[anrakushi]

no place is perfectly safe but in a country where the norm is for elementary (we call it primary) school students go go to and from school on the trains by themselves in large cities i feel very safe. while that can happen in my home town because i come from a country town, this happening in the city is considered irresponsible.

as nyoronin said, it is a sad state of affairs when similar occurrences in the US or elsewhere aren't considered news worthy. what has society come to when murder is so common that it is just accepted as a cost of living.

the OP as MMM said is naive, she is excited about a world far away and has a dream. think of the dreams you had when you were that age, i know i pictured things very differently for my future. she has a lot to learn but filling her with stories like these are not helping her in any way shape or form.

to the OP, while you might feel you are good at drawing you need to remember that the industry is very competitive and you are going to need to be more than just good to succeed. I remember when i was 12 everyone in school wanted to get me to do drawings for them, i was one of the best 2 or 3 at school but in reality i was a long way off being any good at drawing. So try to be realistic about your ability and remember that no matter how good people say you are, there is always so much more you can improve.

If you are serious about working in Japan get yourself into a good Japanese language program and a good art program to improve your drawing. you will need to do a lot of studying both language and art to have a chance. i wish you good luck.