It's not just Japan.
Years ago, I owned a camera store. One of my customers was in the shop, chatting with me. He was a college professor, political science, very prominent in his field, regularly held conferences that dignitaries from all over the globe would attend.
He was born in Korea.
While he was there, another customer came in. He was a very prominent scientist, employed by a world famous chemical company. He was the inventor of a type of plastic that is used in everything from packages to home construction. (I am purposely leaving out clues, but everything I've said is true.)
The second customer chatted with me for a while, and then left. The first customer stood there silently for the duration.
After the second customer left, the first customer walks up, looks me in the eye, visibly tense, and in a very gruff, angry tone of voice, asks, "That man... was he Japanese?"