日本人是如何看待自己的国家的

Japan is a small country located in east Asia. The population is around 130,000,000  people. The total world population is 6,800,000,000 , which means that roughly 2 in every 100 people are Japanese. Japan's land area measures 378,000  square kilometers. If the earth's land area is 149,000,000 square kilometers and the total area is 510,000,000  square kilometers, then Japan is no bigger than this red dot.
日本是个东亚的小国家，人口1.3亿，而世界人口68亿.也就是说……每100个人有两个是日本人.日本国土面积378000平方千米，如果地球陆地面积是1.4亿，地球表面积是5.1亿，那日本比这个红点大不了多少

Japan is the most advanced country in Asia. It is second only to America in GDP and it's proud of its high standard of living and economic wealth. Life expectancy of Japanese men is 79 years and 86 years  for women, which is the longest in the world. And there are culture practices such as KABUKI, BONSAI, SUMO, SADOU, KIMONO and ORIGAMI, all of which have developed into distinctly Japanese traditions.
日本是东亚最发达的国家，GDP仅次于美国。生活质量很高，经济发达。人均寿命男的79，女的86，世界最高。文化方面则有歌舞伎、盆栽、相扑、茶道、和服和折纸，都源于日本独特的文化传统。

And we must not forget, Japan was the first country in the world to experience the destructive power of not one, but two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. More than 220,000 (two hundred and twenty thousand) people lost their lives and as a result, Japan abandoned its war time constitution.In these ways Japan is a country with its own original culture and history, but nowadays there are also many strange things about modern day Japan. Let's take a look at these strange things in eight different category.
当然我们不会忘记，日本是世界上第一个尝到原子弹厉害的国家，不只一颗，而是两个：二战期间的广岛和长崎。220000人丧生，此后日本也废弃了战时宪法。总之，日本这个国家有独特的文化和历史，不过现代的日本有些奇怪的地方，让我们一起来从八个方面看看奇怪的日本。

1. Character.
国民性

Japanese people tend to be short, have black hair, small mouth and small eyes. This is a typical Japanese salaryman and over here is a Japanese schoolgirl. These days Japanese girls have a variety of ways to make their eyes appear bigger. There's even a function to make your eyes so big when you have a photo taken. Japanese technology sure is amazing. Another obsession Japanese girls have is with brands. Not more than anything else, they're obsessed with diets. Japanese women walk about town, carrying their high-quality brand bags. (Above??) for them, it's the ultimate status symbol. Japanese people also have the worst eyesight of anyone in the world with 40% (forty percent) of people using glasses or contact lenses. Japanese people are, generally, pretty shy. You could say that they find it particularly difficult to express how they really feel. Thanks to this, Japanese company meetings tend to drag on, and even after work is over, a Japanese person can't refuse an invitation for drinks. They also need to be careful of (what's the??) relationships between their boss and co-workers. Don't forget to bow on your way home, again, and again, and again. "So, when do I get my vacation?"
日本人一般……比较矮，黑头发，小嘴巴，和小眼睛，这就是典型日本工薪族。这边这个是日本女学生。日本女生有各种办法让眼睛看起来大一点，在照相的时候她们甚至可以通过某种方法让眼睛更大一点。日本科技，确实神奇。日本女生的另一执念是……名牌，当然还有……减肥。日本女人逛街，提著名牌包包，对她们来说，这是身份的终极象征。日本人视力全球最烂，40%的人带眼睛，或隐形眼镜。日本人一般来说……比较含蓄，可以说，他们很难说出自己真实感受，因此，日本公司的会议一般没完没了。就算下班，也不好意思拒绝应酬。同时还要注意上下级或同级之间关系，下班的时候别忘了鞠躬一鞠躬，二鞠躬，三鞠躬……（那么，什么时候可以批我的假期？）

