Anyone that's been to East Asia knows that isn't true at all. Back when America controlled its borders, the government kept many of the stupid Asians out.
The Japanese are smart. They’re nutty, but they’re smart.
IQ tests have been done internationally and Japan and China have higher IQs than almost all other countries.
That is what is called “book smarts”.
It does not measure creativity—or courage to resist herd thinking.