• farmgineer@nord.pub
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    17 days ago

    It’s interesting that Japan is below the US in the main rankings. I feel more free here in almost every regard than I did as an adult in the US.

    • MrMakabar@slrpnk.net
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      17 days ago

      Economic freedom is not freedom in general. Hell you could even define economic freedom in different ways. Like freedom to let business do whatever they want or the freedom to not have to worry about needing to finance certain basic things. It is loose term and it very much depends on your values.

      • farmgineer@nord.pub
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        17 days ago

        Yeah, is specifically meant economic freedom, at least as it applies to me. More affordable housing (I could still afford my payment even if my salary dropped in half if absolutely necessary), no worrying to death about medical bills, etc. This even allowed me to start my farm business which I’d likey be too terrified to do in the US. All in all I feel much less fear and anxiety over monetary matters here (though wanting to travel internationally sucks right now due to the weak yen, which I suppose is a downside).

        My only real point of friction is investing, but that’s because I’m a US citizen still (until my parents pass, anyway) and that’s not a Japan problem. I’ve heard that buying and selling gold has some weird rules, but that’s not an issue I face.

    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      17 days ago

      I’ve heard that the justice system in Japan is absolute trash. Not only are many laws regarding things like recreational drug possession insanely punitive, they have a general conviction rate over 99%. Which is a major red flag imo. Makes you wonder how many people there have been wrongly convicted in order to keep the numbers up.

      More info:

      https://www.vox.com/world/2015/12/13/9989250/japan-crime-conviction-rate

      https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/japan-s-hidden-landscape-of-violent-crime