Originally Posted by Maciamo
You must actually be an exception. How can you have spend some time (several weeks/months ?) in Japan and not be able to use chopsticks ? Does that mean you set your mind in not trying to ? Why ?
The theory of nihonjinron I referred to dates from WWII, and was revived in the Bubble Years, when the Japanese economy was growing so fast that many Japanese thought that their system was intrinsicly superior, owing to their superior culture. Have you never read about Japan to say such things ?
Maybe not brain surgeons, but it seems to me that about half of the Westerners at least in central Tokyo are expats, i.e. usually top managers, financial analysts, embassy staff, etc. Did you know that one cannot get a working visa in Japan without a 4-year university degree ? That sets a minimum to what kind of people they accept as residents.
What does that sentence mean ? Sit down ? Do you mean sit in the traditional seiza position, which most young Japanese people can't maintain properly for a full meal ?
Whatever, except for the entertainers that are mostly Asian, all must have a 4-year university degree. This indeed does not make it very representative of their country's population, which surprises me all the more knowing that so many Japanese believe that the recent rise in crime in Japan is due to foreigners in general (not just those from developing countries).