Fun Highlights - Food

Private Guide Highlights

Research Highlights

Most notable new things I learned from this trip

• One interesting way to look at cultures is how people respect rules even without enforcement (see Chile trust notes)
• Trash pickup is an example of "honesty" - what people do when others are not watching
• If people see honest behaviors (like returned wallets), it can increase trust — but not always.

• Paradox: Honesty does not always create trust

  • Japan proves that behavioral honesty can be extremely high even when people are not fully trusting of strangers.
  • Japan is exceptionally honest in returning lost items, supported by strong norms and infrastructure.
  • Nordic countries rank at the top in broader measures of generalized trust and perform extremely well in wallet experiments.
  • Neither contradicts the other: they reflect different types of trust—Japan leading in real-world lost-item honesty, the Nordics leading in interpersonal trust and experimental civic honesty.
  • Reputation, shame, and social pressure ensure honesty even if generalized trust is moderate.
  • In Japan, behavior is highly honest due to norms. In Nordic countries, behavior is driven by the general belief that people are trustworthy.
  • People follow rules and norms because it is socially expected, not necessarily because they trust strangers.
  • Japanese culture recognizes that not all strangers can be trusted, especially in large, anonymous cities. So they are cautious. Japanese honesty is norm-driven, not belief-driven.
  • They may think: “I can’t assume everyone will return a lost wallet — but I will return it because it’s my duty and expected by society.”
  • In Japan, keeping public spaces clean and properly disposing of trash is a form of everyday honesty, showing civic-minded behavior even when abstract trust in others is moderate.
  • It reinforces the distinction between behavioral honesty (what people actually do) and generalized trust (what people assume about others).
  • Japan shows a unique pattern: extremely honest behavior, but moderate caution toward trusting strangers. When people trust each other, there is less fear of being taken advantage, for example. Seeing honesty around you does not always make you trust strangers more.
  • Japanese people are extremely honest in daily behavior, yet more cautious about trusting strangers than many Western cultures. Their honesty is culturally driven, not trust-driven. Tokyo and Osaka are huge, anonymous cities. Large cities worldwide tend to have lower interpersonal trust, even when safe. Rules based societies imply others will not behave perfectly, therefore rules are needed. Japanese communication culture values: avoiding conflict, protecting social harmony (wa), not burdening others, and maintaining safety in urban environments. People are taught to be careful with strangers - not suspicious, just cautious.

  Table of Contents

1. My travel notes - May 2024

My travel notes - May 2024

Itinerary

Analysis

Constitution

• Tour guide #1: There is recent sentiment that thinks a reconsidering of article 9 may happen, given the number of adversaries in the region.
• Tour guide #2: Worries that Japanese have a pro war mindset that might get unlocked if article 9 of peace constitution is changed.
• Tour guide #2: Japan seems pro war. How important is the constitution in Japan? What is the most important part?
• Tour guide #4: There is a lot of debate about the constitution, especially about Article 9. There is somewhat of a contradiction already as Japan already has a military. The tour guide would prefer this article remain intact because he feels it is important to set an example for the rest of the world.

Corruption

• Tour guide #1: Campaign contributions can be used (hidden) for personal use.
• Tour guide #4: There is corruption. Politicians try to hide it but it is obvious tax money is used on personal vacations, for example.

Culture

• Research: Very rare to invite people into your homes

• Research: Not making mistakes (one reason why Japanese students are less likely to raise hands)

• Tour guide #1: Caught littering may result in a fine, but enforcement is not as strict as Singapore. Tokyo is not as clean of a city as Singapore.

• Tour guide #1: It is more common in Japanese culture to eat alone. However, in all of the other Asian countries this tour guide has visited, he sees them eating with groups of friends/family.

• Tour guide #1: In Japanese culture, it is impolite to say "no". If an idea is not liked, they dance around and say "we will reconvene to consider this idea" and then never actually reconsider it. It can be humiliating to a Japanese to be told "no", so effort is made to say it nicely/indirectly. It is actually rude to say "no" unlike in western countries.

• Tour guide #2: Confirmed that Japanese tend to be very cautious. They don't like to stand out, so even if they disagree with something, they will still go along with it. Government was also extra cautious in opening up country following Covid.

