Just a reminder that “jaywalking” is made up bullshit pushed by car manufacturers to shift the blame for pedestrian deaths onto pedestrians instead of drivers.
I was so confused as a child in the UK when after hearing about “jaywalking” being a crime for years I finally found out it meant “crossing the street”
Crossing the street without a street crossing license.
Omg Trying to go anywhere in continental europe is impossible
Waiting for fucking lights so I can cross AHH
pretty sure the rest of europe works the same, certainly in sweden it’s explicitly legal to cross the road anywhere it’s not explicitly blocked.
No, this is a stark reminder:
I call BS. A lot of small residential streets in Japan don’t even have sidewalks, and people just walk in the street as you should:
Sometimes they have sidewalk-ish areas, but they’re not physically separate from the road, just painted differently. Again, people just walk in the street, and as a result cars go slowly. Pedestrians make an effort to get out of the way of cars when there are cars on the street to be polite and not inconvenience the driver, and cars drive slowly and carefully because their drivers acknowledge the street as a shared space.
Now, if the OP meant a two-lane road with crosswalks, a yellow dividing line, street lights, etc. Then that would be different. I could imagine someone objecting to walking across that kind of road without using a crosswalk, even if it was empty. Those aren’t shared spaces, those are car spaces. It would be keeping with Japanese culture to obey the traffic laws there even if the road was empty.
cars drive slowly and carefully because their drivers acknowledge the street as a shared space.
As someone who lives in Japan, I can assure you that this isn’t true.
My life is going to end under the wheels of a hi ace or a mamachari.
I’m not saying they always drive slowly, but in my experience in Japan, they do in those small, one-lane residential streets where there’s no room for a sidewalk. Is that not what you’ve experienced? I never lived in Japan long-term, but I’ve visited a bunch of times, and whenever I was in areas like that the drivers were cautious.
I’m not sure what drivers are like where you live, so maybe our standards are different haha.
But pretty much everyone hates these streets. Drivers hate how narrow they are. Cyclists hate weaving between cars and pedestrians, and pedestrians hate being the least protected things on a street full of fast moving vehicles trying to kill them.
The fact that rich assholes in Tokyo are starting to buy huge American sizes SUVs as status symbols is making the problem worse too.
At the end of the day, the best thing for every city is to make it as inaccessible as possible for personal cars, and make sure pedestrians and cyclists have their own delineated spaces for transport.
Yeah, that was my first thought. Second is that, with the levels of English fluency (or lack thereof) around here, and especially that phrase, anyone saying that is very exceedingly unlikely.
Edit: the only time I’ve seen people scold one another is when ignoring a “don’t walk” signal at a crosswalk and, even then, usually only when kids/teens are present to not set a bad example.
I agree that most Japanese have pretty low English fluency. But, the part about that that rings true is that sometimes there’s a quiet Japanese person who could speak very good English, but chooses not to speak at all because they’re embarrassed that their English isn’t perfect. Compare that to something like Italy, where people are eager to try out their broken English on you, and don’t care that they forgot most of what they learned.
One memory I have of something like this was standing in front of a map in a Tokyo metro station, trying to figure out how to get from where I was to somewhere else in the city. This was in the days before Google Maps, etc. I’d probably been staring at the map for 5 minutes, and hundreds of people had walked past me, then suddenly out of nowhere a young woman appeared next to me and asked me in very clear (but accented) English if I needed any help.
Something about that situation made me think it wasn’t just someone walking by and casually saying “oh hey, need some help?” Instead, it felt like someone who had been watching me for a bit and had taken some time to practice the phrase she was going to use until she felt confident that she had it right, then she approached.
I had that happen once. I also have translated a couple of times for tourists with train and park staff when they looked lost.
The one thing I will say is that cults love to look for slightly lost looking tourists these days, so always watch out for that. They’re harmless, generally, but will hound you to meet, pray, etc. and join their cult.
Japanese cities are so lovely.
People regularly jaywalk in Japan as well. Not everyone, but it’s not a rare sight either. It might have been different back when mama moved to Japan.
This kind of feels like one of those weird mythologized Japanese culture posts
Japanese people jaywalk all the time - especially if you’re in a rural residential neighborhood.
I always though “jaywalking” was one of those US-only concepts. It certainly doesn’t exist here¹ and I’ve never heard it from anybody else.
1 - We do have a fine for crossing a street close to the pedestrian crossing but not on it. It was applied at least once, and I know because it made the news. The person that received it contested it and didn’t pay.
In France you’re supposed to use crosswalks but drivers are always responsible if an accident occurs. Most drivers stop to let pedestrian across on crosswalks.
