First thoughts upon hearing "Japan".

[TotalerKrieger]

Torture of POWs during WW2...but that's probably because I have been reading about the Battle of Hong Kong and the treatment of the Canucks and Limeys after that defeat.

Other than that...being a leader in robotics and related tech.

 

[Dense_Electric]

"Shit, I'm supposed to be studying Japanese."

Got a university language test I have to pass at some point, plus (though this is looking increasingly unlikely) I might be going to Tokyo this coming summer.

 

[blackrave]

Alcoholism, sushi and Battle Royale. Also everything is tinted pink when I think about Japan.

Then I think about manga, but quickly stop myself because I don't like manga.

Alcoholism?
Really? How? Why?
Maybe I'm again wrong, but wasn't their relationship with alcohol... eee... complicated?
As far as I know most japanese don't react to alcohol well (something to do with enzymes and hormones)
Basically period of "fuck yeah, I'm drunk and it's awesome" is really short, while hangover is quite long and terrible.
So why would someone want to get drunk on regular basis with such biology?

snip

I have question about your avatar picture.
Who is it?
I know Yahtzee often uses this picture in his videos, but I don't recognize the person.

 

[Gentleman Adventurer]

Four islands off the coast of the Asian mainland...

...I have a boring soul -_-

 

[God's Clown]

Gorgeous women. I love me some Japanese women. I am not basing that off what anime chicks are like or anything either, I just find Japanese women to be the most attractive.

 

[TheBlueShotgun0]

This

Spoiler

Mainly because I have friends that talk about anime a lot, so that art style is very closely intertwined with the Land of the Rising Sun, at least in my mind. Second thing that comes up is the Senkaku Island Dispute, since I'm writing a paper on it.

 

[maxturbo211]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shishi-odoshi

one of these things. repeatedly filling up with water and then tipping over, falling and making that sound. over and over again.

 

[Entitled]

"That place that everyone pretends to be an expert of".


Seriously, this includes weeaboos, but also their detractors who love to throw around factoids about what what they are supposedly getting wrong.

It also includes the console gamers who write essays on "the Japanese mentality" based on stereotypes about the Wii, the racists who like to act like it's a country of pedophiles and rapists, the anime fans who are eager to exlain how the "Japanese otaku"'s taste is influencing the idustry, and everyone who once saw a global statistic of something where Japan had a notable spot (e.g.: birth rates, crime rates, suicide rates) and from that, deduced the whole country's sociology.

 

[D-Soul]

All the cool games they have....and not willing to share....
Samurais/Ninja's
Robots
Beautiful landscape
...the women...
the ability to act wacky, sane, and civilized at the same moment

 

[Entitled]

I always made the distinction that Otakus in Japan are people who are obsessed with one particular thing to the point that they wont leave home, preferring to spend almost all their time obsessing over whatever it is they are obsessed with. Its also generally used as an insult in Japan, essentially its like calling someone a "basement dwelling, nerd-fanboy".

For the record, this isn't how Japanese people actually use the word.

About 25.5% of the Japanese population self-identify as "otaku" [http://anime.mmgn.com/Articles/Anime-and-Japans-Population-Crisis], including the former Prime Minister Asou Tarou (on the account that he reads lots of manga [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taro_Aso#Manga_fan]), and the anime/manga/light novel/video game industry officially refers to itself as the "otaku industry".

It used to have a heavy negative connotation decades ago, and it still has some with the kind of douchebags who treat every sign of "otherness" as an insult, but that pretty much only makes it the Japanese equivalent of "nerd", including the part where it's getting cashed in on by the mainstream as a currently "hip" subculture.

 

[alimination602]

I think of a proud and ancient people. A nation who even in the face of nuclear fire stood firm and said to a world that would see them burn ?We will not yield, we will not falter, we shall rebuild?. A country which leads the world in efficient business and advanced computer technology, continuing a determined march to the melody of peace, prosperity and happiness for all.

Then I think about tentacle monsters molesting schoolgirls on subways.

 

[Souleks]

Weeaboos.

I loathe weeaboos.
.

just for fun...

is there a difference between weaboo and otaku?

There is none.
If you think you're an otaku then you are actually a weeaboo unless of course you live in Japan in which case you are a sad wreck and should go back to paying girls to dress up like maids and talk to you or sleep with your body pillow.

My initial reaction is "Oh god I have to try to hide my powerlevel."

 

[neonsword13-ops]

Persona 4. Because Persona 4 is awesome.

Second being anime because that, too, is awesome.

Here's proof:

 

[Nouw]

Its geographical position on the Earth . After that, Ultraman because my extended-family from Korea bought me lots of Ultraman stuff from Japan.

 

[Commissar Sae]

The meiji restoration. So sue me, I'm a historian and was pretty into Rurouni Kenshin back in high school.

 

[Muspelheim]

*Kraftwerk robo-voice* FU-KU-SHI-MA.

Also, delicious sushi. And cute but deadly fugu fish.

And tentacles, amongst other things.

 

[White_Lama]

Katanas

 

[SadakoMoose]

Oh Dear...
If it's not some kind of terrible sociological problem, then it's an unfortunate cultural oddity that will draw derision and rote comments like "oh Japan".
It's very tiresome.

 

[K84]

Alphaville.
Seriously, " Big in Japan" is the first thing on my mind.

 

[Olas]

I think of Tingle.

This is the face of Japan in my mind