Thanks Maciamo, I could have used you in another thread on another forum. I probably argued some of these same points too strongly, but my main points were similar to some of the same conclusions here, that this superiority/inferiority condition exists (and I added that this attitude drives a lot of the xenophobia in Japan out came the sticks!) .

In addition, this persistent 'we vs. them', which you find to some extent in all countries of course, adds to this 'problem'. But what I also find interesting is the 'perpetual guest ' (no matter that I have lived here for 8 years, my wife is Japanese, and I have permanent residency) and VIP theories (favored treatment for foreigners, definately overated and may include this topic's title), which some of the foreigners have been brainwashed into believing !