Except in Paris where drivers are entirely unaware of the concept of crosswalks. So most crosswalks have dedicated traffic lights, and those that don’t might as well not exist.
Spent the better part of a week in naples earlier this year.
In naples you have crossing points but no lights as far as i can tell. traffic is constant so you like kind of have to walk out in traffic and hope it either stops or drives/rides around you.
Was an interesting adjustment i had to make
Are drivers in Paris even aware of the sidewalks? I was almost run over by a motorcycle on a sidewalk in Paris 20 years ago
It’s a thing in Australia but only within a certain distance of a pedestrian crossing like in your example. I think that’s pretty fair, there are some notorious crossings I’ve seen where jaywalkers regularly endanger themselves and fuck up the flow of traffic when there’s a crossing literally right there. For most streets though…yeah it doesn’t make sense imo
've seen where jaywalkers regularly endanger themselves and fuck up the flow of traffic
Good, fuck traffic, walking should always have priority.
Welcome to Japan is one of our closest allies because we
kidnapped their militarynuked their assesare really close friends. Lots of cultural exchange happening cause of that.I mean… If any society has ever deserved to be nuked, it would have been imperial Japan.
Also, they and Germany mainly became our friends post ww2 because all three countries bonded over hating communist more than anything.
Unfortunately it exists in Poland too.
Jaywalking is known in every country with somewhat big streets.
You will get fined if you jaywalk across a highway in every country that has them.
Living in Chofu, Tokyo and can confirm I see it everyday. The one exception I’ve learned is if there’s children in view, people (seemingly) will not jaywalk as to not set a bad example. There’s a bad apple every now and then but this largely holds up from my observation.
Also people will wait for someone to break the ice and jaywalk first, then a bunch will follow lolol.
It’s worse, it’s a fascist dogwhistle.
Hello Kitty with a rifle implies Maoist-tank.
my daughter loves hello kitty, where do I get hello kitty with a rifle merch?
di☭
Traffic rules are literally 1984
“And then they came for the protestors, and because I was an automobile owner, I ignored it.” ← your whistle is right here.
Cager scum.
Lmao
its also very stupid to care that much about the car’s space on an empty street.
BS. Jaywalking is an American concept.
Wanna know how dumb my brain is? I almost told you that America isn’t the only place people walk across the street not at an intersection. I thought you to be an idiot.
Alas, it is I. The idiot.
Self-awareness is the first step towards enlightenment.
I dunno about the other guy but Buddha doesn’t hold a candle to me with how self-aware my anxiety makes me.
That’s self-consciousness.
Yup, pushed by car companies actually. Capitalism yay!
:/
I guess Japan isn’t capitalist
japan is capitalism with actual regulation and oversight, rather than just “hey let’s put the presidency up for auction!”
I don’t think anyone’s claiming that all capitalists perform the same exact actions in every nation
The first person claimed that jaywalking is a western concept, which is fucking ridiculous — just so we’re clear.
The second person suggested that capitalism must be the culprit behind why jaywalking is a concept in the U.S.
So, sure, whatever — both comments are open to ridicule.
They said jaywalking was an American concept and it really is. I think only Germany are also that dumb about crossing roads.
Why would the idea of jaywalking laws being predominantly pushed by automobile special interest groups seem so wild to you? I mean, don’t tell me you think jaywalking laws have anything to do with people’s safety.
I think only Germany are also that dumb about crossing roads.
Not even Germany, never heard of it. But cars stop at crosswalks so it makes sense to use them on busy streets.
Because we all know the Eastern countries would NEVER adopt Western concepts, ergo the idea MUST be universal!
Case closed! Good job! You should treat yourself.
Meanwhile, OP (who is clearly, obviously wrong) must live in shame. Because there’s just NO WAY they might be correct, and have stated facts that are easily google-able and even has a whole Wikipedia page with all these details with cited sources in the opening paragraph, like this one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaywalking
THAT WOULD BE SILLY
If a thing is adopted everywhere, then…yes, it would be a universal concept. Sure, it would remain an American invention but that’s not what was being said.
It’s like saying cars are a German concept, because they were invented there. And electronic TVs are American concepts. The rest of the world may have adopted them nowadays but “they are still uniquely German and American concepts.”
“Only the American mind would conceive of ‘TVs’, other cultures may adopt and ape it but it remains American.”
“Nothing but the German psyche could generate the concept of ‘cars’. Sure, other countries have adopted ‘cars’, and apply it by themselves, but it’s primarily a German concept.”
Yeah, sure, let’s see what the link says about Japan.
…
Oh. Japan doesn’t appear in the link.
