On the 21st, a post on Chinese social media Xiaohongshu (RED) asking, "What bad habits have you picked up because of Japan?" attracted a huge response, with over 1,000 comments.

The poster used hashtags such as "Japan Life," "Studying in Japan," and "Chinese Overseas Life," mainly addressing Chinese people who have been living in Japan for a long time.

Netizens said things like, "I've started bowing when I make eye contact with people, whether I know them or not," "I stopped checking much for cars when crossing the road (in China, it's dangerous not to check because cars might suddenly rush at you)," "If there's no 'Otohime' sound (a function to mask the sound of excretion) in the toilet, I started feeling embarrassed (tears)," and "My standards for food have lowered. I realized that only Chinese people demand 'deliciousness' for all three meals a day."

Also, some commented, "I started pressing the 'open' button for people getting off the elevator," "I started bowing my head to cars that yielded to me," "I started disliking people who speak loudly in public places, such as elevators or trains," and "I started clearing my own tray after eating at McDonald's (in China, customers often leave their trays, and staff clear them)." To these, there were retorts like, "Aren't those good habits?"

Furthermore, some voices included, "I stopped bringing toilet paper with me," "I started keeping my smartphone in silent mode all the time," "I've grown to like drinking ice water (in China, hot water or room-temperature water is common)," "I started wearing makeup every time I go out," "I started combining fried rice with ramen, and white rice with gyoza (in China, combining carbohydrates is sometimes avoided)," and "If I don't use a bidet toilet to wash, I started feeling like I'm dirty."

Besides these, other comments included, "Bowing, repeatedly apologizing ('peko-peko,' 'sumimasen')," "I started bowing my head while talking on the phone," "I became a clean freak," "I started talking to myself more," and "It's not a bad habit, but my English pronunciation became worse (like Japanese katakana pronunciation)." And one user wrote, "I haven't picked up any bad habits in Japan. On the contrary, I often feel that I've become more civilized than when I was in my home country." (Translation and editing by Kitada)