If I had to pick one cultural difference between Japan and the rest of the world that doesn't get discussed on social media all the time, it's the ever-present thought of 3.11 and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster.
Yesterday in my reading group a non-Japanese person who moved to Tokyo very recently turned the AC down to 23 degrees. My immediate thought was that this was too low—not for comfort, but because it uses too much power. I caught myself thinking about Fukushima and then mentally scolded myself: Seriously? 23 degrees and I immediately think of Fukushima? Just enjoy the cold room, sheesh.
My Japanese friend came into the room, saw the thermostat, and turned it up to a more reasonable 25. The person who'd turned it down playfully groaned, and my friend (being totally friendly, but still) gave them an entire spiel about where Japan gets its energy (mostly gas, an especially unreliable source since the Russian invasion and the US-Iran war breaking out). And they asked straightforwardly if the person knew about the Fukushima disaster. It took the person several moments to figure out what my Japanese friend was even talking about, while for me it was already on my mind.
I was struck that both of our heads went there just by seeing "23 degrees" on an aircon remote control.
When I was teaching in Japan, an alarm would sound in the teacher's room when we'd used our electricity allotment for the day. If we went over, it'd be taken out of the allotment for next year. We turned off hallway lights and kept the AC on at 28 degrees (82 degrees Fahrenheit). There was no expectation of being nice and cool in the summertime, only of avoiding dangerous heat exhaustion.
The cultural difference is that Japan learned in the hardest way possible where its energy comes from, and most people have not.
Also if you've read this far I would like to add that the US pushes Japan to continue using nuclear power because it wants a convenient supply of uranium ready for its own nuclear weapons arsenal. Ty have a nice day!!
