If I speak fluent Japanese and know Japanese culture, will I still be alien to Japanese people?
As I’ve explained in another answer, you don’t have to be fluent in Japanese to be accepted. You have to learn the body language and rhythms. Japanese people start talking to me in Japanese before I open my mouth. How do they know I understand Japanese? They can’t.What is happening is I am flying beneath their gaijin-detection radar. Every muscle in my body, from my toes to my eyelids is moving in ways that feel natural to the observer’s subconscious.By the same token I used to sometimes be asked where I was from when I went back to the US to visit. Now I remind myself to shift back into American gear to make people feel comfortable.That’s really what it’s all about. If people feel comfortable, at ease, around you, then they’ll treat you as a fellow human being. People can tell if you’re nervous or worried about what they think of you. So don’t be nervous and don’t worry about what people think of you. Instead, open your heart and care about them. Listen to them. Wish strangers peace and serenity, silently, and watch how they suddenly treat you differently.Sure there are some sick people and stupid people who have built walls around themselves, and some of them feel safer behind the wall of being Japanese and therefore completely incomprehensible to the foreign barbarians. Tough luck.But ultimately it comes down to you. Are you big enough to embrace the differences? Can you look at someone in a way that forces them to drop their guard?Some places are easier than others. Tokyo is the worst for Japanese and foreigners alike.Don’t judge Japan by the behavior of people in Tokyo. Shitamachi, the old part of Tokyo with traditional neighborhood ties is healthy. But most of Tokyo is filled with Japanese who don’t trust each other.Get out in the countryside where the pace is slow and people live like human beings, not aliens.
What ever happen to the traditional Japanese culture?
I think you have a few misconceptions... HomosexuaIity isn't really common in Japan.... Cosmetic surgery is taboo (although many women in the fashion scene use eyelid tape to have a double lid effect)... Japan has never really been into sex culture as much as other nations... and hardly any people dress up as anime characters and talk in childish voices...... Anime culture is not Japanese culture.. The people who do those things would be considered VERY strange in Japan. Anyway, it was too expensive to keep traditional culture basically. If WWII was avoided, then it may have been possible to perserve a lot more of traditional Japanese culture. However, Tokyo was basically at ground zero after WWII, so everything was mass produced. You can't mass produce traditional Japanese culture, especially because hundreds of thousands of people burned to death because of the fire bombings (wooden houses are not the best defense against fire...). That's why most of the buildings were made with concrete. Also, certain fashion styles have come as a form of the rebellious attitude that many young men and women have. This is why there are many eccentric fashion styles in Tokyo. and LOL @radiation exposure... I don't think that really affects much. It did at some point, but not as much anymore.
If Japanese hated Koreans........?
I think I've now came to understand why some Japanese hate Koreans.
Do you think the Japanese are mean (with some sub-questions)?
I love Japan. In fact, I've been learning Japanese for 2 months now (still an amateur). But I'm from the Philippines. Japan is my SECOND favorite country. Philippines, is, of course, my first. Wanna know why I love Japan? It's nice scenery, it's beautiful country, rich culture, and friendly citizens (I'm not saying I like Japan more than Philippines!). But, majority of the Asian countries hate Japan (I heard), especially China. Is that true (sub-question #1)? If you hate Japan, why (sub-question #2)? Why do you think people hate Japan (sub-question #3)? What was the story of the Japanese borrowing the Chinese characters (kanji) from China (sub-question #4; I know it's off topic, but just answer it)? I don't think they're mean, bad. But, before you answer this question, think of the story of Junko Furuta, the girl who undergone 44 days of torture, and the Torturers? Japanese. Tsutomy Miyazaki - the cannibal, who kidnapped young girls, murdered them, drank the blood of one victim and ate the hand of another. But I still like Japan though. Think of the changes they made in the world. Nintendo, Sony and many more. Just answer it wisely and maybe, reflect on it. Who knows?
How many Japanese people know martial arts?
