#save japan

😍😍😍 i havent died okay yet

Take america doodle i did in some class for my dear bro 🩷

Excuse me.

WHAT.

Does he eat... people?

Suddenly my theory that Norwegian children are raised on Viking blood and the souls of noisy neighbours doesn't sound that unrealistic anymore.

Eden of the East has an interesting storyline where a group of twelve individuals, each gifted with ten billion yen, are tasked with saving Japan from its economic and societal collapse. The first five episodes of the anime set the stage for an exploration of what happens when a generation feels that there’s nothing left for them in their own country.

This theme resonates deeply with Saki, a young woman who, in the opening episode, expresses her disillusionment with Japan’s socioeconomic downfall. She feels there’s nothing left for young people to do, and like many who leave their home countries for greater opportunities abroad, Saki believes that her journey to the United States will lead to new experiences, like seeing the White House, which she views as the "center of the world." This reflects a larger sentiment, a sense of being trapped in a country that offers no fresh paths for personal or professional growth, forcing many young people to dream of escaping to foreign shores. We see this when this when Saki’s friend decides to delay his graduation by a year, opting to stay home and help his parents instead of entering the workforce. This decision highlights the growing irrelevance of a degree in a society where economic stagnation and limited job opportunities make traditional education feel increasingly unless. In Japan, where success has historically been linked to academic achievement, such a move signals a quiet rebellion against a system that no longer guarantees anything. It’s a subtle diss at how higher education is increasingly seen as a financial burden rather than a ticket to success.

When Saki hears about her friend's decision, there's a brief but noticeable discomfort in her expression which hints at her own feelings. She, too, is working from home in a non-traditional job, and like many of her peers, she may feel that the hard-earned degree she’s supposed to value no longer has the same significance. This moment suggests that Saki, like her friend, is questioning the value of a degree in an economy that seems indifferent to it.

Let’s see how the next few episodes tie in the importance of the 12 individuals set out to be the next “messiahs” of Japan.

TOKYO —

Everybody knows Japan is in crisis. The biggest problems it faces – sinking economy, aging society, sinking birthrate, radiation, unpopular and seemingly powerless government – present an overwhelming challenge and possibly an existential threat. Less fateful but closer to home is a tangle of smaller worries and anxieties, of which Shukan Josei (March 13) enumerates 10.

Some of them – one-third of single women living in poverty, rising number of children needing protection from child abuse – are in fact far from minor. Others – increase in bicycle accidents, increasing destruction caused by wildlife – do seem at first glance to merit the back burner, although at second glance…

Take destructive wildlife, for instance. Deer, wild boar, monkeys and other creatures who know not what they do cause each year an estimated 20 billion yen worth of damage to crops, national parks, and also to people in the form of personal injury – monkeys especially. Deer nibbling tree bark have turned half of Japan’s national parkland into wasteland, Shukan Josei says, while boar ravage rice paddies. If only the Japanese, like the Europeans, could acquire a taste for eating game! Then hunters would hunt the marauders in greater numbers, and a sustainable balance be restored. But though the Japanese became meat-eaters, their preference remains strictly for domestic livestock.

The trouble with bicycles – convenient, environment-friendly and excellent exercise – is that anyone can ride one; you don’t need a license and there’s no mandatory instruction on rules of the road, which many riders, apparently, don’t know. Besides, few people think of bikes as dangerous, so they’re not given the respect they deserve. Many accidents – Shukan Josei doesn’t tell us how many – involve pedestrians and can be serious. Cyclists draw most of the blame, not altogether fairly. Japan, the magazine points out, is far behind other places, notably Holland and Scandinavia, in creating exclusive bicycle lanes.

There’s actually a silver lining in rising child abuse statistics. At least some of the rise is attributed to neighbors reporting problems, which suggests spreading awareness and also maybe heightened neighborly concern. That’s small comfort to victimized children, of course. Stress and isolation get much of the blame. Child-raising used to be a community responsibility, but communities hardly exist anymore; or the whole extended family got involved, but extended families, too, are almost extinct. Moreover, Shukan Josei adds, public children’s homes tend to be understaffed and rundown, unlike senior citizens’ homes, which benefit from more attention.

Why should one-third of single women be living in poverty? For one thing, most working women – 12 million – are part-time employees, receiving small salaries and few benefits. For another, inheritance laws are skewed in favor of men. Since many single women are single mothers, the impact on children is harsh. “Compared to other developed countries, Japan gives very weak protection to its young generation,” the magazine hears from a lawyer.