How Many Japanese Dislike Americans?

Question

I've always thought it was weird that the japanese are always presented as loving americans. We blew up two entire cities! I understand that the younger generation may like us or our way of life, but what about the older nihonjin? Are there many old racist japanese who fought in the war and go around muttering about gaijin ideas taking over?

Answer 1

less than the number of Chinese & Korean dislike Japanese

Answer 2

I'm sure that there are older Japanese who have ill feelings about the U.S. That being said it's both a remarkable and wonderful thing that so many of the Japanese, including the older generation, have warm feelings for the Americans. I think that can be attributed to a number of things. First, to a great degree, after wars are over, unless one side really oppresses the other in a bad way, both sides begin to lose their ill feelings for the other. For example, look at the British and the Americans (and I'm talking about the ones living after the wars), and the North and South in the Civil War. Those guys even got togethre and shook hands. Secondly, when the U.S. occupied Japan after the end of the war, we went to incredible efforts to support the Japanese people, who would otherwise have been starving, and, beyond that, to build for them a democratic government that they very much value today and, beyond that, to help revive their destroyed economy. The Japanese people at the time saw Americans close up, face-to-face, and saw us in our helping role. That went a long way toward healing ill feelings.

Today the Japanese and Americans are the closest of allies. We are the model of how two nations can come together after a bitter and bloody war and forge something new that totally leaves the old conflict behind.

Answer 3

As michinoku said, right wingers are probably the only group that demonstrates and express openly their hatred toward Americans and the west overall.

As for the younger generation as Joriental and Yozora have said, the "American standard" philosophy is hated. They hate Bush and his tactics on the mideast but then again so do many Americans, so obviously that has nothing to do with race.
My opinion is the majority hates the American way of thinking. But this is not necessarily a racial thing.

There are many people who do not like the "America is No.1!" philosophy that many people from the US share. Patriotism and love of one country is one thing, saying you're better than another country is a whole different matter.
But this too has nothing to do with the color of the skin and racial differences. Just cultural differences.

So to answer your question, I think (in my opinion!!) most Japanese whether young or old do not dislike Americans just because of the war, or just because of differences in skin color. They don't like some of the traits that typical Americans have but they don't hate "America" for it.

This is the conclusion I came up with while living there.
My whole dilemma in Japan was that I understood both. It's confusing to the brain man.
This is why I drink beer.

Oh but when the issue turns to marriage between 2 different races whether it be Japanese and American or Chinese or British or Auzzy or whatever, the Japanese especially the older generation will frown or be uncomfortable with the notion. Especially if it's between their direct family member.
This I think is racial prejudice but I don't blame them because you fear what you don't know or understand. I also think it's rapidly changing though.

As for my opinion on someone's comment about the US bringing in food to the starving people and the Japanese being glad they came, many many many Japanese think that was a political tactic to grab the trust from the Japanese population. Let them starve for a while then bring in goods so that they don't even realize that infact they are being "invaded".
For the record I don't know if it was a tactic and I'm not implying it was either. I'm just saying, not everyone believes everything they read.

And apparently we are able to type out bullshit without being censored. Hm, interesting!

Answer 4

I think it's just part of the Japanese mentality, whether young or old. You can experience it first hand if you visit the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima. There the focus is not on the atrocities committed by the Americans, as you might expect, but on preventing another Hiroshima. Sure it's painful to have lost your parents or best friend to the atomic bomb, but the survivors realized decades ago that their most important mission is to overcome their bitterness for the indiscriminate killings, and try to prevent a similar tragedy in the future.

Answer 5

Actually and virtually no.
Of cos some in the old japanese, but can be said it is few.
Japanese has tendency to look their future rather than looking back.
You know the Meiji Restoration. They had been keeping peaceful life until then.
But after they noticed many western nations were trying to seize control in many part of the Asian countries, they changed their mind and social system dramatically in a short period.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_Restoration

I have to tell you today many young Japanese don't like the US. But it is not because of the A-bomb, they hate Bush and today's America's attitude against Mid east very much.

