[coldtea]

Because it's a safer country whose culture doesn't produce as many insane and/or violent people, and doesn't have as many hysterical helicopter parents.

In US kids used to also do just that, about half a century ago now. And walk to school in many places until the 80s and 90s.

[SoftTalker]

Kids still walk to school where I live in midwest USA.

[kristianbrigman]

This could just be because people don’t walk in general… that was part of Jane Jacobs’ argument, that basically more people around makes things generally safer. Changes like these tend to be pretty exponential once they start.

[PoppinFreshDo]

Japan has no drug problem because it has strong borders.

It has a decent medical system to preempt or treat psychiatric symptoms.

And it has federal level construction laws to allow housing to be built anywhere. So look up "cheapest housing in tokyo" where you can rent a tiny place for $100/month.

Japan has smartly designed and compassionate infrastructure. It's not just "culture"

[feyman_r]

I believe what you describe - housing for all, decent medical system, or compassion overall, is culture.

[coldtea]

>Japan has smartly designed and compassionate infrastructure. It's not just "culture"

Where do you think the "smartly" and "compassionate" part of the designs comes from, is approved, funded, and appreciated - if not "culture"?

[ok_dad]

It has no drug problem because if you do drugs you’re going to prison for a while then you’ll get out and never find a job doing anything other than cash jobs, probably not even that. Your life will basically end, your family and friends will abandon you, and that’s about it. The borders don’t really have much to do with that, it’s an island anyways.

The zoning is the key to the fact that there’s plenty of construction but they also have a declining population, so that helps.

[ty6853]

Singapore has execution instead, since the people bringing in the drugs are usually foreigners and the consumers are foreign as well with no local reputation to uphold. Not condoning it, but it seems effective.

[HKH2]

Drug runners know the risks. They get danger money.

[ty6853]

Still, fear of death must have some persuasion. Money is of no use in the afterlife.

[coldtea]

It's about reducing their numbers and the number of users. Which seems to work.

[eru]

Japan had insane drug problems just after WW2. Not sure anything changed about their border since then?

[coldtea]

Drug use problems. Not drug gang problems (aside illegal distribution and the ocassional violent internal dispute "resolution") - that is, no druggies robbing and murdering people, no shootings, no gang initiation rites involving murdering, no crackheads and H addicts dwelling in dystopian street scenes, etc...

[eru]

Going on a tangent: you can remove almost all of the drug problems than are not 'drug use' problems, by simply legalising drugs.

You can even tax drugs quite a lot, and still keep the blackmarket small.

[PoppinFreshDo]

Drug decriminalization has been a horrific failure. Legalization just let's these problems become (worse) epidemics.

Taxation in California has proven to be a huge incentive to black market growers who can grow and sell tax free. The legal seller has the weight of taxation.

Your suggestions are basically a recipe for greater disaster.

[eru]

Legalisation and taxation works quite ok for alcohol and tobacco in most places. And comparatively, it works fantastically better for alcohol than the prohibition the US tried.

What's different for those other drugs? Or should we (re-) criminalise alcohol and tobacco, too?

I agree that decriminalisation is a strange halfway measure. And I can also believe that not all policy in practice is great, even if the bears the label of 'legalisation' or 'decriminalisation'.

[forgotoldacc]

"Just after WW2" is an entire lifetime ago. People who were adults just after WW2 are almost all dead.

Japan was entirely controlled by the US after WW2 and had no control over its own affairs for several years. That's one big change. Plus culture changes a lot in a full century.

[andyferris]

Just after WW2 the USA was running Japan’s borders…

[eru]

The drugs were mostly domestic, so the border didn't matter too much one way or another.

[Gigachad]

Australia also has very strong borders and has a lot of problems with meth. Particularly in the outer / rural areas.

[ty6853]

Sailing a load of drugs into Australia would be a cake walk compared to sailing them into Japan.

[eru]

Well, you'd have to deal with the Australia wildlife, if you sell them into the middle of nowhere.

[andyferris]

What fraction of our meth is imported vs locally produced?

I know there are a lot of problems with meth, but how do they compare with other countries? (Per capita, say?)

[ruthmarx]

> Japan has smartly designed and compassionate infrastructure.

Except for the justice system.

[Aeolun]

> It has a decent medical system

Yes, absolutely!

> to preempt or treat psychiatric symptoms.

Uh, no. They just medicate people to death or keep them off the streets if they can’t.

I suppose this may be better than the US, but that’s a pretty low standard.

[coldtea]

>or keep them off the streets if they can’t.

Sounds good.

>I suppose this may be better than the US, but that’s a pretty low standard

What else they would do? Miraculously cure them?