Japanese culture travelogue

One of my Japanese friends just told me something that I was very surprised to hear. Apparently, from the age of 7, most Japanese students go home from school by themselves. Amazing. I wasn't even able to go down to the end of my street by myself until I was about 11!

She said that she usually had her own key to her home in Tokyo, as her parents were working, so she would let herself in, dump her bags and do her homework until they came home. Or, she'd dump everything and go back out with her friends.

Young Japanese seemed to have had a lot of freedom back then, and were trusted with that freedom. Unfortunately this has now changed due to the increase in insane people. It's now dangerous for a lot of children to walk home from school by themselves and so relatives are more likely to pick them up these days.

I know my Australian father used to travel home from school by himself in the 50s when he was young. It was a much safer time back then.