Why Don't Japanese People Wear Sunglasses? "Whatever the Passengers Say, Put Safety First" — 955 Comments on Japan's Sunglasses Taboo

What locals said (excerpted from 955)

• Whatever the passengers say, please put safety first.

  客が何と言おうと安全を優先してください。

  — @sam-channel-Japan844 likes

• Anyone who's ever driven will get it immediately. You're better off wearing sunglasses.

  運転したことある人ならすぐ理解してくれるよ。サングラスした方がいい。

  — @atomiaeighaomi524 likes

• If you've ever driven straight into a low western sun and gone "whoa, I literally can't see anything," you wouldn't find a driver in sunglasses odd at all… It's the same breed of complaint as "a public servant is eating lunch on his break! Outrageous!"

  西日に向かって運転して「うおお何にも見えねえｗ」みたいな経験が一度でもあれば 運転手のサングラスに違和感なんて覚えないはずだけどね… 「公務員が休憩中にメシ食ってる！けしからん！」っていうクレームと同じ手合いだろ

  — @もちまき機491 likes

• Same as with masks — I don't understand why we cater to the people who don't like it.

  マスクも同じだけど、なぜ、「嫌がる人」に合わせるのか理解できない。

  — @jasonfukumoto6160564 likes

• UV is getting stronger every year, and for safe driving we should be approving sunglasses more and more. Ordinary drivers wear them all the time, so banning them purely because it's a customer-facing job is beyond unreasonable. If someone crashes because of glare, none of it was worth it.

  年々紫外線も強まっているし、安全運転の面でもサングラス着用をどんどん認めるべき。一般車は全然普通にサングラスしているのに、接客業と言うだけで禁止するのは理不尽過ぎます。眩しさが元で事故ったら元も子もありません。

  — @稲田朋宏285 likes

• Honestly, pigment has nothing to do with it — Japanese people should be protecting their eyes from UV too. Better to wear them than to end up with eye disease in old age.

  でも本当は色素関係なく日本人でも紫外線対策でしたほうがいいんだよな。 高齢になって目の病気になるくらいならみんなかけたほうがいい

  — @yukinariosasi233389 likes

• It's like masks — it's just what you're used to. I didn't wear them until recently either, but you can see better while driving and the difference in fatigue is enormous.

  マスクと一緒、「慣れ」です。 最近まで私も使っていませんでしたが、運転中は見やすく、疲れが格段に違ってきますよ。

  — @ハムハム太-i5g61 likes

• I work outdoors. A few years ago the damage to my eyes from direct sun got bad, so I asked my boss — he shot it down: "it looks bad, customers will complain." This year the boss changed, I asked again and got a yes, so I've been wearing them since. The damage is way down, there have been zero complaints from customers — if anything they say "that must be rough, thanks for working out in this heat." I feel like my work got more efficient too. It's still a hard sell in this country, but I'd love to see it adopted more.

  当方、外仕事をしています。 数年前に直射日光から目のダメージが酷く、上司に相談すると「見た目が悪く、お客さんからクレームが来るからダメ」と一蹴。今年、上司が代わり、再度お願いするとOKをもらい、今年から着用しています。 するとダメージが遥かに軽減され、お客様からのクレームも無く、むしろ「大変よね、暑い中ご苦労様」と言ってもらえています。仕事の効率も上がったように感じました。未だ理解されにくい世の中ですが、積極的に導入していって欲しいです。

  — @めろこあ31 likes

• It took me until well into adulthood to realise that even among Japanese people some have black eyes and some have hazel, and that how bright things feel outdoors differs enormously. I'm the latter, and I was shocked at how much easier sunglasses made my eyes feel outside. My family kept telling me to stop — that I looked shady and it didn't suit me — but I tell them it's not about suiting me, it's that it's easier. Glare really is felt differently by different people, so please understand that just because you aren't dazzled doesn't mean the next person isn't. And just because "shady people wear sunglasses" doesn't mean "people in sunglasses are shady."

  同じ日本人でも瞳が黒い人やとび色の人がいて、明るいところに出た時の感じ方に大きな差があるってだいぶ大人になってから気づいた。自分は後者なので、外ではサングラスをすることでどれだけ目が楽になるか体験して驚いた。家族からは散々「怪しいし似合わないからやめろ」と言われたけど、似合う似合わないじゃなくて楽だからしてるのだ、と返している。 とにかく人によって感じるまぶしさは結構違っていて、自分がまぶしくなくても他の人はそうじゃない時があると理解してほしい。そして「怪しい人はサングラスしてる」からといって「サングラスしてる人は怪しい」と思わないで欲しい。

