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The defamation law is for me, a Japanese person, what I can't stand with really. Why should a victim suffer whilst the perpetrator has done a sin.

I found shocking when I learned that if one parent in Japan just disappears with the child/children, this is not considered kidnapping and the other parent has no rights regarding police aid in finding the withheld child or claiming joint custody. There was a father protesting against this during the olympic games to raise awareness as he was looking for his kidnapped daughter...

The one on defamation blows my mind, I imagine their politicians just love it. Politicians around the world would be giggling like maniacs it it were that way here.

You forgot to mention that a divorced parent can literally kidnap its own child from the other parent.

I'm sorry to say this, but regarding the defamation law: That's how companies like Konami is allowed to get away with some of the worst, trashiest behavior. Because no one is willing to call them out on it. It breeds an extremely toxic corporate environment, where the truth is never allowed to be revealed, in fear of defamation.

The Defamation law seems to leave a lot of space for not making evil people accountable for the immoral actions …

Very important thing is that the age of consent is now 16 in Japan since June 16 2023.

Thank you... Yes, this was direct, informative and a nice way to absorb a sliver of perspective regarding culture elsewhere

Honestly, anyone who commits an "Adult" act on someone who is passed out, clearly unable to and obviously didn't give consent.... has no honor! It is not just disgusting, but downright obscene that the individual who violated that person was rewarded with a cash award. Thanks for pointing out how utterly worthless Japan's civil court system happens to be.

I remember someone told me that her boss sexually harassed her but instead of the boss getting fired, she was transferred to another branch. And that boss still kept doing it until one new employee pursued it and instead of firing the boss, he was just transferred to a different department. Really messed up

the defamation law in japan is the same with the philippines. it doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not as long as it was made publicly and tends to humiliate or dishonor the victim

I am from the UK. And although technically true, in practice virtually all of those things, in my opinion, happen over here too. The food box reminds me of a company over here that supplies all cooking ingredients in a box by deluvery!

Dude that defamation law is so disgusting. It literally gives the incentive that you could get away with almost anything and no one can snitch on you for it.

OK hear me out: Rape is rape whether the victim is conscious or unconscious. And the fact that the defamation laws not only protected the rapist but also awarded him with money........is disgusting 'cause those ppl never had honor to begin with, so what the law are trying to protect exacly?

I'm from Iran and even with us used to a totally broken justice system, defamation law in Japan is jaw dropping. God only knows how many shit has happened in the country without anyone know about

Fascinating! I just can't figure out how often new videos appear?

The defamation law really opened my eyes to Japan... everyone says how safe Japan is, but is it really? Shit prob goes down every other day but people dont speak up about it in fear of getting sued. Makes you think perhaps the country has a shitload of issues and crimes and no one has said anything.

That defamation law is ridiculous! How do you ever know if you're dealing with a reputable company or not?

I appreciate your videos and thank you for a look into the Japanese culture.

The reason for defamation is that, Even if it is true, the story can be reported to the person concerned or the organization to which he or she belongs, and there is no need to make it public on SNS. It is considered an illegal act because it is judged to be an act whose purpose is to unnecessarily degrade people socially.

I'm an American living in Thailand. The defamation laws here are very similar to those you described. You can even be sued if, for example, you write a critical review of a hotel or restaurant that is posted online. The business can claim that the writer of the criticism has damaged their reputation. It's a very effective way of shutting-down any sort of criticism of pretty much anyone.

Imagine a person's honor being more important than the truth even though, the truth proves they have no honor.

For defamation there is a similar law in France. And it is used very often mainly in political news disclosed either by press or by an opponenent. For the legal age of consent I have checked now it is 15 ...since 2021. There was a scandal a few years ago so I think that'why it has been stated.

That bokksu thing seems pretty damn cool tbh, first time I see a sponsor who suits a channel that well

Defamation laws are seriously holding Japan back, and undoubtly one of the contributing factors to an unhealthy living standard in Japanese society. It discourages people to never speak up about things that are wrong and keep offenders from accepting criticism and never change for the better. I hope this law will change in the coming years, giving Japan some more freedom and safety from abuse.

