This is a funny sign I saw at the park I take my preschool students to in the afternoon.公園は （こうえん）- The park
犬 （いぬ）- Dog
ネコ- Cat
の- Possessive particle
トイレ- Toilet
では - Particle for 'At'
ありません- is not
Translation: The park is not a toilet for dogs and cats.
Down at the bottom in red:
That first word I can't read very well from the picture and can't remember, when I go back to the park I will update.
マナー - This is katakana for Manners
を - A linking particle 'noun to verb'
守って（まもって）- To protect or guard
飼いましょう（かいましょう）- Keep, in ～しょう form adds a meaning of 'Let's'
Translation: Let's keep and protect our manners.
This sign must be helpful because there is rarely any dog poo around. The Japanese are pretty good at cleaning up after their pets. Unfortunately, this park gets overcrowded with high school students in the evening who throw trash on the ground, break bottles and probably use it as a toilet. Young Japanese are not learning to be responsible for their behavior or respect for their environment. In Japan it is true that if you make a mess somebody will probably come along and clean it up. Young Japanese are becoming or have become ungrateful for this service and abuse it when ever possible. On the other hand, with Japan's lack of trash boxes in public places like in parks, on the street, and sometimes in the station it's hard to just blame the Japanese for being messy when you have nowhere to put your trash and of course I'm not going to carry it around with me, but rumor is they're the same way at home where mom's clean up everything, cooks dinner, does the laundry, etc. It makes sense why children never move out. This isn't just a Japanese problem it happens in America, England, Canada and other places. We've been raised as a generation of privilege, but now it feels as that hole of privilege we've been digging has gotten too deep and now we can't see the light. It's our own fault. We've made it too easy to be irresponsible with money, food, and trash. And now, our children have learned from us the art of privilege and demand more of it, especially in societies that are falling apart and can't support privilege anymore.
This is just an observation and of course doesn't apply to everyone. Please comment with your opinion about Kanji, Japan, Japanese, or whatever.
ジョシュア