I saw Michael Moore's quote in the Japan Times this morning and wondered how others felt:
"As much as I love America, quit being like us," Moore said at a news conference at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. "Be Japan. Be the Japan that has been creative since 1945. Be the Japan that never throws people out of work."
For me: I honestly believe that I have more admiration for the Japanese than many Japanese have for themselves. When I talk about the amazing abilities, capabilities, and potential that Japanese have time and time again demonstrated, I feel almost patriotic about a country I'm not a citizen of.
I had a student once, an older student; he told me that the whole Japanese philosophy of post-WWII がんばる came from teachers in schools telling their students every morning that they must work hard--they must work hard, and study hard, in order to surpass America.
Seems to me that much has happened to the Japanese in wanting to become like Britain or like America; why is it that the Japanese cannot feel comfortable with being Japanese, I don't at all understand.
Japan does look at the West & copies them but does it in a Japanese way which an outsider might not understand.
Technology is the obvious one but what about meat?
They didn't eat meat until recently but now they have Kobe beef which is arguably the best in the world.