• Tour guide #2: Littering. Big fine. Taught by schools and families.

• Tour guide #2: Shinto sky or sun watching you not to do wrong things. Maybe why less crime. Parents say you must behave. Left luggage on subway five times. Very few pick pockets. 99 percent police never fire guns.

• Tour guide #2: Not pure Japanese (famous women's tennis player who is 50% Japanese and 50% Black)

• Tour guide #4: Japan is a shame culture. This is part of the reason why there are so few homeless.

• Tour guide #4: What happens in Japan if caught littering or shop lifting? Will get fined. In Singapore, you need stricter enforcement because it is a melting point of different cultures. In Japan, because it is homogenous, it is possible to enforce using cultural teachings in schools/families.

• Tour guide #4: I've heard many Japanese are risk adverse? Is this true? as general rule, yes. But there are some taking risks starting oen businesses. Becoming more common. He thinks a healthy country should have some innovators and entrepreneurs.

Education

• Tour guide #1: Politics are kept out of schools and conversations. These are avoided at all costs.
• Tour guide #1: It is not that expensive as daycare is subsidized. Some cities in Japan even subsidize private education (public education does not always get good funding)
• Tour guide #1: It is true that children spend extra effort studying for national exams, especially if they want to get into higher level colleges. However, these days, even if you get into these colleges, you are not guaranteed a good job.
• Tour guide #2: Not like Singapore. He was renting house. Two boys went out to play. Neighborhood kid did not play but just study. Tour guide #2 1000 yen per month in national university In 72
• Tour guide #2:Us prestigious universities super expensive. In best Japanese private universities are much less.

Energy

• Research: Japan needs to tread carefully because so dependent on imported energy. Have less nuclear energy now.
• Tour guide #1: Nuclear energy. Japan has not restored the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Tour guide says media fear mongers this topic. This is one of the reasons for the rising costs of energy in Japan. Even Media would gain if nuclear power because electricity bill would be less. The government does provide subsidizes to citizens to make up for increased energy cost. However, he thinks the money would be better served building new nuclear energy plants.
• Tour guide #2: Nuclear power plant. Stopped operation. Many people against. New type of power plant.
• Tour guide #4: EV cars - he thinks western countries are committing too quickly to EV vehicles. There is still coal burning. There are issues with charging batteries in colder climates, solid state batteries are still not yet available, still takes 30 minutes to charge, etc. Toyota is doing R&D but not yet ready to put anything in production. He thinks EVs have. He also does not trust reliability of American cars even Tesla.
• Tour guide #4: Is Japan doing something about its energy dependency? not really. Still have not replaced lost nuclear energy. Govt heavily subsidizes energy so cost is low. Tour guide thinks that money better invested in R&D and new energy plants.

English

• Tour guide #1: English classes are more about listening. Students spend most of their time listening to instructor. So it is maybe not the best way to learn English.
• Tour guide #2: English is universal so good to teach. Born after war. All learned English. Many not using because afraid making mistake. If I don't. Today more native English speakers. Younger generation is easier because internet.

Foreigners

Research

• Harmony on trains is disrupted by loud foreigners
• Foreigners turned down for apartments
  • Foreigners tend to be louder (e.g., parties) and have higher probability of bailing without paying
• Foreigners turned down for restaurants (table for 2? No. then Japanese couple comes in right after and gets table)
• Japanese don't speak English and don't want to have to deal with English only

Future

• Tour guide #1: Young people are seeing fewer opportunities in Japan. Many are starting to look abroad. Even in Australia, working at something like a supermarket, can be 2-3 times the income. So English skills will become more important for young Japanese. They can earn more money and then eventually come back to Japan to start a business for example.

Gambling

Research

• Less mainstream than in US
• Pachinko kind of like gambling

Health

• Tour guide #1: Public vs private health care. The government provides health care. However, funding comes from the local areas instead of the national level. So some areas have a bigger burden than others. In bigger cities, you may have access to better surgeons if have private health insurance. But it was more of an emphasis having a private room, etc. Based on my understanding of this conversation, it these surgeons more than likely serve both private and public health care patients. But not 100% on this.