But you clearly wouldn’t have posted a link without reading it first and checking whether it supports the “facts” you claim, wouldn’t you? It would be really embarrassing to do something like that, so clearly you wouldn’t do that, right? Right?
In fact, if you read through all the countries in your link, most countries only have laws against crossing red lights or crossing the road next to a pedestrian crossing.
In Japan, the only thing that’s illegal in the context of jaywalking is crossing the road at a red light, and even that is only very rarely fined.
Everything you just mentioned supports my assertion.
Did you get me mixed up with the other guy?
Ah, then I guess planes are American concepts.
I guess I’m starting to understand why eurotrash ends up so mad at America, your entire lives are simply full of Western concepts! Imagine that.
Life was so much better before the Western concept of flushable toilets.
The Wright Brothers were American so yeah, airplanes are in absolute fact American inventions.
And Flushable Toilets were a British invention. Look shit up before commenting and you won’t seem like such a moron.
I don’t know if they embraced capitalism yet as they were still under imperialist rule in the 1900’s.
Despite the claims of American high-school propaganda, capitalism is not synonymous with democracy.
You can have a capitalist economic system under an imperialist government, the most despotic of dictatorships, a facsist government, under a corporate government or even a failing government.
Of course, but it isn’t common. Most of those government types tend to exert pretty tight control over the economy.
There’s no such thing as a free market economy.
One has never existed and one could never exist. In fact, the idea that a free and fair (uncontrolled) market could exist is more utopian than anything you’ll hear from any socialist.
The wealthiest in the world fo exactly the same thing. They just don’t do it openly, in the way you would find under a traditional dictatorship.
More so, free market capitalism (even though it couldn’t exist) is only one type of capitalism. So, it’s far from rare but the industry standard for dictatorships, oligarchies and despots.
that a free and fair (uncontrolled) market could exist is more utopian than anything you’ll hear from any socialist.
Nicely put.
…Invented by carmakers to indemnify their product from liability.
Lmao no others have that concept too
I mean, not really. It was a concerted effort by American automobile manufacturers to clear the roads of people so cars were supreme and they could sell more cars. As well as to shift blame onto victims for “accidents.”
Most other countries haven’t picked up this attitude.
Least of all Japan, where side-streets mix pedestrian, vehicle, and bicycle traffic freely. Granted, freeways don’t allow people and larger roads have pedestrian overpasses.
Many countries make you use the crossroad or under/overpass if one exists for traffic safety reasons but the effect is the same.
I never said countries don’t have crosswalks. Just that crossing outside of them is either de jure or de facto legal.
Not the case in many countries because of traffic safety. It’s safer to cross from a pedestrian crossing or under/overpass. Sentiment isn’t the same but the effect is.
I can only speak for the UK, but it’s not a thing over here. We can cross where we please, as long as we’re not putting ourselves or others in danger. And even if we are we wouldn’t get much, or any, police intervention. Motorists would call us a wanker, but that would be about it.
Lmao, no others have that concept
tooFTFY
I had something similar, but it was near a school. I was looking for my Airbnb the first time visiting Japan. It was on a smaller street with very few people. I was standing behind a line that was at a school. The volunteers came over and told me I can’t stand behind the line since that is the school. Moving 3 inches made it automatically ok.
The volunteers was very nice and didn’t tell me whatever society bullshit. Just that I can’t be near the school unless I’m picking up my kid
She did not cross the street as an individual. She pushed a stroller, so we can assume she was with a baby, so there were two of them - a group. Thus, the old man did not speak about her. He spoke about himself as he was just about to
A baby hasn’t been established so I dispute your assumption
All day long I watch Japanese jay walk as Japanese drivers roll stop signs and fail to signal their turns.
Someone find that man and tell him his country needs him.
He tried, but as an old man he’s dead now.
Which is good because he did awful, awful things in the invasion of China.
The first death is in the heart, Harry
“… And in perfect Japanese she replied: Get fucked old man! Society already died! Get money, fuck bitches! Then she ran off making loud vroom vroom sounds.”
“And then the entire neighbourhood clapped!”
What the hell is “jaywalking”?
the action of crossing a road somewhere where there’s no pedestrian crossing, or while it’s not the pedestrian’s turn
it’s a word that was invented by car lobbies to turn something done by humans for millennia (cross a road) into a shameful action, and in some places, a crime
Jay is also an old timey slur akin to hillbilly or redneck, a way to call someone uncouth
walking like a small blue bird
make sure it’s the right bird, you find want to get fined for titwalking
yeah, wouldn’t want to get caught blue-footed making a booby like that
That totally happened. In Japan residential streets often don’t have sidewalks and drivers are actually considerate towards pedestrians.
I appreciate appealing lies, tell me more.
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That’s a cryptid
