Hey, not all Westerners like sushi -- I don't.

One important thing to remember when considering this entire subject is that Japan is a country that is almost completely unicultural -- that is, the vast, vast majority of Japanese citizens are ethnic Japanese who share a common culture.

So it really should come as no surprise that their reaction to "gaijin" is going to be very different to those of us who come from Western countries, most of which comprise a number of different cultures living together. In America, or instance, we are really an amalgam of over a hundred different cultures, all mixed together and living with one another. Of course we're going to be more comfortable speaking and dealing with different cultures -- wer'e much more used to it in our daily lives.