13 SHOCKING Facts About Japan You Didn’t Know!

 

Why are teenage girls in Japan having their teeth capped to look like fangs?

 How is KFC a big part of Japanese Christmas tradition?

 Find out in 13 Shocking Facts About Japan You Didn't Know!

 Number 13.

 "Fur Babies"

 Japan's capital city of Tokyo is one of the most densely populated cities in the entire world and many of its other cities are close behind.

 Living in such an overcrowded area with incredibly high real estate costs can make raising children difficult and unaffordable, this is one of the main reasons that Japan has seen a dramatic drop in birth rate over the past decade.

 The average rate of children per every Japanese woman is just under one and a half if this continues Japan could have a real population problem over the next century.

 At this rate in one hundred years the total population will be reduced by over 60 percent.

 The decline in babies doesn't mean that the Japanese have lost their need to nurture as the facts suggest they are merely replacing child rearing with raising pets.

 In one study it was found that the current pet population outnumbers the child population by over 5 million.

 And pets aren't just overtaking children in sheer numbers, they have become a surrogate for children in almost every way imaginable with some pet owners spending large amounts of money on everything from designer pet clothing to gourmet pet food.

 But Japan's pet craze doesn't stop there , they now even have even have coffee shops where you can pick up and play with kittens while you sip on your cup of Joe.

 Number 12.

 "Centenarian Central"

 The rapid decline in child population isn't the only shocking yet troublesome fact about Japan's shifting age make-up.

 Japan also has a had a significant uptick in people living to be over one-hundred years old creating a top-heavy society in which there are more elderly than children.

 In fact, Japan has the highest population of people over the age of one-hundred in the entire world with over 65,000 centenarians in the country.

 Much of this can be attributed to the healthy lifestyles of Japan's older generations and the country's advanced medical practices.

 This extreme shift in age demographic has the added created of some wild differences between Japan and the rest of the world.

 For instance, Japan is the only country in the world that sells more adult diapers than baby diapers.

 Number 11.

 "Holiday Chicken"

 Japan has long been known for integrating the cultures and celebrations of other countries into its own and Christmas is no different.

 Only one percent of Japanese people identify as Christian and Christmas is not a national holiday but that doesn't stop most of the population from celebrating the holiday.

 Just like it has become in many homes in America, Christmas isn't necessarily celebrated as a religious holiday but is more about family and gift-giving.

 But there is another element to Japan's Christmas that seems quite bizarre compared to Western Christmas traditions, namely the tradition of spending Christmas Eve at Kentucky Fried Chicken.

 What started as a marketing campaign in the 70s, the slogan Kentucky for Christmas has become synonymous with the way the Japanese celebrate the night before.

 KFC has become one of the biggest contributors to the normalizing of Christmas in Japan and every year rolls out huge advertising campaigns along with special Christmas menus that feature champagne, cake, wine and of course Fried Chicken.

 If you visit Japan during Christmas Time don't be surprised to see the Colonel in Santa Claus garb standing on street corners throughout the country.

 Number 10.

 "Geographic Marvel"

 Japan is one of the most geographically unique countries in the entire world.

 The land of the rising sun is has a land area of approximately 146,000 square miles which makes it just smaller than the state of California.

 However this are is spread over 6,800 islands.

 These islands are covered by over 70 percent in mountains of which 200 are active volcanoes.

 Because of the major amount volcanic activity and Japan's location on one of the major fault lines in the Pacific, the country experiences an average of 1500 earthquakes annually.

 These earthquakes can be especially destructive due to the heavy population density in Japan's major cities.

 Number 9.

 "Anime Crazy"

 You probably know that Japan is really into anime and comic books but the facts behind their obsession will blow your mind.

 It has been found that Japan actually uses more paper for graphic novels and comic books than the country uses for toilet paper.

 Because anime is also one of the main forms of entertainment on television voice acting has become a powerful industry in the country.

 In fact there are over 130 schools that specialize in teaching voice acting techniques just to keep up with the industries' demands.

 Number 8.

 "Paintball Patrol"

 Crowded cities and crafty criminals have forced the police in Japan to constantly be in search of law-enforcement innovations.

 One of the most strange yet brilliant methods that the police have adopted is the carrying of paintball guns.

 These paintball guns are equipped by officers in the event that a suspect tries to flee the scene.

 By shooting paintballs at a criminal's car or their person they can make it impossible to for them to hide by marking them with bright colored paint.

 This also reduces the risk of injuring bystanders and property when chasing after a perpetrator.

 Number 7.

 "Shoe Rules"

 You might know of the Japanese custom of removing your shoes whenever entering a person's home but you probably don't know just how intense and complex the customs surrounding shoe usage are.

 First off, whenever you are entering a home, hotel and even some restaurants it is customary to remove your shoes and many of these building are built with raised platforms and areas that are meant specifically for the removal of shoes.

 How you remove your shoes is also important, a person must remove them gently and respectfully while standing one leg lest ye be judged as being a slob or just plain rude Once you remove your shoes it is usually customary to put on slippers meant for wearing indoors, but don't worry you don't have to bring your own.

 Pretty much every hotel and house has extra slippers that are meant for guest use.