• Tour guide #2: Charge foreigners twice at hospital

• Tour guide #2: Doesn't sound like quality difference between public and private hospitals

• Tour guide #4: Rich cannot have special care. There is not really a difference between private and public hospitals. Everybody has national health care. You pay into it a certain percentage of your salary. If you have income you pay for it. If you don't have job you get it for free. He was not concerned about it being free because only people who really needed it would do this. Maybe this is related to shame culture.

History

• Tour guide #2: 1868 new days for Japan opened to outside cultures
• Tour guide #2: Hiroshima do they welcome? Long period of time. So no resentment.
• Tour guide #2: Shogun like army head. Many concubines.
• Tour guide #2: Powerful samurai leader. Sometimes disregarded emperor. 1868 last one. Defeated by group who wanted group open to international. He was allowed to live. Pardoned.
• Tour guide #2: McArthur in this white building. Did three good things: farmers own land, voting rights to constitution, dismantled large econimc groups (too much and too much influence with military. Rumors Americans can't trust.
• Tour guide #4: There was 250 years of peace from 1603 to 1868. Japan was isolated from the rest of the world, except for the Dutch. There was a fear of Christianity because of how it was spreading across the world. It was banned in Japan. This is the biggest reason Japan was isolated.
• Tour guide #4: 1600s declare shogun 1603. This started 250 years of peace before the emperor took control. Lots of gardens and parks in city today from shogun era.
• Tour guide #4: Family temple. 1868. Meji restoration. Emperor comes into play. Xeno park became public park. 250 years of peace. Afraid Christianity. Banned Christianity because saw other countries being colonized by Spanish and English. Biggest reason why isolated. Did allow Dutch for import and export.

Homelessness

• Tour guide #1: There is a homeless problem in Japan - it is just not visible. I was surprised at this comment because of all of the open positions. The tour guide said the issue is that Japanese want office jobs, not blue collar jobs. Even if these jobs pay well.

Housing

Research

Houses are depreciating assets Housing interest rates under 1% Common for foreigners to get denied apartments

• Tour guide #1: Homes are considered a liability. Newer construction is more desirable (e.g. new earthquake technology)
• Tour guide #2: Bought house 42 years ago. 8 percent mortgage. Asset bubble. Everything going way up. His house was worth 400K USD. At one point during asset bubble it was 700K USD. This was 40 years ago! Then bubble popped. Salaries did not rise from early 90s to 2020. (note: I did stopped asking clarifying questions because it was very clear it was not something he wanted to talk).
• Tour guide #4: Buying house. Mortgage deduct from taxes. He bought house in late 80s. Said tour guide #2 was lucky to have bought house on 1982. He did confirm real estate is typically a depreciating asset.
• Tour guide #4: Is it expensive to buy a home in Japan? Are there property taxes? Real estate agents? more expensive in city. Lots of committing time from suburbs.

Immigration

• Tour guide #1: By far the biggest voting block is the older people in Japan. They are reluctant to have immigration. As a result, politicians are not green lighting immigration. The younger generation, who does not vote much, is more receptive to immigration. Need to be blood Japanese. It is not an immigration country. You can grow up here, and still not be Japanese.

• Tour guide #1: Confirmed this is true. Many Japanese do not consider you real authentic Japanese unless you look it. Half-Japanese citizens are not treated as real citizens. This is probably because skeptical they can really understand all nuances of cultural rules of Japan.

• Tour guide #1: Japan brings low cost help on a visa program called an "internship". Families are not allowed to be brought in as well. Only can be there for five years. There is criticism that this program is "slave labor".

• Tour guide #2: Populations of Chinese that silo themselves from rest of Japanese culture.

International Relations - United States

• Tour guide #4: He is weary of Trump in the sense that he is America first. He worries that this mindset could hurt Japan in the terms of tariffs, for example. I asked for an example but he could not give me one. Apparently there was a tariff that may have hurt Japan, but not confirmed.

• Tour guide #4: I asked him what he thought about Biden calling Japan xenophobic. He was not aware of this comment/term and looked up the definition. He just shook his head and said these types of comments are just oversimplifications. There is a lot of complexity with no easy answer.

