J-List Mailing List

I’m on this mailing list by J-list because I ordered some bento accessories from J-box previously. Unlike mailing lists of other online shops like AE.com, Jpmon, J-list mailing does not merely introduce their products. The writer and owner of the site, Peter Payne, writes a short interestng article about Japan each time he sends out the mailing list (which is about every 2-3 days). The subject for all emails is “Greetings from J-List – You’ve got a Friend in Japan”, which I feel is quite apt to the to content of the email because he introduces something new about Japan each time. He can talk about Japanese culture, news events, random things that happen to him in Japan (being a gaijin). I really look forward to his articles each time; they never fail to pique my interest for Japan. Here is an example of the most recent article about Japanese legal age:

Japan is currently engaged in some soul-searching about whether or not to lower the legal age of adulthood. Historically the official year for coming-of-age has been 20, and quite a big deal is made of this event every year around January 15 on Seijin-no-hi, or Coming-of-Age Day. On this day, Japanese young people who have turned 20 that year (with “year” being defined as the previous April to the upcoming March) gather in their city wearing fine new suits or beautiful kimonos to hear long, drawling speeches from politicians about life, responsibility, and the importance of contributing to society by working hard. Now a possible amendment to the Japanese Constitution is being considered which would officially lower this age to 18 from the current 20, which is the legal age for voting in Japan, as well as for buying tobacco and alcohol. (The age for driving is 18.) Most young people are opposed to the change, which doesn’t surprise me somehow. For some reason, Japan is a place where the younger generation isn’t in a hurry to grow up, and it’s common for children to live with their parents well into their 20s, or if they’re the oldest son or daughter of the family, forever, since they’ll be taking care of the parents as they get older. There’s something about the Japanese psyche that makes many young people more than happy to “grow up” at a slower pace, whether it’s the famous “parasite singles,” who live at home forever and never marry or make households of their own, or the more common “freeters,” who work part-time jobs without ever deciding on a full-time career. Perhaps it’s a side-effect of having fewer children born over the past generation, meaning more doting on each child by parents compared to the old days.   – J-list mailer Nov 7

Another aspect of the mailer is how he would intoduce a product, like really write a long-ish write-up about the product and put in his own evaluation and experience with it, making it very personalized.

If you’re interested in receiving these, I think you can find a way to put yourself on their mailing list (not sure how, maybe sign up an account with them), or I could forward them to you.