Japanese Culture Critique

I've lived in Japan for many years and its essentially a western nation with a stronger social conformity / shame culture. The sheer volume of Japan praise on HN is confusing to say the least.

Japan isn't like the USA where you can just import people of a different culture en masse and expect shit to not catch on fire

I am french and I know enough American culture to understand that generalization is not appropriate for America. But Japan is very different from America. There is a culture to follow tradition that have evolved to follow fashion in a very homogeneous manner. Individualism is almost non existent. I discuss often with Japanese people who makes the same types of generalizations. These generalizations are part of the understanding of Japanese people.

I'm ready to take all the downvotes.You have lived a very privileged life in Japan, my friend.I have travelled to Japan and have a fiancee who is Zainichi North Korean.I urge you to stop interpreting Japanese culture with such extreme rose-coloured glasses and tone down your extreme positivity because it is blinding you from having the "balanced view" you say you have of Japan. Furthermore, it is insulting to minorities in Japan, which has a racist, insular, homogenous cu

There is something about Japan that really brings home the meaning of 'foreign' to me.I think that being the first rich, advanced large country that isn't western is the reason. On paper, they have a similar relationship with money, technology, their religion and traditional culture. I can't explain the strangeness away with those differences.When I read something like this about some trend or supposed cultural pathology cropping up, I have nothing to connect it to. I d

Like the whole of Japan?https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40313733Talk about clueless...

I heard the "if you don't like it, leave line" from people all the time in America. Even with the pettiest of political disagreements, people say it.So then I went to Japan and haven't received or heard of anyone receiving similar vitriol aside from the OP.A foreign coworker (same race and nationality as me) endlessly complains about racism, discrimination, and being stared at here. I've experienced none of it.I'm not here to dismiss the author's claim

I get triggered whenever Japan is mentioned as an honest and law abiding country with zen buddhist tradition. Makes people think the fence is made of sausages yonder. The reality of the social situation is far worse than what Westerners perceive.

Japan gets more flak because it's physical and historical isolation plus high cultural homogeneity have resulted in unique societal quirks.Going to western Europe feels like the US. Going to Japan from the west still feels like traveling the world once did. Its unique culture is appreciated worldwide, even from closest neighbors.They had smartphones almost a decade before we did. They had high speed rail before anyone else . Manga and anime are now worldwide, but they were born in Ja

The answer is clear.. culture. and thats not only in japanThis is neocolonialism kind of thought pure and simple.. why instead of asking why country X dont have the same cultural values of country Z (as if country Z have some sort of superior values), maybe whe should ask what county X really needs? and what is its own natural path?!different cultures SHOULD follow different paths, and thats a good thing...did you ask if country X has something to teach to country Z? im sure it has..<p