 Alright, this is a review of Shedding Out the Sun How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation by Michael Zeelandziger. We think Michael for being a cultural observer. The Hikikomori is what this book is about. It is a phenomenon of young adults to adults closing themselves off from the world. Imagine that. They stay in their room, the parents bring them food, they go out to the bathroom, do basic essentials, play their video games, videos, reading, whatever. And the cultural phenomenon is causing them to shut out the sun in the land of the rising sun. Why are they actually being antisocial? Being in the repressed Japanese culture, there's bullying from stepping outside the norms. School is rigid, somewhat emotionless, there's trauma from the wars, repressed emotions, and the aging dynamic of Japan. They're not having children. And Michael Dyssexus, mind you that this was written in 2006. And he does reveal things that will happen in the future. That this is happening somewhat in America too in a not so extreme style. And here's a good quote, over time, Japan will make South Florida look like a youth hostel. And let's talk about Japanese culture. I've never been there. Although through my other reviews, you can tell I'm highly interested in them and what they have to offer. They're a closed country. They're hardly any drugs or violence. There's group harmony. There was a lost decade that started about 1989 due to real estate. In about 10 years, it didn't even recover. There's bureaucrats. There's the parasite singles. There's a post war culture. They're known for their respect, conformity, seniority, and cultured business meetings. They work hard. And they got interesting Japanese phrases, such as Meishi Kukan. There's business cards. And if you don't have a business card, say you're in Tokyo, then you're almost like a nobody. And the way they say this is they say their company name before their own name. For instance, they'll say Sony Corporation Matsuchi, the salaryman. They work so much damn time that they work their 40, 50 hour shift. And they are expected to work later on at night, the business meeting, see drug nights out. Heavy tight knit culture. There's almost no freedom in this culture. It's damaged. There's conformity. And depression and therapy is not being addressed. This is what inspired Michael. And I really appreciate what he's done. Japan is a country of denial. And make sure you read the Murkami quote in this book. And the suicides are happening, such as you can see Logan Paul going into the suicide forest. Bringing awareness to this in a not so likeable fashion. Then there's what they call the womb strike. They're parasite singles. Females are not having kids. They're more interested in walking dogs. There's a joke that they are the Christmas day, such as 25, when if you wait after that point, you're hardly going to have a chance to get married or have kids, which sounds very correct and comical at the same time. And a very interesting cultural observation is young women often say they will never marry a firstborn son unless his mother is dead because they don't want to become her nursemaid. Sounds like laziness. However, it's a tactic. They don't want to spend all their time taking care of other people. If you have a choice between having a good life or an excellent life, you want to choose an excellent life. A different part of feminism that Michael observed affected this culture. And in transition was Michael Wright. These parasite singles are happening just in my area of the Bay Area with its wealth, the feminist. Who are going to marry these leftover women? And I find it cruel to tell a female that you can have a career at 30 and all the guys will flock to you at your age because you are at your prime. And I want to talk about the differences between America and Japan. During World War II, America had the glory of winning the war. Japan's pride was damaged. There was a lost generation, a lost decade. What are they to do? The samurai, the Bushido. Is it still there? What next? The sword's been taken away. And the most important thing that I learned from this book in terms of the difference between America and Japan is that typically the United States separates the church and the state. Japan, on the other hand, with their religions, Shinto, Buddhism or whatever, it's more connected with the culture. There's a bureaucracy. They have womb to tomb jobs. America has a flexibility and the innovation and the energy. And there was a contrast between Korean culture where they're very similar in many respects. However, Koreans drink a lot. They're more risk taking. They aren't afraid to fail. And be sure to re-look at that type of culture in this book. Now, how does this affect the Manisphere? There are very little differences between MGTOW. The Hikikomori can be related to the herbivore, where there'll be just guys being very effeminate and eating just veggies. And you can read that in my Modern Romance review. MGTOWs are somewhat shutting in, but not shutting in to the degree. They might be lasting it with the term incel. That they could be the same as Hikikomori in a sense. But nut is extreme as what's going on in Japan. There is so much of manhater culture, especially in California, so I can relate into other places. Fortunately, we're blessed with a very strong economy here and in the rest of the United States. What if you lived in Japan where you were restricted with these bureaucrats, these wacky laws and social customs? Would you be free? And I recommend that you take from these cultures as you can see from my other videos. Ignore the conformity and the lack of individualism. And if I have to prove it to you, that would sound high school-ish. I don't have to do that. And in conclusion, this is very similar to MGTOW, yet not. Because most of these Hikikomori's are men and they affect guys. There are female ones, but they just affect guys. And I think it has to do with freedom and a safe space, not as with pejorative. You wanna be able to be yourself. You can't be yourself around work that you rather just almost tap out. You wanna make use of your time. And it is hard to shut out the sun in the land of the rising sun. And I appreciate Michael for writing this book. It's really good.