Quote Originally Posted by Kinsao View Post
Hmmm. This is originally a very old thread...
I think it's insulting to Japanese people to say "the Japanese are superficial".
I doubt whether they, as individuals, are any more "superficial" than people from any other nation or race.
Perhaps it would be fairer to say that Japanese society and culture currently does not encourage a lot of interest in political issues.
Yeah, honestly....it isn't accidental that Okinawans for instance can boast a longer life span and overall good health than for all purposes any other peoples on earth. It is in large measure due to their diet and genetics but accompanying that a lack of lifestyle stress, extreme laid back attitudes and social interactions, not to mention making relationships and enjoyment of nature a priority over "intellectual" or "staid artificial" pursuits. The ebb and flow of political ideology is constant, there will always be the acendance of one philosophy or another outside of any individual's control, whether it is argued to death (literally) or not, but who can dispute the positive effects of a low-stress, slow-paced lifestyle as not an equally natural and evolutionarily beneficial organization of life, on an individual and communal level ???

It isn't the case with Japanese living in cities of course, which would be a stretch to label relaxed or easygoing, but at least there is more of a balance than it seems in other countries. The point of everything having to be politicized and rationalized even if it doesn't accord with physical and emotional good health or wellbeing I have a lot of trouble accepting as somehow more natural or "innately" superior.