Konnichiwa, Jun desu. So today I wanted to talk about being popular in Japan. I watched the
movie Mean Girls with Rachel, and I liked it a lot,
but it was really surprising and interesting to me.
And then she told me that there were actually people like that in American schools!
At first, I couldn't really believe it...
Like...how can someone like Regina George be popular?
She's a bitch!
You cannot be popular if you are mean, even if you have good looks.
Especially guys, most guys here hate those Regina George type people.
Would you want to date a person like that just because they are good looking?
Why? I wouldn't.
In the movie after the main character becomes popular, she starts failing math
on purpose so the guy she likes will tutor her,
but when she tells him about it he gets mad and he says
she's just like Regina because he's disappointed in her
He liked her because she was smart and also she was a really good person.
He liked her personaity.
But she became a mean girl like Regina George.
That's how a normal Japanese guy would react.
To be popular in Japan you have to think about others as well.
If you only think about yourself
people will think you're selfish, and you cannot be popular if you are selfish.
Being nice to everyone is very important here.
There was a girl like Regina George in my class in high school
and she had a few female friends like the other mean girls in the movie.
Umm, I think she was pretty.
She was pretty. But no guys liked her because she was so mean.
She always said rude things about other girls, like
"blahblahさんて、なんかちょっとウザくない？"
which means
"Isn't blahblahblah-san like so annoying?"
She even said it where the other people could hear her.
And smart people are also popular in Japan, too.
We are Asian after all.
Even if you're not super good looking or good at sports,
if you are smart, people respect you and look up to you.
But also you cannot brag about it or show off.
You have to be humble if you are smart.
Of course, because we are Japanese.
But you can be popular even if you're not smart, as long as you're athletic.
I think it's the same all over the world.
Being good at sports, especially for young people, is very important.
In school we have a sports day where all the students compete against each other in sports.
It's a big, big opportunity, especially for guys to be popular,
because we can show off for girls.
The last event of the day was the most exciting.
It was the relay, and I was the last person on my team to run.
we call it the "anchor" in Japanese.
And actually one of the people I was facing was my best friend, his name is Keita.
We were both in the baseball club and I was the pitcher and he was the catcher.
He always tried to compete with me in sports, and try to beat me.
We were good friends and we were like rivals.
I definitely didn't want to lose to him but when I got the baton, there was
already a big gap between me and him. So I thought,
"It's kind of boring if I just take this advantage and win."
so I went slow purposely and let him catch up to me.
And the crowd was really, really excited.
They were also shouting and saying like "IKE KEITAAAAA!!!!!!"
which means GO KEITA!!!!
And Keita was, of course really excited too.
And he got really, really close...
really close...!
And then I just sprinted away and I won.
And actually they got a picture of it for the yearbook...
This is Keita and this is me.
Yeah, I was an asshole...
but only to Keita. We are still good friends.
So anyway...
if you want to be popular in Japan you should be nice to everyone,
and it helps to be smart and athletic, too.
I wasn't smart at all.
My grades were average or less except PE.
That's the only subject I was good at.
So, guys, if you're smart, just be nice to people and don't show off.
They'll look up to you and they'll like you.
And if you're not smart and hate studying like me but like playing sports,
you still have a chance to be popular.
And girls,
even if everyone thinks you're pretty, don't be mean.
Guys here hate that.
Just be nice to everyone.
You might get tons of love letters in your shoe locker in Japan.
Good luck! Thanks for watching.