America rebuilt Japan ? Bullshit. Japan made it with their wisdom and hard working. If America did, why you didn't finish your homework in the Korea war and Vietnam? The nations had been in confusion for long time. Today Mid East as well.
Japan is the only country which rose from the ruin quickly.

Answer 6

Actually the Japanese are one of the few people that for the most part, like Americans.
Sure, the Americans killed a lot with the A bomb but the Japanese killed a lot of Americans in the south Pacific too.
America basically rebuilt Japan after the war and it seems that both sides buried the hatchet long ago.

Answer 7

Kanto governor Ishihari - because some American GI boxed on the ear when he was a teen messing around with a jeep so the story goes.

Without the US, China probably would have taken over Japan sought vengeance for Nanking and the occupation shortly after WWII. Much of Asia still hates Japan for WWII. Had the US not occupied Japan after the war, much of Asia particularly China and Korea probably would have torn into them out of revenge. Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have been nothing compared to that.

And keep in mind those cities were destroyed in war not out of the blue. Some reason folks sometimes seem to forget that when they handwring about Hiroshima.

And look what the US did in the aftermath - they didn't destroy Japan in its defeat but helped to rebuild it. They didn't overthrow the Emperor though they could have if they had wanted to. It's the after actions to war that count more sometimes - just look how bad Allied Europe screwed up in kicking a defeated Germany in the teeth after WWI.

Granted there was the motivation to make Japan a strong buffer zone against Russia and a little later Communist China but the lesson from WWI was still in effect and so Japan was not grounded into the dust by its American victors.

Oh, and there's not many left who fought in WWII. Those that did are like many combat veterans anywhere - they have no hatred for their enemy and want to live in peace.

Answer 8

Just about every city in Japan got blown up during the war-it just happens that two of them were blown up with particularly powerful bombs. The idea that A-bombs were inherently worse than any other type of strategic bombing didn't really occur to anyone until the 1960s. The fire-bombing of Tokyo killed more people than either A-bomb. However Japanese people usually blame their own leaders for putting them in that position, not the Americans for trying to win the war.

Older Japanese tend to have warm feelings towards Americans because the Japanese expected that the occupation force would treat them the way the Japanese often treated the people they defeated. That is; beat them, rape them and starve them. In fact, a lot of Japanese families tried to hide their daughters after the surrender because they took it for granted that American soldiers would attempt to rape them. When the Americans handed out food, brought in women's rights, encouraged unions, etc. the Japanese really appreciated it. Hence the "we play for MacArthur's erection" sign that once appeared in Ginza. The idealism went out of the occupation after the Korean conflict commenced, but the goodwill remained.

There are old and not so old racist Japanese in "oyukou" right wing groups. They have speaker trucks and do little fascist-types demonstrations. No one takes their politics seriously because they associated with organized crime and tend to be buffoonish. In any case, the mainstream Japanese right tends to be pro-American. For a bunch of people who supposedly don't care for GWB, pro-Bush prime ministers seem to do very well in the polls.

Answer 9

Very few!

As Joriental said, many people hate Bush - but they're usually mature enough to realise that not ALL Americans were stupid enough to vote for him...!

I've been told that after WWII the populace of Japan (that hadn't been firebombed or nuked out of existence) was overjoyed to see the conquering American troops. Frankly, they were on the point of starving to death. There may have been a few people in the countryside with 'secret' food supplies - there were in ALL countries at that time - but on the whole, food was running out fast.

In the face of such gratitude the Americans would have needed to be FAR more stupid than Bush to mess up the fledgling relationship between the two countries!!

Answer 10

Encountering open hostility toward Americans or any foreigners for that matter, is so rare as to be not worth even thinking about.
Open hostility, mind you! They do have a lot to say about America in private, but they don't harbor ill will toward individual Americans.

Answer 11

I haven't found any Japanese who hate Americans. Many Japanese are shy to use their English but they like to make friends from other countries. I've been here for a while and I haven't had any problems at all.