Do you mean "know" in the sense of being expert at a martial art? Not many. I'll give you a concrete example.If you go to Japan and ask any Japanese person who has been to school after WW2 what kind of PE classes they've got, they will probably reply that, among many other sports, judo or kendo was one of them. Most Japanese people I've met have done one semester or two of kendo, just the very fundamental basics, not much.Now, let's narrow it down. Japan has a population of about 120 million people. The kendo population, recorded black belt players, was 1,619,859 people (among which 460,624 ladies) in March 2011 (according to the Japanese Kendo Federation, source in Japanese).Not even 1,5% of the population is a black belt kendo practitioner. Among them, only 500 people are currently holding the highest grade (8th) in the entire world. And some of them are probably dead but no one knows about it…I bet you can extend this to kyudo, judo and karate. That means not a lot of people in Japan are actually proficient in a martial art.
Do Japanese people like Turkish people?
I have stayed in Japan as an exchange student some years ago.Not much known about “Toruko”. I have been asked “What is the religion of Turkey?” a couple of times. And to my surprise, if Turks speak English or not several times. Apart from that, one gets standard Gaijin treatment. Additionally a not-so-welcoming Spanish friend had a hard time trying to explain to them why Turks are NOT European while I look very much that way. Anyway…On two occasions, I heard some “friendly nation” lines from Japanese guys. One was a guy who compared Meiji Emperor to Ataturk but was too drunk to make sense. And the other said nothing remarkable. But was definitely sober:)The generation who followed World Cup 2002 obsessively can come up with some Turkish players names. Even after 10 years or so, Hasan Sas had celebrity status. And Ilhan Mansiz for sure. You may expect to hear 3–4 more.And Cappadocia is strangely a huge hit with Japanese people. I have met a girl who came to Turkey for 3 days and spent one of them there.Unfortunately I have never met anyone who knows “Tomato, pima, nasu, nasu”…Edit: Oh, and that Turkish frigate that sunk off the shores of Japan: The Sinking of the “Ertugrul”: Japan and Turkey Mark the 125th Anniversary of the TragedyNever met anyone who knows about it either. Though that may be partly due to all my friends being medical students.
Why do the Japanese people look down on Chinese, Korean and rest of the Far East Asian nations in general?
its a 2 way street.. korea hates japan. its just history and grudges. im half japanese and irish-american. so my japanese family is not racist, there are nationalists.. they dislike certain nations.. but they are friends with korean japanese citizens.. so its not a race thing.. just forgeiners thing. most of asia is like that. i been to korea, thailand, phillipines and they are all nationalistic.. and yes, japan was the aggressor with korea, but china was the aggressor first historically against japan.
Are Japanese people patriotic in general?
Older generation yes. But nowadays who knows. They seem to adore and adopt Western culture a lot.
Are overseas born ethnic Japanese not considered Japanese in Japan?
This is actually a big gray zone for Japanese, and behaviors can vary. Legally you may be a Japanese citizen - but that doesn’t mean that you will be treated as such when you return to Japan. You have to speak, act, and think as all the other Japanese do. If you show some streak of independence, or some ability to behave outside of the Groupthink, you could be branded an outsider. Likewise if a number of Japanese think that your English (or other language) ability is “too good”.This is not limited with people born outside Japan - there are a number of people who have grown up or spent some years outside of Japan due to a parent’s job assignment, etc., then return home to Japan (called kikoku shijo, 帰国子女) and then have to re-assimilate into Japanese culture. For some, being shoehorned into an education system based on rote memorization and little critical analysis, it can be quite stifling and oppressive. Severe bullying is not at all uncommon if you stand out in any way. In Japanese culture you will see a very strong envy complex (urami) and society has been described as everyone sitting at a round table, looking at everyone else and seeing if there is anything “unfair”.If you look like a foreigner in Japan, then you are treated like one. It’s that simple. Doesn't matter how well you speak Japanese or know the customs.If you look like the Japanese enough but don't know the language or customs enough to pass yourself off as one, you will get by only as so far as you don't speak to anyone or by social interactions show that you are not.If you look Japanese enough and know enough language and customs to pass yourself off as one, you can get by until sooner of later you are found out as not Japanese (employer background checks, etc).Then it gets more hazy where some more progressive Japanese don't care and treat you as an equal, and the more uptight conservative ones will make it as issue and start treating you differently.