The defamation law also blew my mind when I lived there. I knew of someone who wrote a GOOGLE REVIEW about a doctor’s office and got SUED! So be careful about your Google reviews in Japan. Kind of throws transparency and accountability out the window.

I live in the US. Where I live we have a cigar shop that you can smoke in. Most place don't allow smoking inside. I once flow from Denver to salt lake. Both airports had a sealed off room for people to smoke.

New information to me ..thank you

The defamation one blows my mind. Seems wild to me you could have a company completely pull one over on you and then sue you when you tried to warn the public about it, and win.

In relation to the defamation law, they also would somewhat "protect" the abusive husband if you report his abuses to the police even with evidences. Yes, as the victim, they would protect you by giving you and your child a shelter, some allowance, help you to find work, BUT they will give you restrictions for the places you're allowed to wander. You cannot go to prefectures near the location of your husband, and yes, the husband is still allowed to go to work, not acquitted, as to not disrupt with how society functions. They deem the husband as essential to the workforce. Others might have had a different experience regarding domestic violence in Japan, so feel free to share yours. But this is based on a real-life experience.

Dude! where did you get that hoodie from? it is amazing! x

Truth as a defence to defamation is fairly new in Australia. I recall an architect in Canberra who sued because the newspaper said his building leaked. He won the case and when I went to work in that building ten years later there were still buckets collected the leaking water coming through the roof.

Imagine being awarded by a court when your the one who had an affair or raped someone. Man Japan really needs to fix these laws. At the very least the defamation law. So many of these laws seemed baked into the homogeneous and collectivist culture of Japan.

Defamation laws in South Korea are also interesting and rather annoying. The biggest way it affects average people these days imo, is what your cannot say about a business even when completely true. In other countries I can rely on bad reviews and such to steer my away from shady businesses or just those with deceptively low quality. Meanwhile here, I have to just go to a place with my fingers crossed.

the whale law reminds me of that tv show i think it was called whale wars. crazy build ups of anticipation for absolutely nothing to happen. great show😮‍💨

I saw a video several years back, it was taken on a Tokyo bus. A guy gets on the bus and sits near the rear next to a young Japanese woman he doesn't know and literally starts feeling her up, and though she's very uncomfortable and almost in tears with insult, she doesn't call out for help. I was shocked and appalled. I was told by someone that she didn't say anything because it was very difficult in Japan then for a woman to get a man arrested for that sort of thing and it could publicly humiliate her. I certainly hope this thing has changed.

Can anyone add any insight on how the defamation law affects journalism in Japan?

The defamation meaning is true to most of South East Asia. I was shocked whilst living in Thailand that a farm in Lanna was reported as using slave labour in the international media and the US reporter was arrested for defamation. The fact that the farm was using slave labour was not relevant to the case, only that the article damaged the business.

Actually marrying your cousin is also legal here in Germany and was very common in the past. But nowadays it happens very rarely and isn’t really well accepted in society. And one thing to note is that practically all prefectures in Japan set age of consent to at least 16 years or higher, meaning that the national age of 13 is completely irrelevant.

1:37 Now it makes sense one of the biggest issues with Cardcaptor Sakura. I've always find it disgusting the fact that two cousins were engaged there.

Im in an asian country where a 'person' selling an illegal car tried to sue the potential buyer when they questioned the fake documents for the vehicle. The case stated that the buyer 'insulted' the car. That really happened.

Timestamp: 1:00 Age of Consent 1:37 Marrying Cousins 2:36 Defamation 6:01 Food 7:11 Cigarettes

Thank you for this video!

Loving the Hoody design ❤

Regarding defamation. I know of someone who had a bad experience with a doctor, left a negative review on Google and was then successfully sued by the doctor. Even though it was true.

When serving in Japan in late 1980s, cigarette smoking was still popular. Coming from California where they had banned smoking in restaurants earlier it was hard to go back into that smoke filled environment. Glad to see that it is being slowly phased out.

