Top 10 Most Interesting Unknown Facts about Japan 1. Japan has a sociological phenomena known as "Hikikomori", in which there's an estimated 1 million Japanese who choose to completely isolate themselves from society by rarely or never leaving their homes. 2. In Japan, '39' is common text speak for 'thank you', due to how 3 (san) and 9 (kyu) sound when spoken out loud. 3. Traditional Japanese calendars have 24 15-day seasons split into 72 five-day microseasons. Right now is "Farmers drain fields," followed by "Wild geese return" and "Chrysanthemums bloom." 4. In Japan, death by overwork is so common that they have a word for it, "Karoshi". Some examples of karoshi are: working 110 hours a week, working 3000 hours a year with no days off in 15 years, working 4320 hours a year, and working 34 hour shifts five times a month. 5. Kyoto, the former capital of Japan, just means "capital city" a