something interesting for a change

"Marxy's Guide to Foreign Views on Japan

From the posts on my blog and views elsewhere, I've created my own Right-to-Left continuum for views on Japan:

Far Right - The Colonialists - "Japan is dumb. The West is better. J-birds are easy. The Japanese are bad at English. Nova, where's my paycheck?" (Note: This view doesn't show up much on my site, but is probably the dominant mode of thought among the US/UK foreigners living in Japan.)

Moderate Right - The Collaborationists - "Japan's shining moment was the Dainippon Teikoku. Japan should stand up to North Korea more. Don't criticize Japanese culture when its Asian market success proves it to be right. Ishihara is correct to try to keep all the riff-raff out."

Neutral - The Casual Fans - "I like Japanese things."

Moderate Left - The Sociologists - "Japan is a modern society, and thus, should be judged on the same standards as other post-Industrial nations. Somethings work, but others could be improved. The remaining illiberal political culture should be eradicated for democracy's sake."

Hard Left - The Anthropologists - "Japan is a unique nation and cannot be judged by Western ethnocentric criteria. Let Japan be Japan. Stop trying to interfere.""