Manufacturing

• Tour guide #4: Why are Japanese auto manufacturers so much better than the American counterparts? He thinks a good analogy is this: Americans have a hunting history. The hunters go out and hunt and return with the food. It is then prepared for meals. Japan has an ancient history of agriculture. Agriculture require everyone to play a role in order for the crops to be harvested. If anyone is not doing the job, the crops will not be harvested. So there is a harmony to the work. Likewise, the Japan employer and employees have a certain amount of respect towards each other. There is a harmony. They are striving towards the same goal. In negotiations, the labor union will make certain recommendations. The employer will be very receptive. There will also be receptiveness to integrating advanced robotics into the car manufacturing plants. The employees are not concerned about their jobs because the employer will reassign them to a new job. So there is no tension there. Americans, on the other hand, still manually drill, work limited hours, protest, and seem to be at war with the employer. It is the opposite of harmony - they seem to be competitors. This is why the tour guide does not buy American. He also is skeptical of Tesla. I did point out that Tesla has fewer parts that can break.

Media

• Tour guide #1: There was a lot of controversy in building the Olympics stadium. Originally a British architect had designed the stadium. It had a retractable roof and was designed for long term use. However, one of the power Japanese architects led an effort to throw out this design. The official reason is that it did not blend into Shinjuku neighborhood very well. Eventually, this design got cancelled. In its place turned out to be a very bland, uninspiring stadium with wooden exterior that will be very expensive to maintain. Another architect battled it out with the first architect. The media took the side of the first architecture. Once the Japanese media has a target, they lock in on it until it is destroyed.

• Tour guide #1: Another example of the media locking in on a target is the proposed magnetic trains. One governor said a small part of this track in the mountainous area was going to have a big environment impact (water access for local farmers). So he campaigned to re-route. The media started attacking him. Spread rumors he was being paid off by Chinese, who wanted to be the first to build magnetic trains. Eventually so much pressure was put on the governor that he resigned. However, it turns out another area of this track actually encountered this exact environmental problem he had called out. Then the media changed tuned and praised how much of a forward thinker he was.

• Tour guide #1: Japan's media is supposed to be independent. However, you can tell by the way they write articles that they are politically biased.

Misc.

Research

Fruits are very expensive Very hard to throw away large items Use stamps rather than signatures Walk a ton! Lots of pre-fabricated housing? Cookie cutter residential buildings. But no housing problem in Japan. Older buildings get demolished because not up to current Earthquake codes. Tipping is ok for tour guides!

• Tour guide #1: The Olympics had no spectators because of Covid concerns. The Japanese government advised everyone to stay home. The older population is a huge voting bloc. Also, the hospitals have very power lobbying groups. They complained that hospitals would fill up quickly if allowed to attend games. However, tour guide is skeptical attending games would cause much risk.

• Tour guide #1: Used to be restrictions on how high buildings can be. But recently, this has been relaxed. Also, for cost reasons, new buildings are not retaining architecture styles. Instead, just looking like modern boring buildings.

• Tour guide #2: His son has started his own business. The government provided him 2 years of free rent for a small commercial property.

• Tour guide #2: Japan is small country. If include sea water then 6th largest country.

• Tour guide #2: Different def. Of mansion. Residential buildings. Are you living in mansion?

• Tour guide #2: Japanese education does not thoroughly cover WW2.

• Tour guide #2: Mitsubishi huge company. Own 70 percent of buildings from view of Imperial Palace owned by them.

• Tour guide #2: Too much deregulation. Loosening. Buildings too close to each other. Can't open door.

• Tour guide #4: Australians ski in Jan and Feb. Ski resorts. Powder skiing.

• Tour guide #4: Not allowed to receive gifts if you have a job description. But tour guides don't really have a defined job description.

• Tour guide #4: Japan initially had plans to finish its magnetic train in 2027. However, there have been environmental concerns with sections of the tracks in the mountains.

• Tour guide #4: Tour guide has the general view that politics are usually about power plays. Also, he thinks with decisions that are made, there are always tradeoffs.

