Nearly half of Japanese young adults entering their 30s as virgins

[SunAndRain808]

Yes, this is very disturbing for me to read news articles that a good population of certain men, usually the ones who lack social skills, are resorting to paying $6000.00 for a freaking sex doll. I mean come on, you can use that money to go to soaplands and other incall locations in Tokyo for better deals.

Still, I think it's the work-aholic culture in Japan that is causing people to delay their marriage or to enter into their 30's as virgins. Sad.

Same trend happening in South Korea these days.

[Douglas Dakota]

Originally Posted by Yourgermanicanish

Japan is one of the countries I have been interested in since I was little. One day I would love to go to Japan! One of my favorite things about Japan is the history, especially medieval Japan. I also like reading about the more bizarre stories, superstitions and urban legends. Although not many will talk about them but I like reading about the Ainu people as well.

Just do it! Japan is a great country to travel. There are so many things to see, interesting places to visit and great food to eat.

Originally Posted by botticelli

Let me repeat: manga is hardly an important piece of the Japanese culture and those who think they love Japan because of manga are just sadly misled.

No need to learn Japanese but just accept you will never understand Japanese culture without it.

I never found anything interesting in manga. Already as a child I was wondering about those strange movies with people who all have huge and deformed eyes.
But if people have their fascination about this topic, why not. Americans also read their comics, it was very popular some time ago.

But I have to disagree: mangas are somewhat important in Japan. Not only from economic perspective (one third of the press/book market in Japan are mangas, all the merchandise and TV related to it...) but you will see just normal people sitting in the train reading manga. There are cafes about it, advertisement at every corner and official signs use manga for explanation. The cultural values und aesthetic standards of people are often represented by manga.

But well, many foreigner seem to overrate the importance. It's not like every day people walk around like comic characters.

However, if people really think their future partner has to look like comic character or J-pop stars, they should ask themselves if they also look like one ^^. I always support interesting hobbies and somehow feel sympathy for nerds as they are able to develop real enthusiasm which is rare in the supercool and "i don't care world" of today. But it should just be a hobby and nothing more and should not prevent them from meeting real girls. They will lack social skills and won't even be able to hold a normal conversation with women - that's not how the manga superhero would be described.

[Milky Way Resident]

Originally Posted by botticelli

manga and video games are not an important part of Japanese life or culture. Those who love those are totally missing the point. It is like loving Czech Republic due to some porn stars.

And without sufficient mastery of the language, one can never claim any degree famillarity with the said culture. Languag is everything. You can't learn everything about Japan in the English language. that's just impossible.

Plenty of people learn a foreign language outside a good career. It is a matter of dedication. Time is never a good excuse.

I disagree. manga and video games play a huge role in shaping Japanese culture as do the IT/electronics sector. Where I do agree with you is that those elements are my no means exhaustive and there is far more to Japanese culture.

You can find entire stores dedicated to manga with a plethora of choices, many of which have't even be released in the West yet. The manga/anime released in the West represents only a tiny fraction of what is produced in the country.
Video games are also not a Japanese thing, but the country played a huge role in shaping that landscape. Who has not heard of Nintendo, Sega or Sony?

[wanderlust76]

Manga is just some sort of a cross between a graphic novel and a comic book with anime looking characters. It certainly is part of the culture. That's like saying Disney characters, Batman, Spider-Man, and Captain America were never part of the U.S. culture.

The nerds that obsess over manga are just the millennials version of comic book nerds in the modern era.

Whether or not these particular slices of culture are "important" or not is irrelevant and would be up for debate depending on how much it effected or influenced the cultures we're talking about.

[Douglas Dakota]

Originally Posted by wanderlust76

Manga is just some sort of a cross between a graphic novel and a comic book with anime looking characters. It certainly is part of the culture. That's like saying Disney characters, Batman, Spider-Man, and Captain America were never part of the U.S. culture.

The nerds that obsess over manga are just the millennials version of comic book nerds in the modern era.

Whether or not these particular slices of culture are "important" or not is irrelevant and would be up for debate depending on how much it effected or influenced the cultures we're talking about.

It does not only influence the cultures, but also vice versa: It is a mirror of the society and culture. Same for American Comics, Western movies, superhero stories - It represents the peoples mindset, values, traditions and dreams.

[Oldhag1]

This thread is closed. There are more than a few inappropriate posts and the likelihood of getting more is high.