American View of Japan & Its People

[arias]

Hi guys,

I'd like to know what Americans typically think of Japan and its people. I know anime has entered into the mainstream American consciousness in the past decade but apart from that, what do most people think about Japan or its people?

Beautiful lands?
Hierarchical?
Stiff?
Hardworking?
Honorable?
Peaceful?
Violent?
Strange or weird?

Let me know! Thanks.

[Flinch]

You ask a business woman, they'll tell you that women are looked down upon in the business place (from a western point of view).

You ask someone like me, I find the culture appealing.

[solomon]

Doesn't the nation kick ass at karate, eat a crap load of raw fish and run in terror away from Godzilla attacks every week while inexplicably speaking without their lips moving? (grin)

[Samari]

Originally Posted by solomon

Doesn't the nation kick ass at karate, eat a crap load of raw fish and run in terror away from Godzilla attacks every week while inexplicably speaking without their lips moving? (grin)

Don't forget the submissive women that will do whatever you say.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by arias

Hi guys,

I'd like to know what Americans typically think of Japan and its people.

1) You're not exactly going to get a good sampling of "Americans" here..... not exactly mainstream people post in it and there are many internationals.
2) Reading the forums on the various anime series should provide a truckload of data on the subject.

I've been studying Japanese culture, the language, and religions for 30-plus years and mostly I'll tell you there are some terrific aspects and some terrible aspects (like any other country). Also, they're heading into disaster if they don't address some of the social trends emerging in their country.

[Irenicus]

Tokyo was destroyed like seventeen times when I was there. Aliens and monsters mostly; disgruntled angsty teenagers in giant robots did the rest (you wouldn't believe how many there were in Harajuku alone). I think the metropolitan government is trying to push through a law increasing the difficulty of mech piloting license and fines for misdemeanors like destruction of public property. There's a poster campaign I've seen on the JR lines saying things like, "Stop Destruction of Public Property Now!" or "Citizens For the Preservation of Shinjuku District (Just How Many Times Do We Have To Rebuild It Anyway?)".

Mind you I was mostly in Osaka, which was surprisingly peaceful, except everybody seemed to smack each other on the head every five seconds in a conversation, with onlookers laughing out loud every time.

...

Oh you mean the real Japan? Nice place. Got problems like anywhere else, mind.

[Otsdarva]

Hardworking, capable, stagnating, conservative.

That is how I view the Japanese society.

[Knightrunner]

^^^
When the Japanese students visit my highschool I thought they were a bit lame. I do realize they are more trained and disiplined compared to my highschool as I seen them walk by with there school uniforms. It is kind of funny how they tried to dress up to fit in American society because some of them have bad anime fashion sense.

[Afternoon Tea]

Many WWII vets, particularly the ones that fought in the Pacific theater, had serious problem with the Japanese. Some Americans that lived back in WW2 have tension (some racism) between Japan because of what they did. All the cruelty that took place, Prisoners of war were tortured (burned alive, cut there body parts off), and so on ( propaganda). plus the account of pearl harbor which they also targeted american civilians.

The vast majority of those people are gone now.

Most Americans think of Japan as a place of technological industry and of strict(er) moral codes.

Also, the popularity of anime is rapidly growing in the U.S. and this gives the younger generations a link to Japanese culture. As of right now I'd say that the average U.S. citizen is neutral towards Japanese people, Theres still abit of negativity on Japan (things like bad past WW2,Toyota,) but in the years to come look for people to be much more positive towards Japanese.

@Knightrunner thats really funny

Well there was a transfer student, that came to my high school from japan last year. total opposite from your description. looked a bit too (Asian) He was a surfer ( his had was professorial tennis/surfer in japan) but he fit in quite well, I introduced him to like most of my friends (we all play sports and stuff like football) and loved it here. He went to a gifted school for smart kids and he said he HATED it there, to strict, parents wouldn't let him hang with friends most of the time, and what ever. Just boring. little to no fun. I noticed over the course of his year here, he became more laid back, here. He wants to come here in America for College, and I told him he can stay with my family for a month or so, cus we have plenty of guest rooms in my house. We still talk over facebook today

[RandySyler]

Well, most people think of Japan as pretty much, just neutral. Some people I know think of it as being "weird" or something, some don't care, and some like it just fine.

Although, many mainstream American companies are based in Japan, and many scientific discoveries are made in Japan. It is a stricter moral place, although it relies more on the parents on how strict it is exactly.

[Asuras]

As far as my school's view goes, they're a peoples with too much time on their hands and a over-reactive imagination.

[synaesthetic]

Japanese people are really fucking weird.

[Irkalla]

I'm not American but European, and when I think of Japan the first things on my mind are:

*hilarious porn
*paedophiles
*lots of cute things
*pink
*suicidal people
*interesting culture
*lovely traditional clothes
*weirdest tv shows
*pretty boys
*ninjas and samurais
*awesome psychological horror
*hardwoking people with busy schedules

Well, you wanted to know!

[Kyouka]

Most Americans think of it like this Seoul Korea ah i love that place dam japan is awesome

[Decagon]

I think it's very "normal" when you depart from the hustle and bustle of the Tokyo metropolis. Most of us on the outside probably only hear about news or gossip or oddities that happen around that area anyway.

A cousin of mine who grew up in the states and was a Stanford grad went to Japan and worked there for a few years in the late 90s but she left with a bad impression.

[cheyannew]

I think the lines between Japan & America are blurring, tbh; things like anime are shaping how Americans view Japan, and Japan keeps (for whatever reason) continually adopting Western things; foods, trends, etc

Heck, in 20 years, I'll bet they're similar enough people'll just shrug when you ask what they think of Japan

[synaesthetic]

It is true that Japan and America are inextricably economically linked, and with that economic and political closeness, diffusion and blending of cultures is inevitable.

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by cheyannew

I think the lines between Japan & America are blurring, tbh; things like anime are shaping how Americans view Japan, and Japan keeps (for whatever reason) continually adopting Western things; foods, trends, etc

Heck, in 20 years, I'll bet they're similar enough people'll just shrug when you ask what they think of Japan

The material culture, yeah. Though the social/mental aspect of their culture is probably going to remain different.

[cheyannew]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

The material culture, yeah. Though the social/mental aspect of their culture is probably going to remain different.

You'd be surprised; more and more young Japanese people are adopting a "western mentality"...

Which has its good points and its bad... I just find it amusing that while they're trying to be more like us, we're over here, obsessed with them hahaha

I mean how many people've ended up taking Japanese classes, or started drinking green tea or eating certain things, because we saw it done in Japan (or more likely, an anime, but still), and it fascinated us?

[RandySyler]

Probably the main driving force behind the mixing of cultures, fascination.

Two totally separate cultures that are kinda strangely similar but completely different, it grips us all emotionally.