I have been living abroad across Japan for 6 years now, and have come to realize that the hardest part of expatriate life, is finding a stable community. Friends as always will eventually materialize but the unfortunate side of that coin is they are more often than not also on the move. Therefore the game of saying hello and good by seems to be a continuos cycle. I believe Japan may have a fairly high turn over rate as well considering the difficulties many face when residing in a homogenous nation known for its collective culture, xenophobia, and nationalistic identity that in many ways shields it’s populace from the outside world. Is that negative? Not at all. Instead it just requires one step outside of themselves and try to observe things in context which can be very difficult. Basic assumptions do not always equate to logical expectations. But we all know what they say when we assume! Or, do we?
Nonetheless the turnover rate will definitely affect allt of aspects of your social life. As dear friends depart due to a variety of circumstances ranging from marriage, bisa isies, changes in employment and so forth; the level of continuity in life seems to be in a constant state of upheaval. In order to counter this it is necessary to work hard to maintain these relationships.
Now when I say that, many people may ask, well why not make lasting relationships in the local community? Which os something I highly encourage. However, the cabeat to that is in a collective culture an outsider will in most cases remain an outsider and the language in Japan more or less cements this into the system. 外=outside 人=person 外人=gaijin which only means outsider or literally outside person. While friendly and engaging and at times frustratingly ignorant, there are often limits to the relationships you will have. Which in turn feeds into the cycle of people leaving seeking fulfilment elsewhere or even returning home.
If considering moving to Japan, I highly reccomend learning the language And above all keeping an open mind and hopefully you’ll find your niche and all will be well:)
