My family and friends
I met my future husband in Japan. At that time, I was a student coordinator, and he was an exchange student.
There was a rule that student coordinators should not date exchange students. Because some students were underage.
One day, he asked me to celebrate his birthday together.
I said, “No!” but he asked me again.
Before answering, I asked him, “How old are you?”
He said, “I am 27…”.
“Really?”
He looked 40 or older. Just in case, he showed me his ID. He didn’t tell a lie. After I confirmed his age, we went to the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium.
We had been friends and officially started dating after he returned to the U.S.
We are an international couple. Over 20 years ago, international couples were rare in Japan. There was discrimination against Japanese women who married foreigners and mixed-race kids.
I hesitated to introduce him to my friends. But my friends were different. They accepted us.
Even now, I have a good relationship with several friends. Two friends are the longest friendship. One is female and a schoolteacher. The other one is male and a legal expert. We have known each other since we were 2nd or 3rd graders.
Life is not always good. They have supported me when I had a hard time. I appreciate they have always been on my side.
Last year, my kids went to public school while in Japan. They made new friends. Their foreign friends came from India, Pakistan, Mali, Brazil, and China. Some spoke English, so they helped my kids as interpreters.
One of their foreign friends asked me in Japanese.
“You speak Japanese, but why don’t your kids speak Japanese?”
Oh…so I am currently teaching the Japanese alphabet to my kids. 😅
Photo by Pixabay
Lili, i don’t know how versed you may be in this topic but as you know Japan has lived with their much publicized economic constraints stemming from the commercial real-estate downturn in the late 80s or early 90s, if I recall correctly.
Id love to read about your anecdotal observations and memories about what it was like to grow up in the country in those times and how that economic condition affected the entire nation down to your home city of Osaka. By the way, I don’t know if I’ll ever mention it on my blog but I also do specialty work with the Nikkei 225 index so I have a data subscription from the Osaka Exchange. Mike
I am sorry for the late response. 🙏 I rested yesterday. 🙂
Yes, I was born in the 1980s. So, I don’t know about before the 1980s in detail. I think bloggers I follow know well…
The Japanese economy has had changes. Soon after World War II, Japan was poor. My dad was born during the war. I know how his childhood life was. The economy started rapidly growing around 1955 and ended in the early 2000s. Between 1955 and 1973 was an economic boom. It calls Koudo Keizai Seichou (高度経済成長).
Like you say, between the 1980s and 1990s was an economic bubble. Many people had job opportunities and invested in real estate. After the early 2000s, the economy started declining. So, there is a difference between generations.
I remember the Nikkei 225 index. My grandpa was an investor after he retired. He watched it on TV every day. He had stocks of Toyo Suisan (東洋水産) and a few more. In Japan, stockholders (shareholders) get rewards for investing. The rewards are sometimes the company’s products, discount coupons, etc. He received instant noodles and gift certificates.
I don’t have stocks now. I have a savings account and a 401(k) for retirement. I don’t know if 401(k) is investing. I read Yahoo finance news for checking foreign exchange rates. It is important for me because I have to book rental cars and hotels with Japanese yen before returning to Japan each time.
Currently Japan has a population crisis. The government is accepting more and more foreign workers, but I can’t say it is a good solution. Like I wrote in my blog, Japan is a homogeneous country. In reality, it is hard to believe that racism has gone away from society. Not only that, but the number of illegal workers and refugees is increasing.
Sometimes I talk to Japanese friends about retirement and the future of Japan. 😅
Lili-san this is great! thank you for your knowledge on this. I will write more as I have more thoughts on this interesting topic.
do feel better! MIke
Sure! Thank you. 😉
Very nice
Thank you. 🙏 I read your DIY project. I am thinking of doing it for my kids. 😊
What a beautiful story.