I’ve been in the U.S for 2 and half years. I go back to Japan once or twice a year. When I back to Japan, I was realized that people are taking photos with sound of a shutter. I was kind of annoyed by it. Also, Japanese travelers take photos with the shutter sound even outside of Japan. I was also doing same thing when I lived in Japan, but I’ve forgotten about it, because nobody takes photo with sound here, the U.S.

Why do Japanese people take photos with the shutter sound? Actually, they don’t choose shutter sound because they want to, it’s because they don’t have an option to turn off the shutter sound. All cameras in phones have to make the shutter sound in Japan to prevent sneaky perverts from taking photos. Some perverted men have taken photos under girls students’ skirts around the year 2000, and they were arrested. It was the biggest reason to force all electronic cameras to play the sound of a shutter when a photo is taken. Even though phone companies disable phones from turning off the shutter sound, there are apps which can erase the sound of the shutter, so what is the point of forcing the shutter sound? I’ve been asked “Why are Japanese people so noisy when they are taking photos even if they are in quiet temple. Their camera shutter sound is so noisy. I thought Japanese people are well mannered people.” Unfortunately, Japanese people just don’t have choice, and they are also used to the shutter sound. They’ve never had phones without the shutter sound for almost 20 years. I hope the Japanese government will change their mind and make camera phones with the option for people to turn off the shutter sound.