Polite Japan

As everyone "knows" the Japanese are very polite. Just ask a Japanese whom you don't know well and who will give you the fairytale version of Japan. Don't hold it against him/her, because it is more important to give this fairytale version of Japan to a foreigner.

Here is an interesting "rant" from a non-Japanese (Chinese) girl who went to school in Japan. Poor girl, she just doesn't understand the universal, flawless purity of the Japanese. But of course, since she is not Japanese, she could never truly understand wonderful Japan anyway. http://www.livejournal.com/users/lastsmile/6104.html

I shouldn't have to say this, but I suppose that I should: Not all Japanese share those views. It is a part of Japanese society though and cannot be ignored. The idiotic fantasy of many who believe if you just come to Japan and learn Japanese and Japanese customs you will be accepted (like Tom Cruises' charactor in The Last Samurai) is just that---a fantasy.