 Even after you put on these slippers it doesn't mean you are allowed to go traipsing anywhere you please in a person's abode.

 Inside of bedrooms there is a mat called a tatami which is to only be stepped on when a person is wearing socks or has bare feet.

 Many bathrooms in these places also require that you wear special slippers and provide them next to the door.

 All of the taking off and putting back on of shoes and slippers may seem tedious to outsiders but it is probably one of the reasons that Japan is considered one of the most hygienic countries in the world.

 Number 6.

 "Eating Etiquette"

 There are some other customs in which tourists from the Western world should be prepared to embrace if they decide to visit Japan.

 Namely, there are a few rules of eating etiquette to which adhering is necessary, otherwise it can make a person look quite foolish or cause them to accidentally insult someone.

 One way to surely receive the ire of the locals is if you eat or drink certains food while walking or traveling in certain public areas.

 In more culturally diverse areas of town where there is an influx of youth you can find many people enjoying food like ice cream that you can walk and enjoy but doing this in older more traditional parts of Japan is a big no-no.

 This may tie into the japanese cultural tradition of cleanliness and hygiene.

 Eating messy foods on public transportation or while walking in a public area is considered akin to littering.

 You may have also heard about the completely different ways that the Japanese show their appreciation for a meal like slurping their noods.

 That being said it is still shocking for Westerners to hear and see people slurping their food loudly at a public restaurant.

 Slurping isn't just a way to show your satisfaction it is generally considered impolite if you don't.

 Not finishing your food is also considered to be extremely rude as is belching or talking loudly during a meal.

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 Number 5.

 "Tentacle Topping"

 As stated earlier the Japanese love adopting western cultures and putting their own spin one them and one of the most shocking twists on a western classic is that of Japanese pizza.

 Yes there are Pizza Hut's and Domino's in Japan but you might not recognize their menus.

 Some of the most popular types of pizzas include Cheese and Honey, Crab, Shrimp and Broccoli and Teriyaki Chicken pizza that is topped with chicken, cheese, onions corn and seaweed.

 But get this, this pizza isn't made with tomato sauce but rather mayonnaise.

 Yes mayonnaise is actually one of the most common types of sauces found on Japanese pizzas.

 If you are ordering a pizza in the United States you probably would be surprised to find pizzas that include potatoes and seafood but these too are very common in Japan.

 One of the toppings that westerners might find the most strange, that of squid, has actually been polled as being the most popular pizza topping among the Japanese.

 Number 4.

 "Shocking Percentages"

 Japan is one of the most unique countries because of its strong national identity and culture unlike any other in the world.

 A lot of this has to do to with the fact that the country's population is almost 98% Japanese.

 With barely any immigrants living there, Japan has been able to maintain an independent identity and is able to maintain a strict societal structure.

 This structure is built around hard work and education.

 Because of this, the unemployment rate in Japan is under four percent while their literacy is astoundingly close to one hundred percent.

 Number 3.

 "Mother's Milk"

 One of the newest crazes in the Japanese nightlife scene is something that if it happened in any other place in world it might seem odd but in Japan it is right at home with several other insane-seeming fads.

 We are talking of course about Bars that serve Human breast milk.

 Yes there are several bars in downtown Tokyo that are based around serving shots of milk that have been lactated from pregnant women.

 Now there are a lot health benefits to drinking breast milk like the fact that it contains several beneficial vitamins and can help to strengthen the immune system but there is just something about bellying up to a bar with dozens of others and drinking fresh breastmilk that is bizarre.

 Number 2.

 "Crooked Beauty"

 The perception of beauty ranges greatly from country to country but Japan being so culturally isolated for so long has lead to some views on attractiveness that are flat-out shocking to Americans.

 One of these is is what as known as Yaeba in Japan.

 Yaeba is when a person's upper canine teeth are sharp, short and crooked compare to the rest of your teeth.

 This look has become identified with being young and spritely.

 Though naturally they are a result of teeth not fully developing the defect has become all the rage among teenage girls in Japan.

 Some of these girls even pay large sums of money to have their canines capped and shaved to look like Yaeba fangs.

 Number 1.

 "Big Winner?"

 The Japanese are known for being some of the most creative and forward thinking people on Earth and when many people look to what the future will be like they look to Japan for reference.

 But the world might not be ready for some of the crazy ways the Japanese have tried to be innovative when it comes to television games shows.

 Japan cycles through game show ideas lightning fast and some of them are just flat out bizarre.

 Many of them involve physical activities that most westerners wouldn't even dare attempt and some can even be based on how much punishment a person can take.

 Some of the weirdest game shows are: Human Tetris, in which people have to fit themselves into holes in a moving wall before it pushes them off a platform; Dero Dero, which involves contestants having to solve puzzles in order to leave various escape rooms all while dodging booby traps; Candy or Not Candy, in which people are asked to guess whether an object is in fact that object or an edible candy replica and then bite it to find out and of course there is Tore!

 A game show where contestants who are quickly wrapped in cloth by a machine and have to answer trivia questions before being completely 'mummified' and put in a fake sarcophagus.

 If you could visit Japan what would be the first thing you would do?