2. Tokyo
东京

Tokyo, Japan's capital city, makes up an extremely small area, but it's the heart of Japanese politics, economy, distribution and fashion. A true megalopolis. Tokyo is the Mekka, the place everyone wants to live. And so in recent years, it's become overpopulated to the extreme. An example, compare to an American, who can claim a living space of 180 (one hundred and eighty) square kilometers to himself, there are 11 (eleven) Japanese people cramming to the same space, but in Tokyo alone, there are 192 (one hundred and ninty-two) people squished into the same extremely crammed living conditions. At the famous SHIBUYA scramble crossing, about every green light (drain??) peak hours, around 3,000 (three thousand) people will cross at the same time. At a Tokyo's McDonald's, it's perfectly normal to have just 50 centimeters of bench space per customer. (Ain't that??) like being a chicken in the coop, isn't it?
东京，日本的首都，面积极小，却是日本的政治、经济、物流、时尚中心，真正的超大城市。东京也是所有人都想去的地方，所以近几年来极端拥挤。比如说，一个美国人可以独占180平方米的地盘，同样大的地方，在日本要11个人挤，而在东京，这块地方要塞192个人。在涩谷的scramble路口，高峰时间，每次绿灯都有3000人通过。在东京的麦当劳，平均每人50厘米宽的吧台座位是很正常的，像养鸡场一样，对吧？

3. Food
餐饮

From traditional Japanese style food, to Chinese, Italian, French and American style junk food, Japan is a nation of food lovers. However, the amount of food actually produced in Japan is only around 40%. It's incredible to think that a nation so obsessed with food lets 23,200,000 (twenty-three point two million) tons of it go to waste every single year. That's actually more than four times the 5,900,000 (five point nine million) tons of food that gets sent yearly by eight programs to assist starving nations. Right now, there are 1,000,000,000 (one billion) people in the world suffering from starvation. That's equal to one in every seven people. And someone in the world dies from starvation every four seconds. Of those who die, more than half are children under five. But despite that, Japanese people will eat as much as they like and simply throw away the rest. So, Japanese cuisine, really is a big deal.
从传统日式料理，到中华料理，意式料理，法国大餐，美国垃圾食品，日本是美食家的国度，不过只有40%的食物产自日本。很难想象，一个对事物如此执着的国家，每年会倒掉2320万吨的食物，是每年日本援助饥荒国家的590万吨的4倍。目前世界上有10亿饥饿人口，就是说每七个人就有一个，平均4秒就有一人死于饥饿，其中一半是五岁以下儿童。不过，日本人还是想吃多少吃多少，吃不了的，就扔了吧。日本料理是一个很重要问题啊！

4. Technology
科技

Japanis a technologically advanced nation with bullet trains that reach a speed of 300 (three hundred) kilometers an hour. And mobile friends that can act as a credit card and television all-in-one. Robots that walk like humans? Now truly. There are even restaurants that employ robots to make your RAMEN for you. The toilets in Japan now (lift technological marvels?). The seat warms your bottom. The lid automatically opens and shuts. And if you like, your toilet will even wash your ... and hhh. But for some reasons, old-style Japanese squat toilets still remain popular. Can't imagine why.
日本科技很发达，新干线时速可达300公里，。还有可以刷卡看电视的手机。像人类一样走路的机器人？没问题，甚至还有做拉面的机器人。厕所也是高科技：可以加热的马桶圈，自动开合的马桶盖，如果你喜欢，马桶还可以自动清洗你的……嗯。但不知为什么，老式蹲坑还是最流行，想不通。

5. Water
水

In Japan, if you turn on the tap, the water that comes out of it is perfectly safe to drink as is.  Being an island country, Japan has water in abundance, but despite this, Japan imports huge amounts of mineral water from Europe, like about 580,000 (five hundred and eighty thousand) kilo liters every year. That amount equates to more than 1,160,000,000 (one point one six billion) 500 (five hundred) milliliter PET bottles. By the way, more than 1,100,000,000 (one point one billion) people in the world, or about eight times the population of Japan, don't have access to clean drinking water. A large portion of those who have to drink dirty water suffer from diarrhea and other diseases.
在日本，水龙头里的水接出来就可以直接喝。作为一个岛国，日本水资源很丰富，但日本会从欧洲进口大量矿泉水，每年约58万千升相当于11.6亿瓶500毫升的矿泉水。顺便说一句，全球11亿人口喝不到干净的饮用水，是日本人口的8倍，很多人因此患上痢疾或其他疾病。

