Common Japanese misconceptions regarding foreigners

[lexico]

Japanese people think their the only country that has four seasons, please tell me that's lie.

I'm sure you've come across at least a hundred posts regarding the 4-seasons matter. It's hilarious, but it seems to be true. I don't think anybody complaining are exaggerating.

On the other hand, I tend not to think there is genuine sarcasm when a Japanese said it, in general. It can be considered insincere, ignorant, and even blatantly rude for people from more direct, transparent cultures, I understand. And of course there must be at least a handful of Japanese who are truely xenophobic. But in most cases (I'm extrapolating from my limited experience with the Japanese) couldn't it be considered a mildly exaggerated surprise at finding something common about another country ?

When nothing is to be taken for granted, such as seeing a baby take its first step, or babling the first intelligible word, everybody's amazed. Now are they being ridiculous or sarcastic ? This may be a bad analogy, but I could also talk about aliens from another planet. I think there are positive ways of looking at the same thing.

But I can't criticize those who feel mistreated, and when the Japanese learn that fact, I'm sure they will stop. The modern norms of hospitality and PC-ness can be quite damaging, and people of both cultures should really seriously look at how to interface without major misunderstanding. It's not something everyone can grow into by long exposure.

[Ma Cherie]

I would like to travel to Japan, but I'll probably be a freak of nature being black and all. It'll be something I'll learn to deal with. That is something hard to believe, I felt like laughing when I heard that lots of japanese believe their the only country with four seasons. But I'm not one to laugh at other peoples ignorance, no matter how hard it is not to. This just my opinion, but it seems to me that japanese people tend to display their ingnorance about other countries, than anyone I've ever met. I'm not saying that Americans and other people aren't ignorant about other countries, I'm just saying from what I have learned it seems that the japanese show it more. But then again, I could be wrong.

[Sensuikan San]

I have very little experience of this, but I would suggest that the Japanese are very little different from anyone else with regard to their ignorance of another country.

I work for an American company, in Canada. On a daily basis I have to listen to almost continual whines from a select few colleagues who claim " Those ****** Americans just don't understand Canada !" As a non-Canadian with a history of working with Americans .... I am also aware that, in so many respects, those same Canadians are pretty damned ignorant of American attitudes and practices !

It amuses me.

I am also amused by the ignorance displayed by Europeans, wether they be British, German, French - you name it - with regard to both countries! (They all - with the possible exception of Russians - seem to have a particular problem with grasping a concept of the sheer size of the U.S. and Canada).

I also remember my own problems of coming to terms with a (slightly) different culture, too. That, now,also amuses me.

No, infuriating though it may be to some - I wouldn't say that the Japanese are unique in this regard. We're all a little weird sometimes.......

And ... incidentally .... How can anybody claim that Lamb is bland ? Compared with pork ?

It's enough to make me want to burn my entire collection of Australian Womens Weekly cook-books ! (Mutter, mutter ...grumble....grumble...)


Regards,

ジョン

[Maciamo]

I have very little experience of this, but I would suggest that the Japanese are very little different from anyone else with regard to their ignorance of another country.

I work for an American company, in Canada. On a daily basis I have to listen to almost continual whines from a select few colleagues who claim " Those ****** Americans just don't understand Canada !" As a non-Canadian with a history of working with Americans .... I am also aware that, in so many respects, those same Canadians are pretty damned ignorant of American attitudes and practices !

I think you are going a step further by raising the issue not just of basic factual knowledge (Canada does have snow in winter), but cultural differences. It is much more difficult to understand another (or even one's own) country's culture (i.e. the commonly accepted attitudes, practices, customs and way of thinking), than hard facts about a country (capital, flag colours, climate, population, main languages, etc.). I do not have any problem with the Japanese not understanding other countries' culture, as this is universal. What surprised me is their general ignorance of some very basic facts about the rest of the world. I heard university-educated people who thought that Argentina was in Europe, that Napoleon was an armoured knight from the Middle Ages, that Belgian people spoke Belgian (have you ever heard of a language called Belgian ? Ever !?), or that only Japan had four seasons. A recent study has shown that 3% of Japanese university students (and they have presumably tough entrance examinations) cannot point out at the US on a world map, and 44% don't know where is Iraq ! Don't even get me started about people with less good education.

I'd be interested to have comparative studies on general knowledge with Western countries. However I expect the Americans average to be close to the Japanese one, as surveys have shown that an incredibly high number of Americans think New York is their capital ! (of course, even 1% would be an incredibly high number, but I think it was more like 20%).

[Sensuikan San]

Ah, yes ... your point is well taken.

And your statistical examples are quite scary !

I think you might be quite right in your last paragraph, though ... there seem to be an inordinate number of Americans who think it snows in Canada ...all year round..... !

Regards,

ジョン

[Gaijin 06]

A recent study has shown that 3% of Japanese university students (and they have presumably tough entrance examinations) cannot point out at the US on a world map, and 44% don't know where is Iraq ! Don't even get me started about people with less good education.

I bet both numbers would be higher in America.

(edit - just read the rest of the thread and it is true).