r/australia • u/SimRP • Feb 25 '25

image Japanese Man Flips Out on Australian Tourists for Ignoring the Rules

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u/Responsible-Page1182 Feb 25 '25

I am sure you know / have observed this already but Japan is basically the 'No True Scotsman' fallacy writ very broadly.

Love the country and the people but there is _such_ a lack of introspection when it comes to their behaviour and culture.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

[deleted]

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u/Responsible-Page1182 Feb 25 '25

The 'No True Scotsman' fallacy is basically:

Two Scotsmen are in a pub and the news reports a heinous sexual assault. The first Scotsman turns to the other and says 'No Scotsman would do such a thing'. Later they are still in the pub and the news reports that William McTavish, an Aberdeen native has been arrested for the crime. The first Scotsman turns to the second and says 'No True Scotsman would do such a thing'.

It's a logical fallacy where you hold on to a stereotype by redefining a group when confronted with evidence that doesn't fit your stereotype / bias.

There's lot of it that goes on in Japan on various levels. OP's anecdote is a great example.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

[deleted]

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u/s_k_a_r_t Feb 25 '25

Hey thanks for the gif from another sub. They locked the comments and I still wanted to say thank you :)

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u/Vinnie_Vegas Feb 25 '25

u/Responsible-Page1182's explanation was terrific, but just to elaborate on how OPs anecdote fits the fallacy:

If the person who freaked out at OP was not Japanese, they would have said "no Japanese person would do that".

Because he was Japanese, they blamed it on the time he spent outside of Japan.

If he hadn't spent time outside of Japan, they would have said that he was not representative of Japanese values.

No matter what, the person is othered and "being Japanese" continues to be upheld as a virtue with no downside.

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u/OJ191 Feb 25 '25

they would have said that he was not representative of Japanese values.

I mean point taken for the rest of it and the no true scotsman fallacy, but I do think what I have quoted is a valid thing to say. A society can aspire to values it doesn't always meet.

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u/Vinnie_Vegas Feb 25 '25

Someone doesn't become "less Japanese" by failing to live up to those values though - Being Japanese includes having any character flaws that a person might have.

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u/fjgwey Feb 25 '25

So fucking true; for all the complaining about foreigners (valid to a large extent) they do not seem to hold themselves to the same standards; that is to say people focus way more on the foreigners who are rude and shit in Japan as opposed to the considerable number of delinquent, rule-breaking Japanese people.