Natural Resources

• Tour guide #2:Japan does not have resources. Only resource is water.

Parenting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_gnpIs8qMo

Population Decline

Mindset of younger generation

• Have more fun things (e.g., computer games, smart phones, travel) to keep them busy • Has heard and seen the sacrifices involved in raising a family • Younger men have less confidence ○ Fewer higher paying jobs • Japanese culture taught: "Life is all about getting married and having kids" ○ Today, young people want to have their own dreams come true first • Some young people don't see the benefits of marriage ○ Would have to worry about divorce

Cultural

• Work culture makes it difficult to find time to spend with kids • Women are considered the primary care takers for children (heavy burden) • "Child penalty" for women ○ Companies more reluctant to hire if married or planning kids ○ More difficult to find regular employment after kids • Balancing elderly and child care responsibilities ○ Frowned upon if you rely on others to take care of elderly parents • Changes in dating and marriages (smart phones, arranged marriages) ○ Changed from arranged marriages to romance based ○ Takes longer and more divorces • Reluctance to ask for help in raising kids ○ Some moms think weaker relationship with kids if only see in mornings, evenings, and weekends. ○ Considered a lazy mom in Japan if you put your kids into daycare • Women feel strongly that men and women should share equally in childcare ○ But men are not interested, leaving disappointed women • The advantages of having kids should be more emphasized • There used to be a lot of social pressure to get married • In Japan, many mothers raise their children alone which is hard. ○ Feel isolated from society after having child

History

• After WWII, Japan had a lot of demand to fill company jobs ○ Many Japanese men joined companies ○ Japanese started to see children in a different way - from "children are workforce" to "children are expensive"

Government

• There are more support services available today - baby sitter, daycare • Families moving out of Tokyo getting up to 1 million Yen per child from government • Women who don't want to have kids do not need to have kids ○ But hopefully Japan will support women who want to have kids ○ Need to focus on how to support mom's effectively • "Children are huge assets and benefits for Japan's future" • Key is to give flexibility to mothers to have various ways of working and living § It is just not about money § Childcare is needed 24/7. Daycare is only part of solution. Still have support mornings, evening, and weekends. § We need a system to support parents § (see neighborhoods/communities that offer this type of support) § "Your kids are everyone's kids in the town so let's raise them together."

Smaller Towns

• % of people who have more than 2 hour commutes a day: ○ 55% in Tokyo. 45% in Osaka. • Parks, shopping malls, etc. are almost always crowded in big cities - wherever you take your child • 80% of mothers in Japan have trouble using transportation • Need better support for mothers • Big city of Tokyo is not good place to raise kids • Not all places in Japan have dramatically falling birthrate • Highest birthrate in Japan: Okinawa • Nagano is the most popular destination in Japan for families to move to from a city • Ideally, it would be good to have more companies that allow you to work remotely outside of Tokyo • Tokyo has the lowest birth rate, but highest amount of births • In rural areas, most move out of there since there are no universities or colleges (and few return) • Article: "Japan readies 'unprecedented' effort to arrest falling birthrate" • Article: "Japan to raise financial support for moving out of Tokyo" • However, some point out that the government is only focusing on financial support (prefer stable income) • Key is to give flexibility to mothers to have various ways of working and living • Key is having people around you who can also help out and a willingness to ask for help

Tour Guides

• Tour guide #1: Japan subsidizes daycare programs, so cost is not prohibitive. Tour guide did not think there was an cultural issue with letting others help raise their young kids.

• Tour guide #1: He thinks finances are a big reason for the low birth rate. He also thinks new technology (e.g., smart phone) provides new entrainment options for people, making it less of a reason to have kids.

• Tour guide #1: Shortage of workers. Construction workers. Bus drivers. Even train tracks have been installed with automatic gates so a conductor in the back of the train is no longer needed.

• Tour guide #1: Even in richer countries where finances are not a big concern (e.g., Singapore), the birthrate is declining. So tour guide does not think finances is the main reason.

• Tour guide #1: It is true many have to care for both children and elderly parents.

• Tour guide #1: Okinawa is the area with the best birth rate. They have a different culture there. There is a more laid back attitude. Families help each other in raising kids.

