SWhats your opinion about Japan

Is Akira around to even read this thread he made? I've not seen him.

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"The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common: They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views... Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering."
--The Doctor
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His last activity is June 3rd.

He sometimes gets in heated arguments.

I have the option to send most people PMs

I do not have the option to send him PMs.

Hmmmmm.

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“ If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen"

Samuel Adams

To be honest, I don't blame them. What I do blame them for is lying about its purpose (defensive, never aggressive) when it went to Iraq. Nothing defensive about that at all. Typical political BS that we hear from every country anyway, so it's not really a surprise.

His last activity was just over a month ago, so it's hard to say. Perhaps he's enjoying the intense summer heat and humidity that Kyoto has every summer?

What really worries me is his attitude and beliefs. It's very reminiscent of pre-1945 Japan (or even pre-1945 Germany). Sadly, I'm seeing this same attitude with increasing frequency these days in Japan. Where's it coming from? School and uyoku dandai (basically political Nazi) influenced media.

He does not seem typical to me. But then most Japanese I know have lived abroad a while.

I wonder and was worried about how much influence people with his views may have on the government of Japan as I am not sure what he is saying is Japans self-interest let alone that of the rest of us.

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Great and small they rise and fall but the Lord, He is God forever!!!
Ein Englander in Deutschland.

We rearmed Germany, and both the JSDF and Bundswehr are quite well armed. Do remember the Cold War pressures that led to their initial rearmament were that a conventional war was quite a reality at the time. It's very odd that some of the companies that made guns to shoot Americans still exist and make guns.

Oh yeah, and the United States did help. That may explain how they obtained some of our ships and airplanes.

Eh, hating each other one minute, tolerating each other the next, then loving each other, then back to hate... ahh... Global politics, thou art a fickle mistress.

__________________
"The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common: They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views... Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering."
--The Doctor
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"Okay, you guys are crazy militarists, we're going to disarm you and and teach you the ways of peacOH SHEEP, THERE'S COMMIES OUT DRINKING THE BLOOD OF CHILDREN IN THE NIGHT, MILITARIZE MILITARIZE MILITARIZE ALREADY"

Basically, that's what happened.

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Gentile or Jew
O you who turn the wheel and look to windward,
Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you.

Yes, I can still see the tanks coming across Eastern Europe. It is an endless tide of RED DEATH! Behold the splendor of the Motherland as we takeover France and Spain and even SAINT HELENA!

Provided that the glorious Motherland actually has enough fuel to get past East Germany.

Da, Komrade.

__________________
"The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common: They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views... Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering."
--The Doctor
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Well, I am not expert on Japanese culture, but studying a Japanese history, literature, and even a year of your language under someone who has a great knowledge of your culture for a foreigner (he is an anthropologist who received his Ph.D. based on studying your culture, so about as close as you can get for an outsider), I see it mostly as different. Neither better or worse. Some things I personally think are far better, such as miso soup and bambo sprouts (those things are not that bad when they are cooked correctly), but I really do not like the sushi. It has nothing to do with the raw fish, but just the rice vinegar taste. Then again, that might be something one grows use to over time.

Industry wise, I don't know much about your industries in general except that I beleive (and I could be wrong here) that workers over there are far more connected to their company than many modern day Americans. But I greatly appreciate a good portion of your video game production though I wish you wouldn't keep so many games in Japanese only. I also like your animation more than American animation, but I feel that is mostly because we have two forms of animation over here, kids and mature. There isn't really a more serious anime which isn't quite mature, and most of the animation from Japan I watch has a more over arching storyline than the episodic things we have over here.

I find your religion mixture to be weird, how so many over there are likely to combine aspects of religions while not taking in the entire thing.

As to your history, I do find it more interesting than of the Wild West, but then again, I find the history of about anything, Egyptian to Greek to the Druids, more interesting than the Wild West because about the only movies my father ever watches are westerns.

I find your literature interesting, from the Tale of Genji to the Izu Dancer. Natsume Kinnosuke is one of my favorite authors, partly because Kokoro was one of the few non-fantasy/sci-fi books I ever really enjoyed reading (it is about 10^10 times better than the Age of Innocence).

I do find the sexual aspect of Japan to be extremely foreign. Partly because of a much more accepting posistion on nudity, and partly because of relation which children and sexuality.


Of course, most of the above is really a first impression, and I know Japan is not just one single culture with no variations. I have never been there, though I do hope my accademic career will take me there one day, but while I would love to visit, I don't plan on living there.

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