Being FAT is now illegal in Japan. ;)

33" waist is the max now.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• fat
• japan
• weight

[geniusxkiller]

I will be breaking the law in Japan then....

[SeanTheOriginal]

For a nation that's not fat and really damn skinny, this is good. While it is a "lose weight or lose your job" type of deal, it's meant to do good and to keep people healthy. I can support that.

But for a nation like the US, this would be horrid. After the grace period to lose weight, there would be a LOT of unemployed fat people, and a lot more people on Welfare/Unemployment.

Japanese people can deal with this better and faster than us Americans, because they aren't as fat as our nation.

[widdlepuddyfat]

@SeanTheOriginal No matter what good intentions, the government has no right to control your basic living. How would you feel if your government decided that you had to look a certain way to go out in public? What if they started banned people with depression from working? Overweight people exist in every country, and their weight only gets in the way of their job if it depends on muscles or other athletic skills. We need money and income to live decent lives.

[SipperMan]

What I want to know is who is the fine looking white reporter in the video; ay caramba!

[Level84]

@DrVoltage1 That's fairly rare for a 143 pound 6 foot tall man. I am 155 lbs 6 feet tall 23 years old and my waist is a 31. I agree with you that 33" is a bit strict, I would say over 36" would be more reasonable since at that point you are probably overweight regardless of body type. Also I think Japanese people generally have smaller body types than most Westerners. I am not sure what race you are, but if you are not Asian it could be your body type that gives you such a wide waist.

[icarus313]

I disagree with this policy like many of the commenters, but just remember that both the title of this video "Being FAT is now illegal in Japan. ;)" and the term "fines" used in the report are INCREDIBLY misleading! The news media did a lazy job on this one. The "fines" are government-mandated increases in company health insurance premiums for fat people. There are still good reasons to dislike this, but just remember it's not quite as dramatic as what's being presented because CNN is stupid.

[icarus313]

@megamarsvin

Thank you for clarifying! The news report kept saying "fines" and that really irked me, but as you say, they're health care premiums. I guess having sorted that out, my issue is that the govt is mandating this, not just the health insurance companies. It's likely there's already a temptation to fit people more to save money. Now it's govt-mandated premium increases as well as for-profit increases. This adds to an existing problem. That's the concern for me.

[KBeOKEH]

I understand it's "their" thing that they are doing and I really don't have a say as an American and I really shouldn't judge. However, considering the amount of hours a single Japanese person works, how on earth do they even have time to get a minute of exercise into their day? And some of those men in their 40's, their body is changing because of age....same way a woman's body is going through drastic change in her 40's as well. I agree, western burger chains like McDonald's isn't helping.

[DrVoltage1]

@DrVoltage1 I should mention I'm a 24 yr old man

[DrVoltage1]

@SeanTheOriginal I'm 6 feet tall, 143 pounds, and my waist is 34...am I overweight? I agree there needs to be more of a push for healthy living, but 33" waist is a bit crazy in my opinion...even 35 would seem way more fair.

[itscat92]

@cherri7 No way. Yeah people are definitly getting too fat, but the government shouldnt have that kind of power over us.

[KennedyGeekFace]

It isn't illegal to be fat in Japan check your facts.

The companies just want their workers to be more healthy and active.

Because the healthier their workers are, the more production gets done

and the less health care the company has to pay. The Japanese just want what

is best for their people. So the healthier the people the less the government has to pay.