Suprise!
Slightly true. The academics and Nationalists that run Japanese education do portray Japan as the victim in textbooks, but since last year English is required teaching in all schools, and everyone with two yen to throw at the temple knows that there is no institutional racism in Japan. Its at the governmental and intellectual and “Japanese Redneck” level that you see covert racism, but its a non-issue. I’d rather be here than back in the States. The Japanese are the friendliest people I’ve met next to the Indonesians and Filipinos, but their culture makes them a bit subdued in expressing gratitude or sympathy, so it takes some getting used to if you are new to Japan. There is no hate here. I had a great conversation with an old man last night about how his family was raised during the Edo restoration and how his father was an intellectual imprisoned by the emperor during the war due to his pacifism. I’m looking forward to continuing our talk tonight.