Photographs from a small group of islands
Political correctness in many parts of the world is often seen as either essential for a sensitive society or simply censorship, whereas in Japan, it invariably appears to play little or no role in vetoing peoples vocabulary, regardless of whether any potential blunders are perceived to be big,
or small.
Presumably due to Japan’s zero tolerance approach in its dealings with drugs, booze has long been the accepted choice for both recreation and relaxation.
Of late, however, marijuana has started to make some well publicised appearances, with movie stars, students and more sensationally sumo wrestlers getting picked up for possession.
Events that have resulted in a mass of media coverage and concerns about cannabis being a ‘gateway’ drug. A worry that, whether warranted or not, may actually be way too late anyway, as it would appear that the gateway has long been breached, and far stronger substances are now openly promoting participation.
Perhaps.
Japan’s seemingly indefatigable desire to decorate almost everything with English while at the same time showing an utter disregard for dictionaries, offers up an enormous, and at the same time strangely endearing, loot of language lapses.
A collection that appeals to both the pedant and the person looking for a pathetically easy post, providing a ready supply of the largely readable,
to the rather more riddle-like.
But that’s not to say Japan has a monopoly on such mistakes, as a recent trip to China proved that Japan’s near neighbour can comfortably compete on more than merely the economy, with some train travellers apparently urged to suppress any desire to discard the staff,
regardless of how incensed they may be by the service.
There are a fair few things that Japan has borrowed from Britain, like Tokyo’s train system for example, although thankfully it has been forged into something phenomenally efficient rather than merely farcical like its fractured forefather.
Somewhat more surprising, however, is the recent adoption of the time-honoured tradition of a really good ruckus after getting absolutely routed.
And, true to form, it has been civilised somewhat, although sadly it seems the odd knifing might still be necessary.
Plus, should there be a paltry number of people, or those present aren’t nearly inebriated enough, proceedings can always be kicked off with a heated debate-cum-argument over the correct placement of apostrophes.
Or commas come to think of it.
The global recession may well be having an increasing impact on Japan, but at the same time, there’s obviously still an abundance of wealth walking about as, tough times or not, this drinking den hasn’t deemed it necessary to ease its yen-based restrictions just yet.
And needless to say my pitiful attempt at gaining entry received a rigid rejection right there on the street due to a lack of both the required Rolex and a beautiful, brand-laden lady-friend.