Do kids in Japan have more freedom/autonomy/self-sufficiency than kids in the US? Or is this a literary device, like the popularity of orphans and boarding schools in English stories? Kill off the parents (literally or figuratively) so the kid can have adventures.

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    Not sure which show/books/manga you’re referring to; but as far as I know (cred: I speak simple Japanese, read some literature, have visited; and have a few Japanese friends from my year in the UK):

    the answer to that is both yes and no. Because Japan is considered safe, yes you will see small children commuting to school etc on their own on the metro, on buses. They are also – universally, I hear – expected to clean their schools and so on. But their mothers are stay at home moms (usually) and like in most Asian cultures, it is acceptable for children to continue living at home even once they start working (but again, my friends “pay rent” or “pay back growing expenses” in that they send 30% of their income to their parents every month, more if they live at home)

    So the point of my meandering answer is that – yes they are more independent in some aspects; less so in other aspects. ^^

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      I relate so much to Yuji Sakamoto’s dramas because it reminds me of my own culture and childhood.
      I grew up in a small town and it wasn’t uncommon for us kids to be left at home alone at a very young age, even at 5yrs old because it was safe.

      I learnt at an early age to be responsible for myself. Cook, clean, do homework after school etc before going out to play with the neighborhood kids till my mom comes home.
      Those friends I still have to this day.

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        That is so cool! And very helpful in your adult life, I would think.

        I had a fairly free-range childhood, and my mother had me responsible for my own laundry, room, various chores, and of course homework. But we were rarely left to fend for ourselves completely. Not that young, anyway. By the time I was a teenager, I would babysit my younger siblings for a few hours at a time on occasion. And we never had the autonomy and responsibility kids in Japanese entertainment seem to have.

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      Fascinating! Thank you.

      I had noticed this before, but what prompted the question last night was that I have been watching Good Morning Call on Netflix, and we have 2 highschoolers who are living on their own. Renting their own apartment. And no one bats an eyelash. Well, there was a fair amount of blinking and eyebrow raising when it comes out that a boy and a girl are living together as roommates, but that was because of the boy/girl thing. Not the living alone thing. Which I found very strange.

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    I have been working here for two years. Kids here are more independent because they’re expected to go to school on their own. In the first few years in Elementary, they clean their own rooms and serve their own food. Almost all Moms here are working so they usually leave their children at daycares from 3 years old until 5 (before they’re required to attend school) so there. Also, it’s quite common to see 1st graders having their own house keys (as I see with my students).

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      That is so impressive. As I said above, I feel like my mother was good at teaching us responsibility and how to take care of ourselves. But nowhere at the level and the youth of the kids I see in Japanese entertainment. And apparently art is imitating life here.

      This is why I love watching international television. It broadens my horizons. And I’m very glad to have people like you guys to let me know what is real and what is fiction.

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