  — @randmax382168 likes

• For a few years now I've worn sunglasses when I drive, and my eyes are far more comfortable. But I take them off the moment I get out of the car. Even if I'm just popping into a convenience store, I go to the trouble of removing them. However strong the sun is, sadly, I still don't have the courage to wear them outside the car 😓 Especially living out in the countryside…

  数年前から車に乗る時はサングラスをかけるようにしてます。だいぶ目が楽になりました。 でも車から降りる時は外しちゃうんですよね。ちょっとコンビニで何かを買うだけでも、面倒でも外しちゃいます。どんなに日差しが強くて眩しくても、悲しいかな、まだ車の外で かける勇気がありません😓​ 田舎に住んでると特に…。

  — @vic-zh6ie5 likes

• It's because even the studio commentators are talking about whether it suits you — appearance. Shows you how little anyone is looking at it as a function.

  コメンテーターも似合わないとか外見のこと言ってるからダメなんでしょう。いかに機能として見てないかがわかりますね

  — @user-koaIa71 likes

• The sunglasses (eyes) vs masks (mouth) comparison is interesting. I think Japanese people are far too resistant to sunglasses, and Westerners far too resistant to masks. Both should be worn more casually when they're needed. Health comes first.

  サングラス(眼)とマスク(口)の比較は面白い。 日本人はサングラスへの抵抗感が強すぎだと思うし欧米人はマスクへの抵抗感が強すぎると思う。 どちらも必要に応じてもっと気軽にするべきだと思う。 健康が第一です。

  — @takaos7992140 likes

• Look at heroes in anime and film, for instance — Japanese heroes cover the mouth, Western heroes cover the eyes. The thinking is just different.

  例えばアニメや映画のヒーロー見ると 日本のヒーローは口を隠し 欧米のヒーローは目を隠す 考え方が異なるなね。

  — @紅しょうが-i3x38 likes

• Wild that this is even news in Japan.

  こんなことがニュースになる日本てやばいな

  — @Neoneoneon89783 likes

• Made me realise that manners, taken too far, are just conformity pressure.

  礼儀作法って行きすぎたらただの同調圧力なんだなと思った。

  — @nyanrock2673 likes

• I do feel resistance to it, but that doesn't mean I'd ever tell someone who needs them to take them off. If you need them, please wear them properly.

  抵抗感はあるが、だからといって必要な人に外せというつもりも全くないです。必要ならちゃんと着用してほしい。

  — @magimagiyasu544016 likes

• A lightly tinted polarised lens while driving makes everything so much easier to see — genuinely great. I'd go with a light tint where people can still tell where you're looking.

  運転中に薄めの偏光レンズ使うと見易くなってマジでいいよ。視線がわかる様な薄めのレンズがいいと思うよ。

  — @fish_n_chipsJPN35 likes

• Police officers have apparently been cleared to wear them too — but you can just use the flip-up type. Lift the lens whenever you're face to face with someone.

  警察官もサングラスの着用を認められたようだが、フリップアップ(跳ね上げ式)タイプを使えばいい。人と向かい合う時だけレンズを上げればいい。

  — @ニッシー-s1w13 likes

• I heard sunglasses make the commute massively easier, so I bought glasses that turn into sunglasses. So comfortable! These days even the cheap eyewear chains sell the kind that tints automatically in UV — recommended ♪

  通勤時サングラスをかけるとめちゃくちゃ楽と聞いて、サングラスになるメガネ買いました！めっちゃ快適！ 最近は紫外線に反応して勝手に色がつくの、安いメガネチェーンでも出てるのでおすすめです♪

  — @kabayaki2223 likes

Is it rude to wear sunglasses in Japan?

Commenters describe the resistance as social rather than a rule, and as concentrated on customer-facing jobs: one comment with 285 likes notes that ordinary motorists wear sunglasses freely and it's only service staff who are told not to. Several also admit the everyday version — one says he still takes his off before walking into a convenience store.

Why don't Japanese people wear sunglasses?

The most-liked cultural read in the thread (266 likes) is that Japan reads a face at the eyes while the West reads it at the mouth — which is why Japan flinches at sunglasses and the West flinched at masks. Commenters add the plainer reasons: covered eyes get read as intimidating, showy, or simply "not suiting you."

Do Japanese drivers wear sunglasses?

Increasingly, and the comment section is overwhelmingly for it. The top comment (844 likes) tells drivers to put safety above passenger opinion, 524 likes say anyone who has driven into a low sun understands instantly, and truck and bus drivers in the thread describe wearing them daily. The pushback comes from employers and complaints, not from other drivers.

What kind of sunglasses do Japanese people wear?

Wearers in the thread pick lenses that keep the eyes visible. A comment with 35 likes recommends a light polarised tint "where people can still tell where you're looking," another suggests flip-up frames you can lift when talking face to face, and others use photochromic glasses that only darken outdoors.

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