" Must add that another woman I know moved to Japan (also to teach English) and loves it for the same reason that you do. My sister was extremely disturbed by the Japanese attitude towards women (violent pornography sold in grocery stores, used panties sold in train-station vending machines, women dressed like little girls, etc.)"
I've been teaching here for 19 years ...Has always been a love/hate relationship ...The place is full of pervs for sure ...And the vast majority of women under the age of 35 are goofy ...It's still a man's world over here , but it is changing , albeit at a snail's pace ...Crime/murder way up since I arrived in '85 ...but still lower than the U.S...I live in the Kumamoto countryside now , where crime is virtually non-existent . A peaceful existence ...Biggest threat to our lives comes from North Korea ...
My life experience supports that: I have lived in NYC and Las Vegas and both attract a fair share of Japanese folks. Younger Japanese women are fairly goofy: they tend to get very nervous (and even giggly) when in an elevator with a man, for example. It's kind of an exaggerated nervous girlishness, I think.
Then again, maybe it's just personal to me - just my experience! :-)
CC, Sushiman's right. You can get yourself all worked up over the negative aspects of Japan and really hate it (sexual perversions, drunken businessmen, smokers, revisionist historians, etc), or you can instead focus on the better aspects and have a really good time there (low crime, generally polite and helpful populace, convenience in the crowdedness, many things to eat see and do, etc).