The best one of these videos by far

People were smoking next to me in an izakaya when I was in Tokyo a few months ago. I was a bit surprised by that, actually, because although it’s still a smoking country, most people take it outside, so that was actually the first time I had ever seen someone smoking indoors in Japan.

1:00 Age of Consent 1:37 Marrying 1st Cousin 2:35 Defamation (3:15, 4:03, 4:22: even if statements are true!) 5:59 Food (items not legal in many other parts of the world) 7:10 Cigarettes > You're welcome

Whenever I read about "offbeat" laws from *any* country, I always wonder who created those laws and what group(s) was originally meant to benefit from said laws. It puts a lot of things into perspective...

Paolo - great video. I lived in Okinawa while I was in the US Navy. Sadly I learned next to none of the language. However, one thing that, at least in the US, that really bothers me for some reason is we don't pronounce Tokyo correctly. I noticed in this video that you pronounce it correctly - 2 syllables not 3 like in the US. Help me get the US population to pronounce it correctly. P.S. I plan to visit Okinawa and other parts of Japan in the next couple years. What would you recommend for me to learn some survival phrases in Japanese?

In Japan, when the samurai ruled, those who reached the age of 12 to 15 were considered to be adults and were allowed to marry (called gembuku). After the introduction of Western culture, the age of adulthood was raised.

After spend some time in Japan and even visit some courthouses and watch some trials due to work it seems to me that the justice system in Japan was never designed with "justice" in mind. Their goal seems to have the objective of eliminate social disruption, not to satisfy individual sense of justice. Laws like the defamation law, at least for me, seems to make sense when seem through that light.

Can’t imagine how many people experience injustices in Japan because of those laws 😩

The concept of an “age of consent” technically doesn’t exist in 🇩🇪 German law. What does exist are so called “Schutzalter” (lit. translated “age of protection”): Schutzalter 14: Any sexual activity with someone younger than 14 is classified as “sexual abuse of children”. Anyone 14 or older can be charged with it and the attempt can be punishable. Schutzalter 16: On top of the protections from Schutzalter 18 (see below), anyone who is 21 years or older can be prosecuted, if they took advantage of a “lack of ability for sexual self-determination” of a person younger than 16 but older than 14. Attempts are punishable. Neither their age nor being sexually inexperienced automatically proves that lack of ability - it must be deliberated for each individual case. While this is usually only prosecuted when requested by the minor or their parents, the DA has discretion to prosecute without request in cases of public interest. Schutzalter 18: Sexual activity with someone younger than 18 years is punishable if the adult is a person of authority for the minor for reasons of upbringing, education, care, or due to an employment contract. It is also illegal, if a situation of predicament or plight was exploited, even if the offender is younger than the victim (but 14 or older). Prostitution, i.e. trading sexual activities for a payment, is also illegal if the other party is an adult (18+). The age of consent in Israel 🇮🇱 is 16 years old. I thought it was 12-13 but it is actually 16 in Israel.

The smoking thing, though I was somewhat aware of it being more culturally acceptable to do in restaurants and the like in Japan, it's still a somewhat surprising thing that it's tolerated so much in the country, given their preference for avoiding strong body scents (a la cologne and perfumes) because they might bother people and just a general stronger than average focus on cleanliness. Cigarette smoke definitely is pungent and not at all clean, clearly.

In Brazil, difamation is pretty similar. You can't call someone a "thief" even if you caught the person IN THE ACT. You can say that "this person stole something", but you can't apply the adjectiv to the person.

So sad the Defamation one to me sounds like ppl abusing others and victims not being able to acuse them, sueing them or even calling out because of the fear of getting sued for an absurd amount of money.... This leaves the victims totally unprotected.

I remember seeing smoking sections in a McDonalds in Osaka. That took me back to the 80s.

