As I’ve written before, many Japanese people still place a high value on academic credentials, which honestly troubles me as a teacher.
I may seem like a strange teacher, but I believe it’s nonsense to judge or evaluate people based on their educational or work history.
I’ve taught many students and have seen many graduates who didn’t attend college or even dropped out and have become successful adults.
Many people in society look down on those with only a junior high or high school diploma.
For this reason, many Japanese people tend to worship people in prestigious professions, such as doctors.
Japan has one of the highest cancer rates in the world.
In fact, television often reports that one in two people will develop cancer.
I think it’s frightening, but many Japanese people think that since everyone else has cancer, it’s only natural that they will get it too.
Why don’t they think about the reasons why they have cancer?
Most people hardly do any research on their own.
The overwhelming majority leave everything to their doctors.
They are so dependent on others when it comes to treatment plans and how they will live their lives from now on.
I can’t understand at all why they can entrust their lives to other doctors.
On the other hand, there are many doctors who recommend treatments like chemotherapy to patients and get angry if the patient hesitates even slightly.
If a patient requests a second opinion, many doctors refuse to treat them.
As a result, the number of unfortunate cancer patients who have been denied treatment is increasing.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were many terrible doctors who refused to examine patients who became ill after receiving the vaccine, or treated them like crazy.
When my mother was hospitalized, I asked the doctor to explain his unreasonable demands, and he suddenly became angry, which was a difficult experience.
This is why I don’t trust doctors or hospitals.
There was a time when this phrase was popular: “It’s not scary to cross the red light if everyone does.”
I felt that it perfectly embodied Japanese behavior and thinking.
