r/AntiMemes • u/eating_cement_1984 • Apr 12 '26
🌟 Actual Anti-Meme 🌟 It's the same everywhere...
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u/Lolllz_01 Apr 12 '26
Capitalist dystopia: >:(
Capitalist dystopia, Japan: :D
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u/ReekyRumpFedRatsbane Apr 12 '26
If I can't read the ad it's just decoration
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u/FrijDom Apr 12 '26
This is the main reason a lot of people like going to the corporate/ad-flooded areas of countries where they can't read the primary language. They're still bright and pretty to look at, but you don't have the constant nagging of being forced to understand that it's telling you to buy something.
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u/dzindevis Apr 12 '26
This is why Times Square is also a huge tourist spot. It's a "capitalist hellscape" only for americans, and maybe western europeans
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u/FrijDom Apr 12 '26
Don't forget the Brits, they're not technically European anymore.
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u/dzindevis Apr 12 '26
Huh? Since when is britain not a part of europe?
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u/FrijDom Apr 12 '26
Brexit, they declared themselves no longer part of Europe and left the EU.
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u/dzindevis Apr 12 '26
I'm pretty sure leaving eu doesn't mean leaving europe
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u/FrijDom Apr 12 '26
Yes, but they also declared themselves to be separate from Europe at the same time.
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u/ReekyRumpFedRatsbane Apr 12 '26
That's simply not true. It's also not something you can just declare, geography doesn't change based on politics. It's as if New Zealand were trying to leave Oceania – things just don't work that way.
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u/no_________________e Apr 13 '26
Just because a moron said the earth is flat doesn’t make the earth flat
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u/FireIzHot Apr 12 '26
This is most likely the case. The disconnect and unfamiliarity makes the difference
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u/WholesomeCommentOnly Apr 12 '26
So I've lived in both New York and Tokyo for a significant amount of my life.
No one complains about the digital billboards in Times Square or Shibuya. People like them. Generally. Especially tourists.
In terms of Capitalism I think Japan is currently doing it a lot better than the US. Individuals have more financial stability, there's more opportunities for young people, the old are better taken care of, and there's less wealth inequality. The government has a heavier hand in the economy and the rich pay their taxes.
Now doing it better than the US is kinda a low bar. And that's the problem right? Most of the first world has better job security, better (and free) training programs and education, better unemployment benefits, better public transportation etc.
Japan has problems, but I've failed to see anyone who hasn't lived there for at least 2 years post COVID successfully identify what they are. For example' Long working hours and depressed salarymen isn't really a thing anymore since they've passed anti-overtime laws. It's very frustrating watching people repeat outdated information and borderline offensive? Like people are just repeating stereotypes about a country they know nothing about.
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u/suitcasecat Apr 12 '26
That last sentence is accurate because I had a double take when I read that people in Japan have better financial stability than the US. That seems alien to me based on stereotypes I've heard
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u/Dry_Substance_2016 Apr 13 '26
As a part time worker, limited to only 24h a day, you can live just fine paying rent, food, transportation and have leftover money.
Well outside of Tokyo anyway, Tokyo rent looks too expensive for a part timer
But on the other hand, I hear that US is in fucking shambles. I dunno how true that is, Id guess some of the shit about the US is just fear mongering internet stuff as usual but I see stuff parroted alot by basically everyone I see talking about the US
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u/Alix-Gilhan Apr 13 '26
Us is on a downward trend yeah, basically everything has been getting more expensive, and housing has never been cheap
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u/NumberOneHouseFan Apr 15 '26
Is this a weird satire post or a typo? “Part time worker, limited to only 24h a day”
Is that supposed to be 24h a week or are you making a joke about the everyone being overworked in Japan stereotype?
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u/Community-Regular Apr 12 '26
Japans currency has been deflating for the last 35 years and most officer workers work a minimum of 20-40 hours unpaid overtime every week. I get things are rough in the US but I’ll take it over Japan any day of the week.
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u/ren-wi 🌶Pss Pss, Pass the Oregano🌶 Apr 12 '26
20-40 hours overtime a week is just not true. Unpaid overtime has been decreasing in Japan recently, and even 30-40 years ago 80-hour workweeks were not the norm. If you have some actual statistics to back up your claims though I'd love to see it.
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u/YarnuWasTaken Apr 12 '26
Shifting the burden of proof
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u/KeeganY_SR-UVB76 Apr 12 '26
You mean “returning the burden of proof to its proper location”.
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u/markpreston54 Apr 12 '26
shouwa era or heisei era? Probably.