Defamation laws in Thailand are similar but even more strict. A tourist had to make a public apology after posting a hotel review and was then ejected from Thailand

Defamation laws are prevalent in Korea as well, but most of the people do not take it seriously, especially on the internet

The definition of quasi-rape is literally just rape. Is that treated less harshly than the kind of rape that falls outside that definition?

My dad’s first marriage was to his first cousin 😂 so that law didn’t phase me in the slightest

Very interesting. Thank you.

Oof “quasi-rape?” That’s 100% rape. And the fact that the perpetrator was allowed to stay anonymous AND was awarded $36,000…. That’s beyond infuriating

The defamation thing is crazy, I thought the entire point of defamation is that the harm done to your reputation is based on false pretences lol

This was soooo interesting! And yes - shocking.

The defamation law certainly allows for criminals to exert their influence, but it also allows for spouses to sue if their partner decides to spread all their dirty laundry for no reason other than petty revenge.

Defamation law is the one I'm most concerned about. Like, you get sued for exposing a freaking crime.

The age of consent in Japan is 13 amongst similarly aged minors. The wider the gap in ages the more severe the punishment. The Japanese age of consent is frequently misrepresented.

I live in the Ozarks. People still smoke in the bars and taverns here. I love it.

I live in Thailand and Defamation is a big one here too! And Thailand has one of the world's strictest lèse-majesté laws; it forbids defaming, insulting or threatening the king and other members of the Royal family. Known as Article 112, the charge carries a minimum sentence of three years and a maximum sentence of 15 years. This is taken extremely seriously so you really have to be very careful and respectful of things that you say.

Defamation Law is also pretty common in Thailand. Although the criterias are different, I'll not get into the detail since it's too long to explain but I'd say it's not exactly fairly judge in many cases, and yes, it takes away the freedom of speech and many people are facing injustice because of such laws.

1:05 ....suddenly so much anime makes sense for me. 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

Hi Paolo!😃 I like your Videos!

That was fun ! thanx

I think there is another “law” that’s very important. Parents CAN kidnap their children (for example in divorce cases) and the law seems to pretty much always protect the kidnapper. I’m not sure how it works, I’ve seen a documentary about it a long time ago. Hope it’s changed in the meantime.

Won't lie, the transition from "quasi-rape" to bokksu was a bit weird

In the US that Quasi-rape would be straight up rape also called "date rape" and would carry heavy legal consequences.

Where I live, the age of consent is 14. Not that different. But it's still taboo to date someone that is too young and most say that the age of consent is 18. As for defamation, you can process someone, but it has a lot of other rules that influence this. And as far as I know, this doesn't include companies.

Usually, in Asia, those 'gray area' where you can get protection from defamation means that you have enough 'power' (politics, money, social standing, etc) to afford it. For normal people without backing, you'll just get the short end of the stick..

Oh damn the defamation law, now it makes so much sense why Japanese UKpostsrs never dish out any critique of the products or food they're trying out, it's all "great" and "mmmm tasty" and no ratings or reviews haha

Wait so how would you report someone else for doing a crime? Is it not defamation if you report it to the police?

I think the worst is the defamation one. It’s disgusting that someone can rape you and then when you call them out they can sue you. In a way that’s legalising rape.

