CULTURE｜SOCIETY
Why So Many People Feel Like Outsiders in Japan
The origin of collectivism and individualism secretly embraced by many
Published in
4 min readFeb 26, 2023
In February 2023, a snowy town in Fukui suddenly made news headlines. The government of Ikeda Town had published ‘The 7 Rules of Life in Ikeda’ in its promotional pamphlet, and these rules laid down by the town committee made people across Japan frown.
The controversial 7 rules included very specific suggestions for how to fit into the town¹:
- Cooperate with frequent local events and responsibilities which you may not have encountered in big cities.
- Don’t impose your values on others. Don’t act like city-dwellers.
- Be patient even if you feel subjected to the scrutiny of people in the village. Though you may find it invasive of your privacy, this is the way people welcome you.
With heated debate online, the town office explained that they should have made their intention clearer to ask for a better understanding of local customs among new settlers.
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