Changing impression of Japan

This class is my first time to take a class with oversea students so I could realize both possitive points and negative points of Japan through this course. I was happy that I could know other student' different point of view from Japanese.

I clearly remember that the first thing at which I was surprised was other students' image toward Japan. The professor asked us whether Japan is drinking country or not, and most students agreed that Japan was a drinking country. I didn't have an image that Japan is a drinking country, so I was very surprised at their opinions. I also had an image that people in other countries go to bar more often than Japan, and they also drink alcohol much more than Japanese.

Moreover, I could realize the good point of Japan too through this course and this blog. For example, there is a typical image that Japanese people focus on the importance of harmony of group. Although it might have a negative point such as Japanese focus on group too much and some of them are not good at expressing our opinions, because of this culture, we have a strong connection between people as I mentioned in the blog post 2. In addition to that, Japan has a culture to enjoy nature. In Japan, we have 4 seasons; spring, summer, autumn and winter, and we have some events in each season. There are some events that people enjoy the nature such as "Momiji-gari"(maple). I think most of Japanese people like to participate in those events and co-exist with nature.

On the other hand, I also realized negative points of Japan. As we learned in this class which was about politics, we have some problems such as the problem of Japanese anthem. I didn't know about the problem until I took this course because I had never seen such a situation. I felt I should know about Japan more, and it is important to do so before I study about other countries.

I'm really happy that I could take this course and know the different point of view about Japan. I couldn't get them if I studied with only Japanese students. I also could think about Japan afresh, and I could know things I didn't recognize because I took it for granted. I would like to make the most of experience in this class, and consider things without being a slave of Japanese point of view. By doing so, I would like to improve my way of thinking in order to be able to decide what is good or bad, and how to improve them.