this is the Japan that you all used to see beautiful mountains modern technology and ancient temples but did you know that you can't go into public swimming pools or bath houses if you have tattoos or that many people are so overworked they often sleep in the streets or even worse decide to disappear and build an entirely new life this is the Dark Side of Japan something that's been around for a long time in the country is the Japanese Yakuza or Japanese organized crime group Yakuza have been in existence for over 300 years tracing back to 1612 when they started to attract the attention of the government they are organized into families and group members for Mutual protection having similar rituals and format to the samurai in fact it was believed that yakuzas are descended from gangs of ronans or Wayward samurais the Japanese Yakuza engage in extortion blackmail smuggling drug trafficking gambling loan sharks and other activities that control restaurants bars and companies all over the cities Yakuza members often have elaborate tattoos that have their meanings members of a clan often have the same tattoos but with a strict requirement they should not be visible in everyday life you might also recognize them by their missing pinky fingers often Yakuza have to undergo ubitsume or finger shortening to pay back for their wrongdoings they reached their height in the 1960s with over a hundred and eighty four thousand members but nowadays their numbers have dwindled to forty thousand this could be due to the laws established in 2011 that made it illegal for businesses to give money or make transactions with gang members the Yakuza is also why the Japanese are very strict about tattoos as it's often synonymous with the organized crime group in Japan people with tattoos are banned from entering both on sins Hot Springs ryokin trade additional ends Cento public baths pools gyms or even some capsule hotels the rules were made to keep the gang members from certain spaces aside from association with the Yakuza there was also a time in the Edo period when criminals were punished with tattoos and sex workers would have tattoos to show romantic Devotion to customers tattoos were deemed illegal during the Meiji period 1868-1912 although it was legalized again in 1948 the stigma continues in people with tattoos still have limited options when it comes to bathing facilities you might be familiar with the Fukushima tragedy in 2011 a 15-meter tsunami disabled the Fukushima daiichi reactors causing a nuclear accident where three cores melted the incident is rated level 7 by the international nuclear and radiological event scale the most serious level fast forward to August 2023 when the government decide decided to release treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean Japan had already received a green light from the UN as the analyzed value of radioactivity is 1500 beckerels per liter of tritium much lower than the 60 000 beckerels per liter of tritium standard China immediately placed a ban on all Japanese aquatic products and people in Japan Hong Kong and South Korea have voiced their concerns through protests some have turned to Reddit to discuss this issue some people have mentioned that the results of the research have shown that they are as radioactive as bananas so there's nothing to worry about a lot of people still Express concern as they're just diluting the radioactive water with seawater to lower the concentration pretend it's safe to put the rumors to rest Japan's prime minister fumio kashida ate a fish caught in Fukushima and his office released a video on social media ironically it was found that China which banned Japanese products do due to this incident had a nuclear power plant that released about three times more tritium than Fukushima South Korea's Corey nuclear power plant also had similar amounts another side of Japan that you don't often see in other countries is their made cafes these are cosplay themed cafes where staff are dressed up and made outfits and served customers it's so popular among otakus that there are around 60 made cafes in akibara alone for the most part it's a fun and harmless experience but there is some dark side to this industry it's said that the work environment is very stressful and some Maids have panic attacks during working hours the maids are also forbidden to put on weight and keep their figures as Slim as possible there's also a hierarchy within the mates with foreign Maids being at the bottom of the rank customers also have forums where they would discuss maids and sexually explicit ways another term that's unique to Japan is the salarymen salary men are salaried workers or White Collar workers who are very loyal to their corporation they're so loyal that most salary men work between 12 to 18 hours a day some have even called them derogatory terms like companies dogs or shakitsu corporate livestock the hard day of Japanese corporate workers began early in the morning when people have to stuff themselves into an overfilled train these trains are so full that the government decided to have a staff specifically tasked with cramming people in then they'll work away in the office until night time they work so late that they can only blow off steam in late night spots like izakayas or pachinkos sometimes the salarymen get so tired from working that some have to sleep on the street train or even the sidewalk often many families wouldn't be able to see much of their father since they work so much corporate workers in Japan are also facing dangerous consequences for their lifestyle suffering from heart conditions strokes and mental health issues sometimes you can see people screaming and punching a hole in the wall in the streets of Tokyo because of stress sadly these meltdowns are so common that most people would just walk past each other as if nothing is wrong the worst case is called kuroshi death by overworking the first case of kuroshi was recorded in 1969 when a newspaper Company employee died of a stroke at the young age of 29. some of these people are so overwhelmed that they decide to end their lives they often travel to aokigahara a suicide forest to kill themselves another effect of their stressful lives is jalhatsu where tens of thousands of Japanese people go missing every year people who purposefully banish from their lives and disappear people sometimes are so overwhelmed with work they decide to disappear although the leading cause is due to dementia some people escape due to domestic violence debt or the shame of job loss there's even a line of business that helps people to disappear Japanese are some of the friendliest people in the world but that doesn't mean they don't discriminate the country is famously homogeneous with over 98.5 percent of the population being purely Japanese however there's the case of hafu or half Japanese people these people often feel alienated as most people view them as foreigners some Korean and Chinese hafu face discrimination as they're from countries that were colonized by Japan this is especially true as well for black hafu they face plenty of stereotypes such as being good at basketball funny or liking rap music if you ever buy a phone in Japan there's one little Annoying detail to their cell phones you might have noticed all their cell phones will have a shutter sound you can't turn off no matter what you do for some people this is an annoyance but it can be life-changing for others the reason behind this shutter sound is privacy concerns so people can't take pictures they shouldn't be taking the country has a a lot of cases where people take unwanted pictures of others the Japanese police saw a huge rise in voyeurism a 60 percent rise from 2007 to 2016. that's why this law was made to protect vulnerable people especially women even the tech giant Apple agreed to customize the cell phones that they shipped to Japan so although this might seem a little Annoying to you it's made with good intentions and the overall purpose is to safeguard people's privacy Japan is such an interesting country that I wanted to share a couple more interesting facts Japan is the land of wacky inventions like this amazing cooling spray that people use during summertime all you need to do is spray the foam onto your skin or Surface then take the foam and put it wherever you want on your body you'll be cooled off in no time it seems that the Japanese are obsessed with beating the heat another Innovation is called the fan jacket where each jacket comes with air conditioning it's perfect for outdoor workers who want to stay Breezy in a hot and sticky temperature another crazy invention is the overtime work stickers where people will indicate to the public that they're currently working overtime so please don't disturb them the country is also the inventor of the luxury Fruit Market from a white Jewel strawberry to a cubed shaped watermelon prices go up to tens of thousands of dollars that's why it's the best gift you can give when visiting people Japan is a beautiful country with amazing views and Rich Traditions it also has its issues with crippling mental health and Prejudice due to the way their society is shaped hopefully the country can overcome this and continue to be one of the most inventive and creative countries in the world [Music]