Teens sharing photos of themselves 'praying' for victims of Tohoku disaster cause stir

[yuiyoshida]

TOKYO —

Last Tuesday marked the third anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku disaster, a day on which tens of thousands of people lost their lives and many more were displaced, never able to return to their homes. At 2:46 p.m., the exact moment the quake struck three years ago, people across the country stopped to take part in nationwide moment of silence.

Teens across the land also took a moment to pay their respects that day, although the actions of a few were perhaps a little misguided. Soon after the moment of silence, photos emerged online showing kids “praying” inside “purikura” sticker photo booths, which were quickly shared and “favorited”.

Internet commenters reacted angrily to the images, calling them disrespectful and deploring how the smartphone generation feels the need to broadcast almost everything they do.

Although some people, busy as they were, went about their day oblivious to the fact that the moment of silence was being held, the vast majority stopped what they were doing and took a few seconds to reflect. Even on the streets of Tokyo, hundreds of people came to a sudden halt as memorial services were broadcast on big screens.

more...http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/teens-sharing-photos-of-themselves-praying-for-victims-of-tohoku-disaster-cause-stir

[aikoaiko]

1. Curmudgeons exist everywhere.

[DetlefK]

2. I think, this particular case is different.

That's no self-promotional selfie: They don't really show their faces to the camera.

[leftyohiolib]

3. and get off my lawn

[Blue_Tires]

4. Is it just the selfie/smartphone outrage, or

is there some bigger Japanese cultural norm being broken here?

[yuiyoshida]

5. There is an old saying or Kotowaza that goes...

deru kugi ga utareru

The nail that sticks up will be hammered down means that if a problem arises it will be handled swiftly and precisely. Its a cultural thing, that those who do something out of the ordinary that seems foolish they should be dealt with.

This is not really a prank, but its caught on by many teens doing it..and some in Japan think its disrespectful.