Wow, you are quite good. Nekko is indeed root if pronounced "Neck-Co", but as NorthernStar pointed out, I meant cat which is commonly spelled Neko. I spelled it Nekko because most Westerners pronounced Neko as "Knee-Co" instead of "Necko" (the correct pronunciation of cat in Japanese). I used to use this handle online for gaming therefore modified the spelling for more accurate pronunciation.Moto wrote:I have worked with quite a few Chinese people and a good friend of mine married someone from Hong Kong(which is its own beast). None of those people are fans of Japan. If you mistook them as being Japanese they wouldn't be very happy with you. I think the feelings are reciprocated. I'm somewhat familiar with both cultures and they are very different.
I watch more asian tv and films than I care to admit so I'm able to pick out quite a few languages, text, and common words.
"KuroNekko" ~ "Black Root" in Japanese. I knew kuro was a color, but I had to look up the rest. Long shorty short, lot of the Asian countries don't get along very well.
Regarding Asian tensions, yes, it exists but they mainly stem from Japan's dark history during WWII. The Imperial Japanese Army committed some of the worst crimes against humanity and atrocities in Asia in countries like China, Korea, Taiwan, Myanmar, and the Philippines to name a few. Many innocent civilians were killed by the Japanese military and their brutality rivaled the Nazis. Because of this, many other Asians distrust and dislike the Japanese despite all the years since the war and the fact that Japan now has a constitution against war (originally written by the US, but upheld by the Japanese since regaining sovereignty in the 1950's.) The Japanese gov't has done poorly in recognizing and addressing the war crimes and this has upset especially the Koreans and the Chinese. Many Koreans were enslaved by the Japanese during the war and some were forced to work in Japan. One of my best friends in Japan is of Korean-Japanese descent whose Korean grandfather was forced to work in Japan during WWII. Many of these Koreans stayed in Japan after the war.
Funny side story: Some time after Japan lost the war, my friend's grandfather bought a car. He purposely got a Ford instead of a Japanese brand to proudly drive around as a "Fuck You" to the Japanese gov't and to remind them that the US defeated them.
The current newly-elected Prime Minister of Japan is quite rather right-wing hawk who has so far done poorly in establishing amiable relations with China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute.
In reality, many Chinese and Koreans may not like the Japanese, but I wouldn't say it's reciprocated by the Japanese. Most Japanese today are rather apathetic to politics and foreign policy. Many Japanese don't really see the Koreans or Chinese in such a negative light, from my personal observations.
Many Chinese and Korean-Americans also seem to be better in their views of the Japanese. After all, go to any Asian community in the US and you will see that most Asian Americans have a love affair with Japanese cars. I would say it's hard to drive a Japanese car if you hated Japan and the Japanese so much.
Back to the topic of cars.
I have yet to see a Kizashi on this trip. Well, to be fair, I have only seen one Accord and only a few Camry Hybrids. Unlike the US, the family midsize sedan is just not that popular in Japan. I see a lot of Toyota Crowns and some Mark X's, but not too many of the cheaper midsize offerings. I will keep my eye out for a Kizashi. Either way, I plan to visit a dealership.
Oh, I see a lot of Daihatsu's here as well. They are the other big name in Kei-cars. Daihatsu is from Osaka, Japan which is in the part of Western Japan (Kansai region) I am from.
