PG-rated : 40 reasons to think that the Japanese are superficial

[okaeri_man]

i found myself nodding to most of the things mentioned, but here's my 2 cents on a few of them:

- when travelling abroad, they care little about the local culture except food

perhaps not, but BEFORE they travel abroad they talk about the food (see point 1!).

- they ask the same routine dumb questions to foreigners ("can you use chopsticks; can you eat sushi, is there 4 seasons in your country, etc.")

lol, this is very true. isn't it common knowledge that their are 4 seasons (in all places on earth)? or do they just think the seasons in japan are more clear-cut than any other country, and therefore foreigners haven't really "experienced" the changing of the seasons?

- manga, porn and fashion magazines account for over 90% of convenience stores' literature.

nothing wrong with that! who wants "other" magazines when you rightly stated:

- there are virtually no magazines that test and rate products such as electronics, books, movies, games, etc. They only introduce these products without critical commentary (because the makers/sellers would sue them for being critical !)

this did tick me off a bit. the japanese makers/sellers are criticised overseas (in say a gaming mag) all the time. i remember the doraemon games for N64 got given less than 2 out of 10 by australian reviewers!

- politicians are corrupted and inefficient beyond redemption, because they only care about themselves, and not the nation's welfare.

umm, isn't this the same everywhere???

- many Japanese are convinced that their nation is "unique for being unique" (i.e. they think that all the world is a big melting-pot, but Japan is the only country that is 'pure' and homogenous, which makes it unique, and they are the only nation to enjoy such uniqueness.).

yeah... not that theres anything wrong with this... but it gives many the idea that racism/discrimination is ok.

[happilyengaged]

lol, this is very true. isn't it common knowledge that their are 4 seasons (in all places on earth)? or do they just think the seasons in japan are more clear-cut than any other country, and therefore foreigners haven't really "experienced" the changing of the seasons?

actually, all places on earth do not have four seasons as would be defined in Japan or in many similarly situated regions. Many places define their seasons by other climate changes that are more significant, many have more clearly defined seasons than four, others have less, and still others have seasons drastically different in numerous other ways.

It is a very diverse world...


It is a pretty silly question though....if I weren't an American I might make some comments about it being an excuse for not knowing geography...but...lol, we Americans are surely no better on average...