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Personality

Online survey sheds light on prefectural personality rankings of Japanese people

Ranking reveals Japanese impressions of which prefectures seem to boast residents with the best personalities.

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Simple Japanese test claims how you draw a star reveals your personality

Everything is revealed from the very first stroke.

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Keepin’ it neat and tidy…

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How long is your pinky? Your smallest finger may reveal your biggest personality secrets!

Our nails may reveal a lot about us, and so may our middle and index fingers, but so do the length of our pinkies (apparently).

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Five types of foreigner you’ll meet in Japan

Japan attracts all kinds of people from all over the world. Some come to work, others come to play, and thanks to its relatively low crime levels, high standard of living and abundance of delicious food, Japan is a very easy place to call home for a while. Plus, isn’t Japan where all those anime, video games and ninjas come from? It’s got to be worth a visit!

But today, instead of talking about the myriad things Japan has to offer visitors, we’re going to have a bit of fun by taking a closer look at some of the visitors themselves. You might not encounter each of these five types of people if you’re staying in Japan for just a couple of weeks, but if you’re here for work or an extended sojourn, then you’re bound to meet at least a couple of them along the way…

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Are you a control freak, baby, or tough guy? Find out what your sleeping position says about you!

Think about how you slept last night. You probably rolled around a little, found a comfortable spot, adjusted a bit, then eventually slipped into sweet slumber in that position. If you’re like most people, every night you probably choose a similar sleeping position. And the position you choose can say a lot about your personality, your subconscious, and even your deep-seated fears.

We have a list of eight common sleeping positions along with the typical personality traits of each. Are the predictions spot-on for you, or were the psychologists sleeping on the job when they dreamed them up?

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Is Japanese TV really as bad as its reputation?

Foreigners living in Japan, our own editor included, often give Japanese TV a hard time. For many, it’s either too weird, too predictable or too obnoxious. If it really is so bad though, surely shows like Iron Chef and Ninja Warrior (Sasuke) would never have been introduced in the US? Nor would America have created the show I Survived a Japanese Game Show. So if foreign stations are taking cues from the Japanese TV shows, the originals must have some merit, right?

One Reddit user finally asked the big question, “Japanese television. Is it really so terrible?” As you’d expect, the responses poured in, both in favor of and adamantly against it. One user proclaimed that Japan only has three kinds of programs, “Shows about celebrities. Shows about food. Shows about celebrities eating food.” But like TV in any country, there are actually a lot of different kinds of shows, so it’s probably worth a moment to take a walk through some of the programming options.

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The 9 types of basketball players in Slam Dunk – which type are you?

Playing sports brings out a different side of us. This is especially so in sports that require cooperation within a team in order to go up against an opposing rival. It’s easy to put on a front at normal times when you’re composed and in your comfort zone, but it’s a battlefield out on the courts. That’s probably why some people say that you can tell a person’s personality by the way he/she plays on a team.

Here’s a personality analysis derived from the play styles of the characters from a certain popular basketball manga and anime series. Which type of athlete are you? Read on to find out!

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YouTuber lists the “10 types of Japanese men” as according to Japanese women

If you or someone you know were described as a cabbage roll, how would you react? What if someone called you a hyena or said you were especially “creamy”?

There are apparently 10 distinct categories into which men fall in Japan, with women knowing exactly the type they’d like to get to know better or avoid altogether. Join us after the jump to find out whether you’re a Soy Milk, Bacon Asparagus, Creamy, or Cabbage kind of guy, or to learn how to apply these unusual tags to the men you meet in Japan.

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If you were in a circus, what would you be? Your choice reveals your weakness!

It seems like the Japanese are not the only ones crazy about personality tests. According to this one introduced by Weekly Pass, a Korean blog powered by Naver, the roles in a circus can unveil your hidden weakness!

First, imagine you’re a member of the circus. If you could choose between an entertaining clown, a beast tamer, a tightrope walker and a popular magician, which role do you imagine yourself taking on?

Have you decided? Now, read on to find out what your Achilles heel might be!

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The emoji you send actually say a lot about you

Sometimes words just aren’t enough to convey what you have to say.

People tend to use emoji in both normal and unorthodox ways, and the emoji you use actually says a lot about you. 

Enter Emojinalysis, a Tumblr blog that tells you what’s wrong with your life based on your recently used emoji.

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What type of girlfriend are you? Wait a minute, let me check your bangs

When you’re a little unsure about your love interest, what or who do you turn to for advice? Most of us have read one of those horoscope love readings at least once in our lifetime. In Japan, many people believe that a person’s blood type has influence on their personality traits. This may sound slightly silly, but blood type is a factor some Japanese consider when choosing a date.

Recently, however, a new personality prediction trend has been getting popular among girls in Japan. It seems that the way a girl styles her fringe (or bangs) gives away hints about her relationship personality! Guys, you might want to pay more attention to your love interest’s hairstyle from now on!

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Japan’s curious obsession with blood type and personality illustrated in one photo

In a number of East Asian countries, but perhaps most strongly in Japan, it is believed that one’s blood type, or ketsuekigata (血液型), determines a lot about one’s character and how we relate to others and the world around us. Although comparatively few Westerners who have never donated blood or had the misfortune of being seriously ill know their blood type, it is rare to meet a Japanese person who does not know theirs, and it’s considered perfectly normal for people to try to guess someone’s blood type when first getting to know them or working together closely.

It’s easy for non-Japanese to forget the character traits that blood types supposedly denote, however, so here’s a handy image – which is currently doing the rounds online in Japan and being suitably nodded at and chuckled over –  to save on your computer or smartphone for the next time someone says, “Oh, that’s typical A-gata behaviour!” when you fold up your napkin or straighten a crooked picture frame.

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Just spending a few minutes on the train, it is possible to gain quite an insight into the type of people who use public transport; whether it be the guy crashed out after a heavy night of drinking with his pals, the student listening to his music player on full blast, or the person completely immersed in their favourite book, the types of behavior are varied to say the least.

The inside of the train carriage is a rather peculiar environment in that, on the one hand, it is a public space in which one must abide at least to some degree by the rules of proper public conduct. However, it also provides us with our own private space in which to shut off everything around us and relax while travelling.

By observing the way in which people spend their time on the train, however, we can learn a lot about an individual’s personality, claims Tsugumi Tachibana, a Japanese counselor in love relations. From a romance perspective, Tachibana analyzes in-depth the correlation between public behavior and personality traits. Her findings can be found below and might just help us learn a little more about that one special person on the train or bus that you’ve been admiring from afar.

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