Romance in Modern Japan – The Documentary Finding Love in Japan

Japan is a country of boundaries and self-restraint, which reflects on the romance of the inhabitants. Japanese people have a specific culture when it comes to romance, distinctly portrayed in the documentary Finding Love in Japan. It discusses the problematic pattern of youth to find love, stating that only a third of Japanese youth have ever been in a relationship (Al Jazeera English, 2016). The following essay explores the issues behind the problem of finding a couple in Japan.

Modern Japanese youth are incredibly particular about their soulmates, making it harder to find a couple. Despite rapid progress dating in Japan remains conservative, requiring confession of the feelings and restraint from the public display of affection. The documentary exhibits that youth is picky, searching for someone perfect on the outside, and may not settle until their 40’s. Such tendency reflects on the demographic, which confirms the shrink of the population (Taylor, 2016). Apparently, the Japanese set standards which are too high both for them and for their potential lovers.

Such a tendency gives an interesting picture to the sociologists about the perception of relationships across the world. The difference in cultures and mentality significantly reflects the way people think of romance and marriage timing. Japanese picky romance culture substantially differs from the easy and frivolous western one, explaining the less strict upbringing patterns and attitudes. Japan’s governmental structure remained its thousand-year culture of imperialism, subsequently reflecting on each life aspect.

Therefore, Japanese romance life is far more complicated than the one in western countries, mostly due to high criteria and a more serious approach. The increasing pattern of late marriage in Japan reflects on its decreasing demographic. Such a model can be explored from many sociological perspectives. Nevertheless, each culture is unique, deserving the right to exist, and infuse interest from people across the world.

References

Al Jazeera English. (2016). Finding Love in Japan [Video]. YouTube. Web.

Taylor, A. (2016). It’s official: Japan’s population is dramatically shrinking. The Washington Post. Web.