"Abunai" means danger or "watch out/carefull." You hear it all the time, about how dangerous America is and how Japan is "safety country." Someone recently said that the part of Tokyo that I live near (Ikebukuro) is dangerous-ha! This month's Japanzine's feature story looks at this issue:
It is interesting that the Japanese often seem overly concerned about things they aren't familiar with and find them dangerous... or at least risky. Of course, this is pretty much human nature anywhere. However, the term "Safety Country" has oft been used by Japanese to compare and contrast the relatively orderly and admirable civil society they have been able to construct. On the face of it, the phrase is both naive and humorous. After all, this grammatical malapropism is indicative of both a mind set and a misunderstanding. It attests to a perspective that Japan is safe; the rest of the world, well... let?s just say "watch out."
Click here to read the rest.
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