6. SUSHI
寿司

When you think Japan, you think SUSHI. There's a traditional style counter SUSHI restaurants, but now SUSHI train restaurants are also popular. You can choose from shrimp, salmon roe, egg and any number or types of SUSHI. Recently, you can even order pudding or Korean BBQs. We don't really know why. By the way, the king of SUSHI in Japan is TUNA. That almost 2 million tons of it fished worldwide every year, Japanese people eat 710,000 (seven hundred and ten thousand) tons. That's a third of the world's total. Or Japan consumes 80% of the world's supply of bluefin tuna. In the past thirty years, the total population of tuna has decreased by a third. Because of that, the bluefin tuna could soon be designated a threatened species, just like the giant panda, blue whale, tiger and African elephant. Now, for the amount of disposable wooden chopsticks that you use to eat that SUSHI with, Japanese people use 23,000,000,000 (twenty-three billion) pairs of chopsticks per year and every person will throw a two-hundred pairs each. And these days, 90% of those chopsticks are sourced from China. Did you have any idea that Japan was using Chinese natural forest resources to make its disposable wooden chopsticks?
说到日本，自然想到寿司。最初是这种传统柜台，现在回转寿司店也很流行。你可以吃到虾寿司，三文鱼子寿司，玉子寿司，和其他各种。近几年还可以点布丁和韩式烧烤。额……我不知道为什么。日本的寿司之王是金枪鱼（吞拿鱼）寿司，每年全球捕捞191万吨金枪鱼，日本人吃掉71万吨，占三分之一。日本每年消费掉全球蓝鳍金枪鱼供应量的80%，所以过去三十年来，蓝鳍金枪鱼数量锐减至三分之一，很快就可以列入濒危物种，就像大熊猫，蓝鲸，老虎，和非洲象一样。至于每年吃寿司用去的一次性筷子，日本人每年要用掉230亿双，平均每人200双，这些筷子90%是从中国来的，所以日本一直在用中国的森林资源做一次性筷子，大家明白了吧？

7. Love
性爱

Have you seen those amazing buildings that look like fairytale castles? Well, you're in Japan. Of course, they are love hotels. There're around 30,000 (thirty thousand) love hotels in Japan and in a single day, 1,850,000 (one point eight five million) couples will visit one. That's quite a lot, but consider this, while every Japanese couple has sex of a grand total of 48 times a year, the global average number of times a couple has sex in one year is 103. And then there are those sex-loving Greeks who (for a??) cate on average 138 times a year. That's more than once every three days. Incredible! Oh, for the record, this is an actual Japanese castle. Please, don't mistake it for a love hotel and try to have sex in it.
你看到那些像童话城堡一样的壮观建筑了么？别忘了你在日本，那些当然是……爱情旅馆。日本有约3万家爱情旅馆。每天有185万对情侣光临，看起来很多吧？不过：日本夫妻平均每年做爱48次，而世界平均水平是103次。当然还有热爱做爱的希腊人，每年138次。每三天一次！难以置信。顺便说一句，这是真正的日本天守阁。请不要错认成爱情旅馆，在此ooxx

8. Suicide
自杀

For a country with such a strong economy and the luxury of throwing away unwanted food, you'd think Japan would be a happier country, but it also boasts one of the highest rates of suicide in any developed nation. Even Mount FUJI, a revered symbol of Japan, is a notorious suicide spot for the around 100 dead bodies discovered in the surrounding woodiness every year. It's so not important, but every year, around 35,000 (thirty-five thousand) people in total kill themselves in Japan. That's 90 people every day. Every 16 minutes in Japan, one person takes their own life. I guess a healthy economy does not necessarily make a happy country, does it?
经济发达，还可以奢侈的扔掉吃不了的东西，按说日本应该是个幸福又性福的国家。不过全球发达国家中，日本的自杀率最高。富士山，日本的象征，也是最热门的自杀地之一。每年在周边树林中都会发现100多具尸体。虽然很少报道，但是每年都有35000人自杀，平均每天90人，每16分钟，就有一人自杀。也许，经济发达并不一定会幸福吧

So, this is Japan. When you look at it from a global perspective, do you see what I mean when I say Japan is a strange country? Does Japan seem a bit different from what you first imagined? After all, Japan projects an image of wealth and prosperity. There's probably a lot you can't see behind that image. But take a step back and you can see the bigger, strangier picture. And who created this strange country? You did.
总之，这就是日本。明白为什么说日本奇怪了么？是否和你的预想不太一样呢？日本的形象一直是富裕和繁荣。而表象之下，却有不一样的东西。退一步，也许你会看到一个更完整，更奇怪的日本。当然，谁组成了这个奇怪的国家？日本人咯。