There are many things in life that I don't understand: veganism, complex mathematics, the popularity of Reggae in Japan, Level 6 Japanese, among many others. One thing unique to Japanese society that I can't understand is that of the existence and status of the everyday male, white-collar worker, salaryman (サラリマン).
Salarymen seem to do a thankless, soul-grinding job that serves as the underpinning of Japanese society (salarymen and the bureaucracy, that is), yet so many younger people hold a cynical opinion of them. Furthermore, these guys wake up at dawn and catch the earliest trains out to the office and then they catch the last trains back home; or return home by taxi even later if they are out pickling their livers with associates and colleagues. Even more still, these champs don't even hold the purse strings in their families - usually they give their money over to their wives. Salarymen also rarely see their families due to the fact that they are constantly working, and when they do get time off it is usually only one day a week. These guys are that committed to their families, but they are the source of much derision from many of the younger generation. I would think that they would get more respect in a society in debted to their toil.
I guess what I am saying is that the next time you see a haggard-looking, stinky (deodorant over here is a joke) salaryman on the train, you might just want to give him that open seat, considering he has probably been through one hell of a day, night, and week.
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