Reading about that secondhand appliance law got me thinking about laws that were on the books, but not really enforced. In that thread, Pachinko was mentioned, but what other laws are there? I heard that cycling on the sidewalk is illegal, but that it isn't enforced at all. Is this true? From my experience, everyone just biked on the sidewalk, and we were told to do so. So I can't see it being real, but you never know.
Sexual discrimination in the workplace. Officially, it's illegal, but the law is toothless and that's why most Japanese girls get to work as OLs, looking pretty and making tea, until they catch the eye of some salariman. Gender equality is about 30 years behind in Japan.
Yep, it's true but everyone does it. There are many stupid laws in Japan that nobody follows. In Kita Kyushu they never F*cking indicate when driving. The amount of times I've shouted as the shit drivers there ! Yakumo
Sounds like a nice place to practice Law, have they got a Tort law equivelant? because if they do I can see loads of claims benefiting some lucky guy who's going to accept the cases - I better rush to japan!
I'm not sure about the sidewalk one. I was pretty confident that riding on the sidewalk AND the road was fair game (god knows I did it all the time, in front of the cops). It's the best and worst of both worlds. Cars are supposed to yield to you, but don't. On the flip side, you could go through a whole pack of pedestrians, as long as you dinged your bell, nobody gave a shit. The disco law is true though. If you have a license, it's legal until 1AM. If you have no license, it is never legal. There are some clubs that prefer to remain legal, so are only open until 1AM, then close and have an afterhours party starting at 5AM that runs until around noon. Japan's discrimination laws (or lack thereof) are an absolute joke. Sexual Harrasment lawsuits are (AFAIK) the only ones that have tended to follow the west, but even that's just a handful. Again, this is all hearsay and whatnot. Don't know of any solid statistics. Oh, yeah. The whole "no walking and smoking" law is in a few places now I understand -- not just Chiyoda-ku.
You guys realize Pachinko is not illegal, right? Gambling is though, hence the whole "sell the shit next door". What would be more interesting is to find out how betting on horse races is avoided. There's a betting booth in Shinjuku if I'm not mistaken.
