[ekianjo]

> the European sailors that shipwrecked in Japan sit around scratching their fleas and scoffing at the Japs' grotesque habit of bathing every day... gross

Well on a ship you certainly can't wash yourself every day. And even in Europe, there was a lack of running water to wash yourself as often as you wanted. Japan has tons of rivers everywhere and is one of the richest country in terms of river water - and you can add onsen (hot springs) on top of that which provides free warm water to those living nearby. It's easy to criticize people of old, but they lived in very different conditions than we do, and Japanese had as much water as they wanted hence they developed that everyday washing culture.

Yet, Japan is actually importing water from other countries because they can't even meet their needs anymore in water supply - so the Japan model is not sustainable if you think about it this way. The consumption of water is among the highest worldwide (not just for bathing, but also washing clothes etc...) so it you applied the same model everywhere else you'd run out of water very fast in most countries.

[comicjk]

Water consumption by agriculture and industry dwarfs that for personal use. Stats for Japan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_...

[ekianjo]

> Water consumption by agriculture and industry dwarfs that for personal use.

Yeah, but Japan does not need to make their own crops. It's very much a policy that can debated. Surfaces for agriculture in Japan are very well, mainly composed of small-time farmers, and that kind of activity only exists because it's heavily subsidized by the government, and the country applies huge tariffs and trade protections to prevent importing food from other countries around (at the expense of Japanese taxpayers and consumers).

[seanmcdirmid]

Neglecting your domestic agriculture industry kind of sucks if war comes around or some other problem with imports arises, since it takes awhile to regrow your capacity to replace imports (and everyone starves in the meantime).

Food security is worth some subsidies, at least, just as a back up in case there is a problem with trade.

[ekianjo]

> Neglecting your domestic agriculture industry kind of sucks if war comes around or some other problem with imports arises,

If war comes around, ANYWAY a country like Japan will be f*ed to sustain its agriculture, with no access to commodities from outside and energy resources like petrol, fertilizers and so on. It is in the best interest of countries like Japan to sustain peace with neighboring countries and have strong trade ties with multiple partners so that a crisis with a single one would not cut off their supplies entirely.

> Food security is worth some subsidies, at least, just as a back up in case there is a problem with trade.

I disagree, because the cost of closing your borders is way, way higher than embracing global trade and benefiting from commodities that can be produced more efficiently and cheaply in other countries, even in the remote case of conflict. And if at all, this should be a choice made by the consumer, not by the government.

[m_mueller]

Japan and Germany are mainly in such a position because they lost a war - their territory would look very different otherwise. That doesn't mean that in (currently still very hypothetical) case of war, they wouldn't try to gain us much territory as quickly as possible - it would basically be a necessity. On the other hand, (potential) nuclear warfare has pretty much changed the game. It seems to me 'warfare' between industrialized nations is now everything about cold wars and alliances with nuclear capable countries. In case of Japan, food will never be a problem as long as they keep being allied to the US.

[seanmcdirmid]

> because the cost of closing your borders is way, way higher than embracing global trade and benefiting from commodities

You can keep your borders open while still maintaining some essential capacities...like GROWING FOOD. Sure, you can import, but its up there with weapon/defense production in what you probably shouldn't outsource completely to your potential enemies or allies who are further away than your enemies (China...cough...).

[a8da6b0c91d]

The whole "europeans were dirty" thing is apocryphal. European towns were loaded with heated public baths that got plenty of use, just like in Asia.

There was a phenomenon that the public baths became associated with the spread of plague and syphilis when those diseases reached Europe (because they were associated) and usage declined. This has somehow done whisper-down-the-lane into the idea that Europeans were filthy.