On August 28, a post on China's SNS Xiaohongshu (RED) stating, 'It's no longer possible to live in Japan with (Chinese) domestic common sense,' drew a significant response.

The female poster introduced several incidents that led her to the above realization. First, when she was eating lunch with her colleague at a small restaurant. While discussing work, after about 40 minutes of eating, a staff member urged her, 'Are you done soon? There are people waiting in line.'

Next, there was an incident when her manager at work suggested holding a welcome dinner for new project members. The woman, instructed by the manager to find a restaurant and so on, assumed the company would cover the cost and asked, 'What's the budget?' but the manager replied, 'It's split the bill.' The woman expressed dissatisfaction, saying, 'In China, welcome parties aren't held at all if there's no money, so I was surprised. Only the manager is a full-time employee, and everyone else is a contractor. Why do I have to pay out of my own pocket to participate?'

Also, there was an incident when she bought curry at a convenience store for lunch and ate it in the office. There was only the woman and one other Japanese colleague in the office. She wasn't told anything while eating, but just before leaving work, she was warned, 'Please don't bring strong-smelling foods next time.' The woman wrote with a sense of helplessness, 'The curry was bought at a convenience store, and there's nowhere to eat inside the convenience store either. Where does everyone eat? The office is large, so I always eat in a corner. It's impossible when I'm noticed even nearly 10 meters away.'

The woman further described an incident in a subsequent addendum when she bought a bento box at a supermarket. After putting the purchased bento in her bag, she saw another customer taking chopsticks (from in front of the cashier), so the woman went to get some too. Then, a staff member questioned her in a stern tone, 'Why are you taking them without permission?' When she said, 'I bought a bento,' and took it out of her bag to show, the staff member pressed, 'Then why did you take a spoon as well?' When she replied, 'Because it contains a soft-boiled egg...' she was told, 'Please stop taking things without permission.' The woman immediately left the scene, but she says she gets furious every time she thinks about it.

Many Chinese netizens commented, 'I got furious reading this,' 'I understand why big Japanese companies don't try to hire foreigners, even highly educated ones. It's because they don't understand Japanese culture,' 'Foreigners don't need to follow such rules. Just clearly say, "This is how it is in China,"'' 'You're a foreigner, so you don't need to read the atmosphere,' 'If people around you are so good at reading the atmosphere, then you should create your "own atmosphere" and make them read it,' 'Just act like a foreigner. That way, they can't bully you. If you try to understand them and blend in, you'll just wear yourself out,' and 'It's better to think of yourself as a foreigner. That way, they can't use Japanese culture as a shield to bully you. If you get used to Japan, you'll be subjected to mental control by Japanese culture.'

There were also comments such as, 'Strong-smelling foods are a no-go in any office, right?' 'Strong-smelling foods, huh. I think it's better to refrain from them even in domestic offices,' 'Did the smell of curry bother your colleagues? They are all saving money and either don't eat much for lunch or eat only plain, cold, tasteless things,' 'No wonder Satomi Ishihara was eating lunch on a park bench in a drama,' 'Japanese people apparently eat in restrooms (benjo-meshi),' 'In Japan, you can't eat what you buy inside a convenience store, walking while eating on the street is prohibited, and you're not allowed to eat in the office either. There's probably nothing to eat except gnawing on a pastry,' and 'While being tolerant of others, you should also be tolerant of yourself. You shouldn't endure everything.'

Furthermore, regarding the restaurant incident, there were comments such as, 'If it were in China, the restaurant would be subjected to cyberbullying and forced to close,' 'When I traveled to Japan, I went to a ramen shop. I waited in line for an hour, but the eating time was only ten-odd minutes. Everyone just ate silently and diligently; it was extremely oppressive. A staff member was watching from the side. (It was so uncomfortable that I couldn't taste anything) In the end, I didn't even know what I was eating anymore,' and 'Japan is truly oppressive. Even in countries with many rules, Singapore isn't like that.' Regarding the welcome party, comments included, 'In Japan, everything is split the bill,' '(Regarding welcome parties) They take up your private time and make you pay out of your own pocket, and if you don't participate, you're excluded,' 'At my company too, when we go out to eat, we split the bill. The company doesn't have such a budget,' and 'No wonder in 'Detective Conan,' the president who held a dinner party gets murdered (it's easy to incur resentment).'

On the other hand, some comments also touched on the difficulty of living in China, such as, 'Just seeing the title gave me a mental breakdown. I also can't live in (China) with Japanese common sense. I was cut off countless times within less than a week of returning home. And in (China), there's absolutely no concept of "letting people off first, then people on." There's always the smell of cigarettes on the streets and in restaurants. Car driving is also chaotic.' (Translation and editing by Kitada)