Japan: Dark Times Ahead? (13 Years in, Things Are Changing)

It wouldn’t be an understatement to say my thirteen years in Japan couldn’t really have gone much better.

If somebody had told me in my tiny apartment in the early days that I'd end up visiting all 47 prefectures, cycling across the country, opening a bar in Shibuya and meeting Ken Watanabe and the Emperor, I'd genuinely be quite scared.

The thought of it all would've been a bloody anxiety inducing nightmare at the time.

From the get-go, I’ve always tried my best to fit in, study the language and the Japanese way of thinking, contribute to the local areas I’ve lived in, and shine a light on the best parts of the country. Beyond all that, I’ve been lucky to befriend so many amazing people, many of whom you know thanks to Abroad in Japan.

At times, it felt like living in a bubble. A peaceful one, mercifully detached from the political circus back home in the West.

But this year has felt a tad different.

Right now, there are two frontrunners to become Japan’s next Prime Minister. One is Koizumi, a young guy who once tried to frame climate change activism as “sexy.” Bizarre, perhaps, but arguably a noble attempt to make global catastrophe sound appealing to the TikTok crowd.

The other likely candidate is Takaichi-san, who last week gave a campaign speech that skipped policy entirely and instead focused on blaming foreigners for kicking deer in Nara. This came as news to the staff at Nara Park, who confirmed they hadn’t had any serious reports. In fact, the only real story out of Nara recently is that the deer have started attacking tourists to get those tasty crackers.

Of course, we’ve all seen clips online of tourists doing idiotic things, and I’ve covered them over the years. Whether it’s someone drinking shrine offerings and turning a grave into a nomihoudai drink bar, or a couple of morons treating torii gates like gym pull-up bars. More recently, a streamer broke into a house in the Fukushima exclusion zone. On stream.
Insanity.

It’s uncomfortable. It deserves criticism. And dare I say, arrests.
But building an election campaign on it seems bloody cynical.
Japan’s tourism boom has been a real success story for the most part, and it would be foolish to ignore the 35 million overseas tourists who’ve been well-behaved, despite a handful of highly publicised idiots.

British tourists, in particular, apparently spend more per head than anyone else. Which makes sense, given the flights cost the same as a kidney and the whole trip is framed as a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage. You’re going to splash out on that 5,000-yen melon whether it tastes good or not.

Japan’s population is falling by nearly a million people a year. One million. That’s not just decline, so much as someone pulling the plug out.

So the tourism money desperately matters. It’s helping patch the holes. And for all the noise about foreigners being a nuisance, the truth is they’re also keeping many businesses alive.

It’s a classic populist tactic: Japan’s economy continues to flatline. The birth rate is plummeting. Public debt is now measured in units of Mount Fuji. The weak yen makes life harder for Japanese people wanting to travel by themselves. Rather than address these problems, it’s certainly easier to say, “Look at them over there. It’s their fault.”

Poor behaviour from a dozen tourists might rile people up, but it has nothing to do with the long-term structural issues facing the country.

As a foreigner who’s been here over a decade, I try to see both sides. The foreign population is still small, about 2 to 3 percent, but it’s growing. And you can feel the shift. Walk into a konbini, and the staff are more likely to be from Vietnam or Nepal. Not because of some liberal utopia experiment, but because there simply aren’t enough young Japanese people left to do the jobs.

Naturally, having a huge surge in immigration from people who don’t yet understand the intricacies of the culture, who stand out, and who can’t communicate in the language, isn’t going to go smoothly. It'll create a bit of tension, and there's a careful balancing act to be had.

But I’ve felt the temperature change online this year.

Earlier this year I put out a light-hearted video with Connor, joking about some of Japan’s more frustrating quirks. Paperwork. Bureaucracy. Questionable english teaching practices. Nothing particularly provocative (or original).

And yet, I received over 200 comments telling me to go home. The old classic.
Comments like I just “didn’t understand Japan because I’m not Japanese.” 

It felt like a real shift, from “Interesting, but I disagree, I think you’re wrong” to “How dare you question the fax machine. Get out now.”

It sets a worrying precedent if this sort of online anger becomes normal.
Am I personally worried? Well it’s certainly made me rethink certain types of content. For now.

I see the parallels between Japan and the UK more clearly now than ever. Two countries that gave the world jet engines, penicillin, bullet trains and PlayStations, that are now both struggling and looking for someone to blame.

At times, I’ve considered making a video about all this. I’ve stopped myself so far. Maybe because it’s hard to strike the right tone. Maybe because the world feels a bit more combustible than it used to.

Ultimately, Abroad in Japan is about escapism, humour and travel. Not politics.
And we do, indeed, have enough of that online already.

My time is best spent producing documentaries and meeting real people. Not battling the angry and the disillusioned online.

So instead of making a video on it, I’m walking through Sendai on a crisp autumn afternoon, transcribing thoughts into my phone. The leaves are turning. People are queuing for a gyutan restaurant. Autumn is almost here.

And I remain hopeful, because I sort of have to be. I’ve just spent 6 months writing a book about Japan! And it’s reminded me of all the amazing people, places and things I’ve met, seen or done. It’s an extraordinary country that I love dearly.

Thankfully, at least for now, Koizumi is the frontrunner. Which means we might just get a Prime Minister who isn’t 200 years old for the first time in half a decade. That alone feels like progress. A Prime Minister who would regularly describe things as sexy. What more could you want?

It turns out Ryotaro knows him as well! Incredibly, we may see him on Ryotaro’s Japan someday god forbid.

Ryotaro and I discuss about this in an upcoming podcast, which we’ve released early here on Patreon for you guys to watch. It's one of the best discussions we've ever had quite honeslty.

The Future of Japan: Featuring Ryotaro
🍿 Watch: https://youtu.be/bt3Y8JhLbtg

As for me, well I’ve spent the last ten days locked in a hotel room in Sendai, desperately trying to finish the book once and for all.

We’ve got a huge eight weeks of content ahead that I’m extremely fired up for. Two big shoots with Natsuki, one with Ryotaro, a road trip with Sharla and a Wacky Weekend with Connor Dawg voice actor. Filmed across no less than four regions of Japan. It’s going to be epic.

There's so much to look forward to in October and November (as well as the upcoming racing video).

Now wish me luck with these closing pages of the book.

Chris