dreamer said:
You should say, wouldn't it be better if Japanese girl spent money on surgery rather than Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Prada bags, Gucci and Dior clothes and Bulgari watches. Shouldn't stop paying 20.000yen in cosmetics every month, avoid paying 10.000 every time they go and change their hairstyles at the hairdresser, because anyway that is only to look more beautiful toYou could also argue that the same J-girls should think before buying 500 hours lessons with Nova, then stop after 5 times because they lost their motivation (and cannot get refund anyway), or just stop going out to the cinema because it's 1800yen every time, stop eating out everyday and limit themselves to nightclubs once a year ?
If you think so, then you don't understand the basic principle of Japanese ultra-consumerist and materialistic society.
One more thing, Japanese homeless don't beg - contrarily to other countries.
The average Japanese believe that money is the best proof of success or happiness. Just watch Japanese TV ; they have to put a price to everything. They seem more happy or impressed to know that someone can wear for 3 million yen in clothes and jewelry, or learning that a bowl of ramen can cost 5000yen (instead of 600 yen) in this or that restaurant seem to make them more want to eat it than the look or smell of the ramen itself. In Japan, you measure things with money. I believe it's the same in South Korea (and China).
No wonder that "buying beauty" (or sex, for that matter) is so popular and "normal" there. Maybe East-Asian to whom I asked about the morality of cosmetic surgery or pornography (2 different issues, but related, as it's money in exchange of physical beauty, and ultimately sex), most seemed to find it perfectly normal, or at least I am still to meet a person who would be genuinely disgusted like some Westerners are.
Personally, I understand the surgery thing, though a bit uncomfortable at the idea of doing it myslef.
As for the tongue surgery, if it works and they really think it necessary, why not. The most important is how they feel about it. The only "wrong" thing is to impose it on children who cannot yet have a fair judgement. But also because at that age (normally starting to learn the language before 10, but the earlier the better), they could reach a native speaker pronunciation just with practice.
