Comment on Time to bash Americans again
gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks agoIf Europe goes to fash, my options narrow to Japan or SK or A/NZ, and none of those have the same geopolitical weight as the EU.
The EU is, IMO, the last best hope for democracy in the world these days, in the context of a geopolitically significant polity that is (mostly) cohesive.
And I hope that statement ages like wine, not milk (or, like the B5 S3 intro)
arcterus@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
I mean Japan's political situation is kind of weird. The LDP has basically been in power forever (with super brief interruptions). It lost power recently though so we'll see what happens I guess. IIUC tho anti-immigrant sentiment is rising (at least partly fueled by the massive waves of shitty tourists IMO), which prob isn't a great sign based on what's been happening in other countries.
gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I still speak a reasonable amount of Japanese, and am familiar with the social norms. I think I would be fine, despite being white as a picket fence.
That’s not to say I am dismissing the xenophobia - it’s real, and it’s one of the aspects of Japanese society that troubles me the most, in a general sense.