• Tour guide #1: Japanese know the population is declining and are saving extra for retirement because they expect reduced social safety nets to be

• Tour guide #2: Too big of a commitment on younger people. Japanese women now are having 1.26 kids.

• Tour guide #4: There are many factors contributing to the decline in population. Perhaps the biggest one, in his observation, is that the younger generation is less interested in putting in the work to raise kids. They have many other things to keep them occupied.

• Tour guide #4: He is not as concerned with the decline in the population. He thinks technology will be able to replace the depleted population. Robotics is advancing. AI is advancing. I countered that you will still need construction workers. He thinks the way construction is done is changing. Parts are being made at manufacturing plants (built with robotics) and just need final assembly (fewer human construction workers).

• Tour guide #4: COVID had some good parts. Fewer Japanese than Americans lost their lives. Unclear why. But it also brought about remote work. He is on a board of directors that meets a few times a month. Now they just use zoom. He has only met the board a couple times in person. What is the biggest cost to raising a family in Japan?

• Tour guide #4: the sense he gets is that young people think raising kids is too much work. That is maybe the biggest reason, and not financial reasons. The govt is pouring a lot of resources into childcare

• Tour guide #4: his mother had dementia. It was so hard he had to put her into assisted living. Same with father (or maybe it was his grandfather). So it is becoming more common not to care directly for elderly parents. He visits assisted living centers with his band.

Religion

• • Tour guide #4: The posted proper way to worship at a Shinto temple is to 1.) lightly bow, 2.) bow 2 times, 3.) Clap your hands twice, 4.) bow again 1 time, 5.) lightly bow once before leaving. However, it turns out, this is a recent process dating back to 1950. Despite this, it is communicated as an ancient traditional worship process.
• • Tour guide #4: On one of the Shinto shrines we visited, there was a Nazi symbol. It turns out this symbol has origins from ancient Mesopotamia. It eventually traveled to both Germany and Japan. Each one assigned a different meaning to it.
• • Tour guide #4: Buddhism more discipline then religion. Rules to get heaven. Imported from India then Buddhism. From 6th to 1868 Shinto and Buddhism. After 1868 new govt imported constitutional monarchy. Emperor must be king. Needed religion. Already had it. Let's use Shinto. No distinction. Govt trying to separate, but you can still see remnants of Buddhism in these shrines. "The Meiji government needed a way to remove Buddhism from the structure of power and elevate Shintō to a position of unrivaled precedence. The government issued an order legally separating Buddhism and Shintō, which had been intricately bound together as part of the power structure during the Edo period" .

Safety Nets

• • Tour guide #1: Social security system is similar to the US.
• • Tour guide #4: tour guide seems to be ok with govt giving money to those who need it. I said in Argentina they give money to poor. Enough to live on. Gotten used to receiving money so much that they have no incentive to work. Tour guide thinks this would not happen in Japan because of shame culture.
• • Tour guide #4: We talked about the concept of just giving people money to help them out. I had the opinion that you need skin in the game to appreciate the money. You appreciate something more if you work hard for it. I used the analogy that no one washes a rental car. But he disagreed and said when he returns a car he makes sure it is in the same condition has he picked it up. Americans do this too but because we don't want any fees assessed after returning the car.

Taxes

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/t10K4xFc8eQ?feature=share

• Tour guide #1: Japan has a big inheritance tax. It is so big that many wealthy families end up giving land to government because can't afford taxes. So many smaller parks that used to be.

• Tour guide #4: Taxes are really complicated in Japan! It is advisable at times to get a tax accountant.

Tourism

• Tour guide #1: A tourist brought a huge baby stroller onto a packed train. You can sense the quiet displeasure from the Japanese on the train. You are supposed to use a specially reserved section of the train for baby strollers. Tourists are increasing crowding on the same trains Japanese use to get to work. This is becoming an even bigger issue in Kyoto. There are more buses there. You can only imagine who annoying it is when tourists bring their big suitcases on these crowded buses.

• Tour guide #4: Kyoto has had a lot more difficulties with it. They do not have the infrastructure to support it. Thinks Tokyo has better infrastructure to support tourism.

