If it's from a blog, it's likely to be an exaggeration or a flat out lie. There are plenty of ex-pats who live in Japan who are frustrated with their lives, and do little more than find fault with the Japanese people and the way things operate here. The bad part is that they devote blogs to their negative outlook, even trashing on their own students to satisfy their urges to stick a knife in the back of a society they refuse to learn to live harmoniously with. Personally, I think it's disgusting because it misleads a lot of people.

Especially beware of certain...activist blogs. There's one in particular that's got a real thing for labeling the Japanese racist and trying to scare foreign residents into believing that they're just moments away from being harassed by the police or kicked out of the country. I got a comment on my own blog once by some guy who had never even visited Japan, but was ranting and raving about "how things are" here, and holding up a particular sensationalist "activist" blog's content as evidence. I was horrified at the misconceptions this person developed as a result of bad information.

Be particularly skeptical of Japan "news" blogs. I mean the ones that revolve around pop culture. They tend to attract a lot of racists and malcontents who are all too happy to put their two cents in about how fucked up Japan is just because they maybe lost a few coins in a vending machine once.

It's BULLSHIT.

If you want to know what Japan is really like, talk to one of your good natured, healthy, responsible friends who are perhaps ALTs. You know, people who are adults, who come to Japan and behave like adults. There are plenty of us out here. You just don't often know about us because the usual types of people who generally keep the blogs are the hermits who can't be bothered to study Japanese, and just keep holed up in their apartments, bitter and brooding all day. They spread their negative messages around as if they were making a grand mural out of their own feces. It's a delight for them to troll the Japan pop culture (gossip) sites and gang up on Japan with other embittered foreigners. If you hate Americans - that's a plus - since it's all the rage, after all. Personally, I'll never understand that one, but racism and discrimination isn't something rational people tend to like to indulge in, so it just ends up left to the troubled gossip-mongers.

Here is a link to a great Vlogger who is a very positive person and has been a JET in Shimane Prefecture for a number of years. To be honest, the fact that he's in Shimane may have a lot to do with why he's still such a positive and friendly person: [link]

Just doing my part to try to spread some positive vibes in the negative place the internet can often be. Just be careful what you read about Japan, folks. While it's got its problems and isn't a perfect place to live perhaps compared to what you're used to in your home country, it's still got so many great qualities, just like anywhere in the world. Just beware of the negative pricks, and take what they say with a grain of salt. Enjoy!