Japanese people on lemmy, what is Japan actually like ?

x4740N@lemmy.world to Ask Lemmy@lemmy.world – 142 points –

I want to know what Japan is like from people who actually live in Japan especially after seeing some misleading posts online from people who don't live in Japan & people misunderstanding something resulting in people being misleadingly negative about Japan

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I’m a permanent resident of Japan and am raising a family here. I think you would get better responses if you posed more specific questions, or provided examples of what kind of misunderstandings people have experienced and posted about online.

I find Japan a pleasant place to live, but it is far from perfect, just like any society. The cost of living is quite reasonable compared to many other countries, which makes the lower salaries go further.

People are generally friendly, but you sometimes have to read between the lines, as people tend to be less direct so as to avoid confrontation (“It is a little difficult” is a polite way to say “No!” for example).

Anyway, if you have any other questions I’ll be around.

Yeah, 建前 and 本音 are definitely a thing to get used to, heh. I agree, specific questions are definitely helpful to answer

What is the first word? Google translated it to the pronunciation, but said the second word means "true feelings"

tatemae is the romanisation. It is your public attitude, which may be different to your real attitude (hon’ne).