For anyone whose lived in or visited Japan...

[AndrewinIce]

I have always been fascinated with Asian culture, Japan most of all. I hope to visit, possibly work there one day. I have a few questions for anyone whose been there;

1;How do the Japaneses people, as a whole, feel about Americans? I am aware that politically we are very close, but how do the 'real' people feel?

2; How do the Japaneses people, as a whole, feel about Christianity? Is it treated as a just another religion, or do they have negative/positive feelings about it?

3; How necessary is it to know the Japaneses language?

And about the people themselves.

4; Are they more/less polite that Americans? Do they value certain ideals more than we do in America?

5; In what ways do the 'average' Japaneses male and the 'average' American male differ and in what ways do they act alike?

6; In what ways do the 'average' Japaneses female and the 'average' American female differ and in what ways do they act alike?

I know that people are people, and that no matter where you come from, we are all very similar. But We are shaped by so many things that happen in a countries history, (Civil war, War on Terror, feminist movement,) make us who we are, so obviously countries on the other side of the map will be different in many ways.

I hope no one thinks I'm being raciest or anything, I'm just curious about the people of such an amazing country.

[Yuki-Anne]

I will endeavor to answer these questions in short, but there are others who've lived in Japan longer who might know better.

1;How do the Japanese people, as a whole, feel about Americans? I am aware that politically we are very close, but how do the 'real' people feel?

It really does depend on the person. Some Japanese really admire Americans and are curious about them. Other Japanese resent America for the war and the subsequent unbalanced influence America has had over Japan.

2; How do the Japaneses people, as a whole, feel about Christianity? Is it treated as a just another religion, or do they have negative/positive feelings about it?

Again, depends on the person, but most Japanese view Christianity and western culture as the same thing. Most have no clue what it's about. It's just the religion of the West to most of them.

3; How necessary is it to know the Japanese language?

...that depends on what you want to do and where you want to go.

4; Are they more/less polite that Americans? Do they value certain ideals more than we do in America?

More. Way more. One of the most valued ideals in Japan is to maintain the peace at any cost. Respect of one's elders and superiors is integral to Japanese society.

5; In what ways do the 'average' Japanese male and the 'average' American male differ and in what ways do they act alike?

Japanese men, in general, tend to be less expressive of their emotions. It's changing gradually, but gender roles in Japan are strongly determined. Men don't typically help with house work.

6; In what ways do the 'average' Japanese female and the 'average' American female differ and in what ways do they act alike?

Again, gender roles are strongly determined, although far less pronouncedly in the younger generations. Women tend to be a bit more domestically inclined, and it is far more commonly expected for a woman to stay home and raise kids and cook and such.