Japan: how it is stupidly idealised by western bigots
Let’s not sugar-coat it: if you unambiguously and proudly express your hatred of trivial human differences and even talk about the importance racial purity, making your view eerily similar to one of a Nazi, you cannot complain when others call you a bigot. You deserve the label.
Those bigots love to fawn over Japan for its cultural, ethnic and racial homogeneity and its strict immigration policies. They believe they are the secrets of Japan’s uniqueness and ‘social success’ (some people actually use the term).
Of course, if you just dig slightly deeper, what they believe is complete horse shit.
When they say ‘social success’, I am certain they are referring to the supposed lack of social problems in Japan, even though everyone with basic facts about the country knows it is not problem-free.
Karoshi and Hikikomori are two phenomena which Japan are internationally infamous for. The justice system also is known for being unjust, where presumption of innocence is not a thing.
Oh, and the calm and well-behaved stereotype is exaggerated, at least nowadays. PDR-San, a Japanese Youtuber whose viewers are mostly Japanese (but provide English subtitles for his videos), loves to rant about Japanese people who behave disruptively for the sake of internet clout; watch his videos and one’s romanticised views of Japan will be shattered.
One may argue anime, Japanese game shows and Japanese TV ads are uniquely Japanese. But, those game shows are no longer produced due to regulations, most Japanese TV ads are pathetically normal and Japanese audience prefer Disney over the locally-made animation.
If you see the big picture, Japanese culture looks even less unique.
Do I even need to explain the Chinese influences? The use of kanji and the presence of Chinese loanwords in the Japanese language, dishes like ramen, shoyu and gyoza, the Chinese-influenced traditional fashion and arts and the arrival of Buddhism via China.
And Chinese-influences are not the only ones prevalent in Japanese culture.
Tempura is of Portuguese origin and there are many yōshoku or western-influenced dishes, like katsu and omuraisu, in the country. Japanese language is also full of loanwords from Dutch, Portuguese and, of course, English; in fact, an elderly man sued the NHK for their excessive and unnecessary use of English loanwords.
Oh, and I don’t think I should remind you that most Japanese people, even ones in the rural areas, no longer wear kimonos in their daily lives.
My point is if you really love isolationism, it just does not make sense to fawn over a country that is clearly also under the influence of globalisation; even under the isolationist Tokugawa shogunate, Japan was not entirely cut off from the world.
It makes more sense if you fawn over the most isolated and primitive tribes instead.
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