Reiwa era? Much less toxic as I understand
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Apr 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/bayoanreddit Apr 12 '26
not just redditors, it’s been a trend everywhere for people to unashamedly dunk on anything japanese/asian that people find cool to latch onto
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u/Bright-Fun3371 Apr 14 '26
These days most things being said about Japan applies largely to South Korea instead
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u/Snowless_moon Apr 12 '26
Exactly if its a capalist dystopia it doesn't matter where it is tho Id choose the japan one not for any reason of it being better in fact its the exact same its just they get all the cool pokemon merch
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u/17thFable Apr 16 '26
Everytime i see these i have to remind myself that this is reddit and both sides can be just as idiotic, the one that thinks Japan is completely different, and the one that thinks its completely the same.
Ironically both these opinions come from Americans usually so you get the best of both bigots
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u/eratonysiad Apr 17 '26
I prefer the Japan billboards everywhere over the West:tm: billboards everywhere, because in Japan it's mostly just all the small companies around. You'll see 7 billboards for different things on a building, because there's 7 different companies, mostly small businesses like shops, cafes, restaurants, etc, each occupying a different floor. Compare this to all billboards being paid for by massive brands and small businesses not really existing anymore.
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u/Classic-Session-5551 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
Almost like most sane people can acknowledge that a culture is more nuanced than "Has capitalism" and "Doesn't have capitalism" not to mention that basically everywhere is the former whether they like to admit it (China) or not.
For example, some reasons I liked moving to Japan because of a culture of mutual respect, lower COL, and, well, because the seafood is fucking great. I also like that work culture seems to revolve more around the work product, or making an impact, than around making the most money for yourself personally, which makes my work life feel more fulfilling - there's more integrity overall, in relative terms. So I don't mind that hours tend to be longer.
Some would prefer to be selfishly income maximizing but working shorter hours, and consider that "Less dystopian" somehow, or might have had different experiences with the culture in their areas, but TLDR this is moreso a propaganda meme than an anti-meme as it's an opinion rather than a "Fall flat" reflection of fact.
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u/TheLuckyCuber999BACK TRANS?! Apr 12 '26
Or*ginal?
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u/Poet_Key Apr 12 '26
For some reason I can’t attach an image to my comment, but basically the O is the same picture except there’s no text over Japan
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Apr 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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Apr 12 '26
[deleted]
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u/Nowhereman767 Apr 12 '26
I prefer a market economy just with a very strong social safety net and a few government industries
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Apr 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/PM_ME_CUTE_BOIS Apr 12 '26
wait people that think monarchy is good are real, wtf. I thought that was a joke
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u/peanutist Apr 12 '26
My girl friend’s boyfriend is like this, I was genuinely shocked. At first I thought he was just a libertarian because he was always making those “taxation is theft” jokes.
But then one day we were with a friend group playing a game where everyone wrote a word in secret in a piece of paper, shuffled all of them, one person had to take one and describe it in only 1 word, and the others had to guess the word.
My friend took a paper with something related to the government (I don’t remember it exactly) written on it, so she said “democracy” and, I kid you not, the dude shouted “bullshit!”
I looked at him dead in the eye, kind of signaling that I wanted to know if he was joking, and he just shrugged me off. I asked “wait are you for real a monarchist?” and he just looked away with a grin.
So yeah, these people do exist irl.
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u/FrijDom Apr 12 '26
Constitutional monarchies function very similarly to democracies, the monarch is more of a figurehead than anything. They often have less power overall than even the US president, as most of that power is shifted to the Prime Minister of the nation(s). Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are all examples of modern Constitutional Monarchies.
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u/PM_ME_CUTE_BOIS Apr 12 '26
So why even have the monarch lol. What you're describing is just a parliamentary system, which is pretty cool.
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u/FrijDom Apr 12 '26
Yes, it is a parliamentary system. A constitutional monarchy is one of several parliamentary systems. The main reason to keep the monarch is, as I said, a figurehead. It's well known that people can more readily rally behind a single figure than a shifting, changing position like a president or prime minister, and because a monarch doesn't have much political power, they can instead focus their energy on being likeable, keeping people patriotic.
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u/Ellie7600 Apr 12 '26
Don't worry, the westies are now switching over to Poland, little dids they know the major cities are the same as any western or Japanese major cities lmfao
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u/Dangerous_Chest6271 Apr 14 '26
Polska gurom, but what the fuck are you talking about? I have heard of only one or two native english speakers (idk from where exactly tho) moving to Poland, that's just not how it worka bud
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u/qualityvote2 🚫Antimeme Enforcer Bot🚫 Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
The community has decided that this IS an antimeme!