Japanese are very careful protecting themselves against the Sun. They are very aware of the dangers that the Sun light can cause on our health, moreover Japanese beauty standards prefer white skins rather than dark skins.
I lived 23 years in a society where getting sunbathed is good for you. In Spain when I go to the beach some days and my skin becomes darker all the girls around me start saying “Wow Hector!, you are much more appealing with dark skin”, “I like you better with suntanned skin” and blahblah. Here in Japan is the opposite, when I came back from Australia to Japan some time ago, everyone was looking at me with worried faces “Héctor, are you ok? you should be careful with Sun light, is not good for your health”. In Japan you see people walking with umbrellas, girls use protection 50 or higher everyday by default even in winter, there is people that use gloves in summer so their hands stay white, they even use creams to make their skin whiter. They are really very serious about it.
Here are some pictures where you can see many details on how Japanese protect their skin against Sun rays:
Gloves for sun protection.
I don’t know how many people die from skin cancer in Japan, but I pretty sure that the is causalities are very low compared with western countries. Think about it, and be careful this summer. The Sun is our friend but is can be also our enemy.