I'm born and raised in Italy, still living here: 1) In Italy "unlimited" age of consent is 14. It's raised to 16 if the partner is a person of "influence" for the minor, like: a tutor, a teacher, a parent (even adoptive), a grandparent, a sister or brother etc. If they have sexual activity abusing of their position "of influence" then it's a felony (this, obviously, doesn't erase but it's added to the felony of incest. Simply the age above or under 16yo makes differences in the severity of the guilt). Otherwise the age of consent is 13 ONLY provided that the older partner is a minor too and not older than 4 years (long story short, since in Italy the age of majority is 18yo, a 13yo can have consensual sexual activity with a partner not older than 17 yo) 2) it's legal to marry your first cousin because there is a loophole: the law doesn't allow it but it doesn't forbid it either, so "if it doesn't say no, it's a yes". I had a class mate at the elementary school that was the daugther of first cousins and she had also an older brother (and they were both so BEAUTIFUL T_T). 3) Defamation: similar to Japan, you can be suited for defamation even if what you say it's true. This is because the concept of "defamation" involve the will of the slanderer to harm the victim saying "bad things" to "2 or more people" through "speech, written or other type of media", so it doesn't matter if what you say it's true or not, because you're doing it specifically to harm the person/group/business, etc. Not just for the sake of stating something true or happened. Otherwise you can tell the truth but in a non-offensive way and it's considered a "right of criticism" and/or "right of report/chronicle/news". Fun fact: to be able to suit someone to defamation, the slanderer must have "talked bad" about their victim WITHOUT their presence. So you must "talking to their back". If you insult someone in person, it's a different felony. To follow the video examples, here they wouldn't have been labelled as defamation, as far as I understand the law, because it's a "right of chronicle". Many news in Italy have also names and surnames (unless they're minors), cities, photographies of the houses, etc. Especially when there is a crime involved. 4) We don't eat whale but for example is some region is very common to eat horse meat! Especially in Veneto, Lombardy and Sicily. In other regions, like mine, it's possible to find "equine butcheries" even in small villages, but usually horse meat is considered for people with health issues, especially anemia due to its iron level. 5) Here cigarettes are a "Monopoly of the State" together with alcohol, other product with tobacco (like cigars) or used with e-cigs (aka the liquids needed to vape), tax stamps and gambling. Pretty much all the major "vices/bad habits", so the State earn a lot of money from them and for this -obvioiusly- they won't be completely forbid or not-promoted. Cigarettes can be bought in public distributors with an ID card (but since recently. Until 20 years ago or less you could buy tobacco products and alcohol even if you were a minor). Here you can smoke in public where you want (even if more and more people are annoyed by it). In indoors spaces instead you must find a "smoker room", even on some public transport like trains. It's also legal to drink alcohol in public. You can also find shows and local fairs that sells glasses of wine, bier, or find people drinking their bier while walking down the street or near some pub, bar or similar :D

Here is a question about the whole defamation situation. If one were to tell the public about a company knowingly selling a product that is actively dangerous... say like an electric car where the battery has a high chance of melting down. If it is true, does that company actually have the "honor" that they could sue for defamation over? It certainly feels like they shouldn't.

Very interesting and informative video! I had no idea about some of these laws. I get the impression that Japan gets the most negative press for whaling, despite it being legal in Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. Out of all the countries that practice whaling, Norway kills the most. Not that I condone it, but I can understand why the Japanese want people to stay out of their food culture.

Thanks for an interesting video. It was that "quasi-rape" definition that struck me as the hardest to believe.

The defamation thing is kinda the "too far the other direction" from America's defamation laws. In theory you can sue for defamation in America if someone is lying about you. In practice it's really hard to actually win that lawsuit. And if it's a politician lying about you then you might as well forget about it.

I think the defamation thing is similar in my country (Finland) too. You can't even post a picture of someone who committed a crime to catch them. And saying nasty TRUTHFUL things about an ex employer could get you in serious trouble.

But on a real note that hoodie is cooler than the other side of the pillow 👺😎

Hi Paulo , I love your vlogs. Salamat from California. God bless ❤

You know that strange take on defamation law explains a fair bit of the oddness I've seen in some manga and anime. If that's the case I can see why certain people can get away with what they did.

7:40 we have those in germany, too. still operating a lot, especially in bars or rural areas. you also need to put your ID in or pay by card, to validate the age. and we have kinda strict smoking rules nowadays, but those things survived :D

Good video for guiding.

I was look oh this will be interesting. And then "#1 age of consent" i wasn't ready. I knew this information, and i still wasn't ready. Also the defamation law was wild.

The whale meat issue has to do with the fact that some whale species they hunt are endangered and considered protected animals. It's like how people are against shark fin soup for the fact that the sharks have their fins cut off and are left to die and suffocate in the water while also being endangered as well.

Defamation laws sound like they could very easily be used as a form of surpressing free speech

Cool staff, keep going❤