:14.920 you know, people in our circles, they'll repost it, you know, 305 00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:19.119 because they don't know if it's you know, they only 306 00:19:19.160 --> 00:19:22.559 dig a little bit into it. They see what's happening. 307 00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:25.680 So a lot of it is Yeah, there's there's truth 308 00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:31.160 to it, but it's not as bad or it's not 309 00:19:31.240 --> 00:19:34.480 the same context as what they're sharing. Right, So Japan 310 00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:37.839 is not doomed at least not yet anyway. It's uh, 311 00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:40.759 like I said, it's still relatively safe country. I live 312 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:44.359 in live in Tokyo. It is the largest, the largest 313 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:49.440 you know, metropolitan city in the world, right or in 314 00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:54.359 the most populous, I guess. And even in a city 315 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:56.799 like Tokyo, you go to a restaurant, you go anywhere 316 00:19:56.880 --> 00:20:01.640 you can claim a seat, uh first by leaving your bag, 317 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:04.720 leaving your phone on the table, and then going to 318 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:07.799 the counter ordering comeback, and no one takes a seat, 319 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:10.839 no one takes your stuff. That's I would say ninety 320 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:13.720 nine point nine percent at the time. You're good, no 321 00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:17.599 one's going to steal your stuff. But it's weird, like 322 00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:20.680 the things that get stolen the most in Japan are 323 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:24.039 going to be umbrellas or bicycles. 324 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:30.240 Yeah, so I'll I'll leave your imagination to that, but 325 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:32.599 might might surprise you. 326 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:38.279 But but yeah, so it's it's still, relatively speaking, one 327 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:40.440 of the safest cities to live in, one of the 328 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:43.599 safest countries to live in. So getting that out of 329 00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:46.519 the way, it's not fallen, it's not doomed, it's not 330 00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:51.559 you know, a hellish landscape, or it's not even you know, 331 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:57.079 comparative to Europe in that way. Right, But as I said, 332 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:01.440 the trend is happening, especially since the borders opened after 333 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:05.160 COVID that there's been a large increase of especially salt 334 00:21:05.160 --> 00:21:12.720 Asians here from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan. There was always you know, 335 00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:16.920 kind of a small minority because there's you know, Indian 336 00:21:17.400 --> 00:21:20.359 restaurants are quite popular here, so there was always you know, 337 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:26.480 a small minority who were mostly peaceful, you know, ran 338 00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:30.480 restaurants things like that, right, But you see more and 339 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:35.400 more of people who are you know, working at convenience 340 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:42.559 stores or whatnot, students, exchange students, language school students. In 341 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:45.960 these smaller cities people, you know, cities like five hundred 342 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:49.519 thousand people or less, which for Japan is medium to small, 343 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:54.559 you'll see just large amounts of these, you know, groups 344 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:59.000 of these people just appearing out of nowhere, seemingly out 345 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:03.880 of nowhere, and the local population is you know, Japanese 346 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:08.119 are outwardly very welcoming people. They're reserved, but they're usually 347 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:13.359 very welcoming and friendly, and so they're just they don't 348 00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:16.079 know how to react, especially you know, the smaller town people. 349 00:22:16.359 --> 00:22:18.279 You know, they're they're not going to be outwardly rude. 350 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:22.519 But at the same time, a sudden demographic change like that, 351 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:27.960 you know, causes a bit of confusion, I guess, but 352 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:33.480 just concern overall concern, and that's a key cultural element 353 00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:39.559 in Japan. That is very important is the overall peace 354 00:22:39.640 --> 00:22:43.160 and safety that they've built here, right, So that's a 355 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:45.839 that's a very big thing in Japan is you know, 356 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:51.119 keeping the peace, keeping the order, right. So anything that 357 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:56.519 disrupts that is is kind of countering their their cultural norms, right, 358 00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:01.279 So it could be anything innocent or not innocent, but 359 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:02.920 it is still kind of great up against that. So 360 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:07.119 it causes an unease whether the immigrants coming in or 361 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:08.559 are causing issues or not. 362 00:23:09.319 --> 00:23:16.480 Basically speaking purely anecdotally, I really got introduced to Japanese 363 00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:20.039 culture with the kind of you know, like early two 364 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:22.759 thousands car culture, like video option and stuff like that, 365 00:23:22.839 --> 00:23:25.359 these kind of bootlegs that were passed around. And so 366 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:28.400 because of that, there are a lot of people who 367 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:32.359 you know, either through forums or you know, even now 368 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:36.240 on on x as it's gotten seemingly quite big in Japan, 369 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:39.640 a lot of guys who I've you know, not followed closely, 370 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:42.160 but been aware of for kind of fifteen years. And 371 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:44.640 what's interesting is at least in that community, you know, 372 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:46.440 guys who are into kind of old cars and stuff, 373 00:23:46.759 --> 00:23:49.039 you know, including the kind of you know, older American stuff. 374 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:53.640 There's been an interesting rise of auto theft. We're somewhat 375 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:56.880 similar to you know, big cities like Portland in America. 376 00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:00.680 They are these kind of rings of they say Eastern Europeans. 377 00:24:01.079 --> 00:24:05.039 Who knows what that means. Basically, you know, with contacts 378 00:24:05.079 --> 00:24:07.799 at shipping yards who will take a car, goes into 379 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:11.480 a shipping container and it shows up in Russia or Ukraine. 380 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:14.440 And again, right, this is not on the order of 381 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:17.319 a place like Detroit or you know, Johannesburg, where there's 382 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:20.920 you know, dozens of carjackings a day. But still, you know, 383 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:22.920 a lot of these guys live in these kind of 384 00:24:22.920 --> 00:24:26.480 small to medium cities. And again I'm not on the ground. 385 00:24:26.519 --> 00:24:29.079 I'm just reading tea leads, so to speak, on the internet. 386 00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:32.319 But the tone of this is obviously angry, but also 387 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:35.079 surprised and shocked. You know, this is not something I've 388 00:24:35.079 --> 00:24:37.279 ever had to deal with, and all of a sudden, 389 00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:41.079 you know, my hobby, my prized possession, is most likely 390 00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:44.359 in a shipping container headed to Russia, you know, And 391 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:47.039 of course you know there's a rational anger to that. 392 00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:49.319 You know, that's a lot of money. But the surprise 393 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:52.119 is interesting as well. The tone seems to be and 394 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:54.960 again it's through Ai translation. So who knows how much 395 00:24:54.960 --> 00:24:57.720 I'm picking up on is basically wait a minute, I 396 00:24:57.720 --> 00:24:59.160 didn't know that happened here. 397 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:03.519 Yeah, it's funny you say that. So I don't really 398 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:04.400 know too much. 399 00:25:04.279 --> 00:25:04.920 About the. 400 00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:10.680 You know, the car import export kind of industry here. 401 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:14.480