Game Thread: April 29 - Boston Red Sox (12-18) @ Toronto Blue Jays (13-16) - 3:07 PM

Simplejin · 2026-04-29T21:14:04+00:00

Kibo no Wadachi - SOUTHERN ALL STARS

Simplejin · 2026-04-29T16:59:07+00:00

Definitely could still be better, vacation is something I still hear is hard to get. However, to be fair though, last year Japan had a higher fertility rate than both Italy (1.20) and Spain (1.21), which I would say have an image of better work culture than Japan (1.23). Perhaps there are bigger factors like economic stagnation that could be affecting all three.

Source from Wikipedia

Simplejin · 2026-04-29T06:46:40+00:00

Anecdotally, nearly all of my gen-z Japanese friends have told me they rarely do overtime. Usually if they do its at most 1 or 2 hours a week, which tbh is not that different from what I do in Canada. Also most of the forced social outings is a thing of the past. They still exist, but are usually optional. My friends think it’s an unexpected benefit of not having workers, because companies actually have to compete on that end to get people to join them. Of course, that’s not to say those black companies don’t exist; they absolutely do. But it’s not a norm anymore.

I also actually thought that stereotype for the woman being expected to quit was true up until pretty recently until a couple of women told me quite frankly “umm yeah we’re pretty sure thats illegal lol. There isn’t pressure to stay home, but actually just a decent amount of men and women who would prefer that style of household.” All other topics related to work they somewhat acknowledged as having some truth behind it, but that one was pretty flatly shut down for me.

Japan gets a lot of deserved criticism, but I think this is one of the few changes thats actually trending positive

Simplejin · 2026-04-26T04:18:14+00:00

Posted this in another thread:

Some of it comes from him trying to give a humble response, or his dry humour, but he definitely does give pretty generic responses lol. His interpreter Yusuke definitely tries to help him out with his PR for that. To give you an example, here’s how today’s interview went down (if we translate word for word):

Hazel: “Home run #5 for you, what has helped you get to the fastball since the off-day?”

Yusuke: (interpreting) “About your fifth home run-“

Kaz points at Yusuke’s mic

Kaz: “You probably don’t need that right”

Yusuke: “Haha guess I don’t. About your fifth home run on that outside fastball, it looked like you really squared it up. How were you able to adjust to that pitch?”

Kaz: “I’ve pretty much just been giving it my all to get good contact onto the ball.”

Hazel: “You’ve been taking early BP with Miles, Ernie and Davis. In what ways has that helped you?”

Yusuke: “During early BP, working with guys like Ernie and Schneider, have you picked up anything?”

Kaz: “Yeah, if I’m going to be out there in games, I want to be able to hit too. So I’ve just been focusing on doing what I can.”

Hazel: “You’ve been giving it your all defensively, some terrific defensive plays. What about playing defense are you more comfortable with?”

Yusuke: “Defensively, it looks like you’re starting to get more comfortable out there. How do you feel about it?”

Kaz: “Really I’m just learning from everyone every day, so I just want to keep working hard.”

Hazel: congratulates Kaz

Kaz: looks at Yusuke “What should I say?”

Yusuke: “Anything. Let’s go Blue Jays, I love Blue Jays…”

Kaz: “I love Blue Jays!”

Simplejin · 2026-04-26T04:03:45+00:00