Work Culture

Salaries are not really negotiable

• Tour guide #1: In Japan, it is very hard to fire workers. Once you are at a company, you are there for a career. If you happen to leave a company, and join a new company, your salary gets reset. Salaries are not based on merit but on seniority. As a result, the idea of bringing up top talent from around the world is more difficult. Japanese will have to accept the idea that you could get fired from your job for this to happen. In addition, there are no visas in place for skilled people to become citizens in Japan. Most foreigners who become citizens use marriage.

• Tour guide #1: Coworkers are generally less willing to talk about their weekends, especially the younger ones. Americans might talk about what they did, activities their kids did, complain about kids throwing tantrums, talk about hobbies, talk about the football game, etc. Japanese are more closed off.

• Tour guide #2: Hard to fire. At 60 salary went down 40 percent.

• Tour guide #2: Can change jobs and not lose salary. So merit based.

• Tour guide #4: It is a myth that Japanese work culture requires lots of overtime work. There are some that this is true, but not all. It is also myth that when you change jobs you have to reset your salary. What is true is that it is more difficult to fire people at a company.

• Tour guide #4: Can you move from one company to another without losing salary? Yes!

• Tour guide #4: Is it really true it is very hard to get fired from a Japanese company? Yes.

World War II

• Tour guide #1: Unlike Mexico which has deep hurt from Mexican American war, Japanese have little resentment towards US for WW2. Part of this may be attributed to how the US helped rebuild Japan after war.

• Tour guide #4: On March 10 1945, US Air Force fire bombed Tokyo. Likely 100,000 people were killed. Over 1 million left homeless. This is a very little known fact compared with Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He said the propaganda was extremely intense from the government. Made it sounds like Japan was winning the war. His dad, however, had built a radio and was able to listening to American broadcast. So, although he was not allowed to say it, he knew the US was winning. His family was right on the outskirts of the firebombing and able to survive. Many kamikaze pilots were influenced by propaganda.

Tour Guides

• Tour guide #2: Singapore in 84. No surveillance. Felt govt watching him.

• Tour guide #2: On last day of work after going away party, was pulled over for DUI. Cop car followed him all the way to his driveway. He was leaving for Japan in the next day or two.

• Tour guide #4: Visited a simple Shinto graveyard where his parents and grandparents are buried.

• Tour guide #4: Member of band that performs at assisting living facility.

• Tour guide #4: He was a little rebellious growing up. He liked to challenge his teachers. He went to college at UCLA and Sandford and got his PHD in computer science. He then came back to Japan. Became CEO of an ISP. This ISP was the first to integrate the Google search engine into their Japanese website. They routed all search queries back to Mountain View, CA. Responses had to be under 5 milliseconds. Used fiber optics. He had dinner with Larry Page. No body else at his company was brave enough. Said Page. It was a terrifying experience because Page was talking about strange, far out space related topics.

• Tour guide #4: He does these tours not because he needs the money, but because he wants to spread the message about Japan. He wants to specifically reach the younger people as they are the ones who will be rising up in leadership roles in the US. He specifically said he is concerned about the younger generation just sending bombs at Japan, and wants to focus on educating the younger generation so they are more informed.

• Tour guide #4: singer and song writer. Tennis. Golf. Scuba diving.

• Tour guide #4: Tour guide has always been the nail that sticks out in Japan. He has an innovative spirt and willing to challenge teachers. He says the education system in Japan is starting to understand it needs to change the way it teachers. If I remember right this had to do with students being reluctant to ask questions in class. It is starting to change but it will take time. He says it is important to have at least some innovative thinkers.

• Tour guide #4: Forced to be innovative. Rebel. Wanted to be challenged. Building radios. Major challenge. Hired as engineering. Tv show for electronics. Eventually went to the US to attend college at UCLA and Stanford (PHD in computer science). His focus was on early adoption of AI.

• Tour guide #4: He got his first introduction to capitalism via a private equity firm. They wanted money justifications for all business decisions. Everything was about money. Eventually they told him he was no longer needed, but couldn't fire him because entire staff would leave with him.