I find a few things curious about this. The first is that it's not just Japan. Google "things that only happen in Australia" and you receive a similar list of responses that includes "22 crazy things that only happen in Australia", "101 things you can only do in Australia" and so on.
For my Australian readers, I can tell you that the Australian lists almost always include something about being attacked by koalas. This tells us two things. First that the dropbear stories are working (keep it up guys) and second, that these lists are, shall we say, unreliable.
In fact it seems to work for pretty much an country. The exception is Belgium of course where the weird thing about Belgium is that the list can only go up to five, The number one weird thing about Belgium seems to be that somebody fixed a paving stone with gaffer tape. I shit you not.
So, all of this notwithstanding, I recently got sent a link to this video;
The video lists 14 apparently weird things that only happen in Japan. The list consists of things that, for me, are either not weird at all or are wildly exaggerated. More than that, they miss some of the really interesting things.
SO I thought I might run through the list for you;
1. Slurping is polite
This one appears on quite a few lists. I'm not sure why it's weird to slurp noodles, but maybe that's just me. As far as I'm concerned, it's simply practical.
Ramen noodles in Japan are served piping hot. More than that, they are best eaten while still piping hot. The answer to this is to slurp in some air as you eat the noodles.
2. Schools don't hire janitors.
This one is simply false. Schools DO hire janitors. There's a lovely article about this very topic that you can read here.
On the other hand it's also true that school children are expected to clean the school. I don't think this is weird, I think it's a wonderful way to teach the kids to take responsibility for their environment.
3. Japan has a high literacy rate.
This is weird? Well our narrator goes on to tell us that it's not weird, it's shocking. In reponse to this I have two questions, first, isn't this supposed to be a list of weird things? and second, why is that shocking?
The funny thing here is that there is something weird about the literacy rate in Japan. That is that there has not been a national literacy survey since 1948.
Japan's real literacy rate is probably around 95% or so, which places it pretty much right in amongst the world's developed nations (and Belgium),
4. Naked day is real
Yes, it's true. There is a Naked Day. On Naked Day, everybody attends work or school wearing nothing but a charming smile. Bowing becomes even more important than ever and the morning calisthenics class becomes a spectator sport.
Except none of that is true. This is another old standby of Japan lists. There are Hadaka Matsuri (naked festivals) and they are essentially as described in the video. I'm not sure about people wandering around the streets in a loincloth, but certainly they attend the matsuri festival wearing a loincloth and happi coat (not a happy coat as the video seems to suggest). A happi coat is a loose, linen jacket that comes to about mid-thigh.
5. Crooked teeth are attractive
If this is weird, nobody better tell Keira Knightly.
6. Sleeping on the job will get you promoted
This one, and the concepts that surround it, are, I grant, a bit weird. In Japan, there is a strong tendency to attribute credit for effort, rather than results. There is also a lot of formality and a lot of things done for show, rather than for substance.
It's changing, slowly, but it still exists in more traditional Japanese organisations. A person should not leave before their boss, for example. It's considered proper to work late, whether or not your work is done.
Japanese people also sleep less than any other people in the OECD, averaging about 7.5 hours per night in total and less than 7 hours per night on weekdays. So, it's not uncommon to find people sleeping at their desk.
The word used in the video is "inemuri" (居眠り). It's a bit hard to translate, but means something like "sleeping while present". Apart from workers sleeping on the job, it's also common for managers, often quite senior managers, to sleep during meetings. Often managers are expected to attend a meeting simply because of who they are. They will have nothing to contribute and no real interest in what's going on. This is the perfect opportunity for a doze!
Yes, I have been to many, many meetings where a senior guy was present but sleeping. No, I did not make it a practice to sleep in meetings. OK, maybe once or twice.
You can see an article about this particular quirk of the Japanese here.
7. Sticking fingers up a butt is fine (Kancho)
Yes, and stripping someone of their trousers unexpectedly is fine in Australia. Or grabbing the back of their strides and pulling them up far enough that it hurts, that's fine too.
In other words kancho, like wedgies and dacking, exists, but is far from common among those over 12 years old.
8. Japan has 11 cat islands
If there's 11, then 10 are not widely known. There is a Rabbit Island. On the other hand, the country of Japan includes a total 6852 islands, so it's possible I suppose.
9. KFC is Christmas food
Yep, this is a second one I have to agree is real and common.
KFC, with their red and white colouring, somehow managed to get themselves associated with Christmas very early in their life in Japan. Understand that Japan had no Christmas traditions, so KFC, seeing a gap, took their chance and it paid of big time.
Curiously enough, Christmas has become a bit of a tradition in Japan now, but not for children. It's mainly a thing for young couples. Go figure.
10. Black teeth are beautiful
Well yes, and wooden teeth are popular in the west if we use the same timescale.
Black teeth (ohaguro - this guy's pronunciation is driving me nuts) were once popular in Japan, but ended over a hundred years ago. It was popular in other parts of asia too, notably Vietnam. One weird thing that you might like to note is that three of the five women shown in the video with blackened teeth are Vietnamese, not Japanese.
11. Adults can be adopted
At last, here's another weird one. Well interesting at least.
One issue that you need to consider is that the word "adoption" and the whole concept of adoption as we think of it, is a particularly western view. In Japan, the word has quite different connotations.
The video is vaguely accurate on this point and there has already been a lot written about this, so I won't comment much further. It's one of the reasons why the longest continuous family business exists in Japan.
12. There is a suicide forest
Yep it's true, but more sad than weird. Aokigahara (青木ヶ原 - literally Blue Tree Wilderness) is a forest near Mt Fuji that has become known for attracting suicides. Sadly, all over the world there are such locations.
13. The weirdest thing - public crying
If it's a thing, it's not a thing that I've encountered. I'm sure it exists, wellness gurus promoting all manner of weird things are common in Japan as they are in other parts of the world.
And the word he is trying to say for "good looking men" is ikemen.
14. It seems they couldn't think of a fourteenth, so they made one up.
Bonus - What's not weird
Apparently rubbing nightingale shit on your face is not weird. Maybe that's because Victoria Beckham does it?
