The idea of most Japanese being passive and reluctant to get involved in any kind of public confrontation is a prevalent one. Generally speaking it’s fairly true too. But that’s not to say there isn’t a lot of feeling bubbling under the surface, because obviously there is. And it’s not all that unusual to see it boiling over either. Sometimes unprovoked; other times quite the opposite. Like the camera-induced expression seen below.
Yet when it comes to the likes of the upcoming election this weekend, the question of nuclear power, or Japan’s increasingly worrying shift to the right, that anger — in an outwardly visible form at least — can be very difficult to find.
Hans ter Horst says
Lol, love his expression, he clearly is a bit annoyed with the attention 🙂
As for the election, the failure of Abenomics and the incredible public debt it has caused; tax money that never made it back to the person in the street to get the economy going but instead disappeared into the bowels of the large companies; all this would in many a country make it an easy case for the opposition to win; but not in Japan. I’m pessimistic and predict another LDP win.
Lee says
Yes, he wasn’t best pleased!
Sadly there’s no hope at all of anything at all but an LDP. There’s simply no opposition. A mockery of an election really. With his popularity and Abenomics rapidly fading, Abe is just cynically securing himself another 4 years in power while he can. But what 4 years of his hawkish policies and views could bring is a decidedly worrying one. Japan could be a very different place by the time he has finished with it…
MrSatyre says
‘And the salesman insisted that long neckties were back in fashion. He insisted, and so I bought it and put in on right there in the store. But everyone in the streets laughed at me and said “Look at the silly old man with the long necktie!”. I’ll show him who’s laughing now! No one! No one is laughing. Except the people in the street. They’re laughing. But I’m not.’
Lee says
Haha, I hadn’t even noticed the length of his tie. Quite feasibly it goes right down to his knees!
Valérie says
Ok, I wouldn’t have taken that one. I can feel the anger before shooting… So I give up. I need more training. Although I built confidence in shooting people in the streets, this is something I really cannot do. I love to see images I can’t produce. It gives me a thrill.
Lee says
There are certainly times when I don’t take a photo. As much as I want to get interesting images, personal safety is my priority. But this fella, while looking angry, didnt seem the type to take things any further than a dirty look.
Jason says
I wouldn’t say that this man is necessarily angry. Sometimes, it’s just an expression a lot of elderly people have in many parts of Asia…not just Japan.
Lee says
Yeah, sometimes, but sadly this fella was definitely angry at me for taking the photo.
nemrut says
You knew he wasn’t pleased yet continued pointing your camera at him anyway while using the photo to bash him on your blog. You don’t sound like someone who respects other cultures and come off as typical entitled white person.
Lee says
Blimey, you are a lot angrier than the old fella ever was…
I am indeed white, but the only thing I’m entitled to is an opinion. Japan is not only a country I love, but one I also live in, and the current Abe regime is, in my opinion, seemingly intent on making the country a much less pleansant place for all but the very rich and incredibly prejudice.
Sadly, like many countries, apathy in regards to politics is a real problem in Japan, meaning any kind of change seems increasingly unlikely. A worrying trend that I was attempting to highlight, not knock the man in the photo. A fella who, I suppose I should add, only looked angry when I pressed the shutter, not before.