Are the Japanese superficial, ignorant, and stupid?

Many Westerners have the idea that Japanese people are the smartest on earth. It seems somewhat controversial, but today I want to break this paradigm and show a different point of view that portrays some Japanese as superficial, ignorant, and foolish.

I even feel that this article will generate some controversy, so I have to shout several times for readers not to generalize my words. I am not defining anything or saying that Japan is this or that. If you disagree with my words, I also disagree! There are thousands of different viewpoints and situations. No human being is the same…

Do not read this article thinking that I am talking about all Japanese people. Stop being irrational! Do not generalize my words!

Be careful not to generalize: People often label Japanese as unhappy because of the suicide rate, which currently is only 18 people out of every 100,000. So, understand that when I call Japanese foolish, I am talking about 18 people for every 100,000 inhabitants.

Why did I choose the word foolish?

I want to apologize for using the word “foolish“, but I believe this word is more eye-catching and impactful; I do not intend to insult anyone. It is just a reasoning word; I could simply use “not intelligent“, but that would not have the same effect, nor is it even searched on Google. Among all the words opposite to intelligent, foolish was the one I found least offensive.

Previously, I wrote about the intelligence of the Japanese. Where I state that there is no difference in IQ; Japanese are just hardworking and follow the rules. There are cultural aspects such as language, cuisine, and education that help develop intelligence further.

Indeed, Japanese people are very intelligent, but if we look from another perspective, we will understand that they reach an extreme level of ignorance, superficiality, and foolishness in various aspects. Again, we are not talking about anyone’s IQ, but rather their lifestyle, nothing very different from most Brazilians and people around the world.

Foolish, ignorant, and superficial people exist all over the world. However, this site talks about Japan and the Japanese, which is why we are discussing them. We just want to point out some perceptible aspects of the Japanese for us to reflect and reason.

There really are no foolish people, just people who do not have the same level of information as others.

The Ignorance of the Japanese and the COMFORT ZONE

Everyone knows that Japanese people have problems socializing with each other; their shyness, rigidity, fear, and lack of initiative cause many Japanese to live away from society in a kind of comfort zone and solitary routine.

The lack of communication and the comfort zone is one of the things that makes a person ignorant in many aspects of life. They are unaware of many things around them and do not delve into areas that are not of their interest.

Remember that ignorant does not mean a bad person. An ignorant person can also be someone who is unaware of the existence of something, who is not aware of something, who lacks certain knowledge.

Many Westerners have a distorted idea that every Japanese knows how to handle technology and the internet, but there are still people who use fax machines and flip phones. Technology does not dominate Japan as people imagine.

Japanese are intelligent in what interests them, but they do not make an effort to do something they do not know. Brazilians are known for inventing solutions, but Japanese prefer to pay plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and other professionals to perform simple tasks that they themselves could do.

I witnessed this when I was on a train going to the airport. A signal fell in front of the track, and the trains stopped for over 3 hours. I noticed the guards there for hours just looking at the signal instead of doing something. They did not let us out and did nothing. The signal was not even big; from my perspective, it could have been gathered by about 5 people and removed from the track, but they preferred to keep us stuck and miss the flight rather than resolve it or let us walk 50 meters to the station.

FUTILITIES – Are Japanese SUPERFICIAL?

For many, frivolities and other trivial and superficial things are characteristics of foolish people. That is why we have separated some aspects and curiosities related to some Japanese that show these characteristics.

Those who know Japanese people superficially know that their topics are quite generic and often involve food, money, or sex. I have come across several times with Japanese live streams on Instagram where they were simply eating something.

Many Japanese simply avoid intellectual debates and discussions. Although Japan is the country of technology, most Japanese cannot even handle a computer properly, often due to lack of interest.

We can notice some cultural customs that may scare those who do not know their culture. Even in the language, Japanese people repeatedly use the same adjective, use many onomatopoeias, and speak loudly (I think that’s cool).

Japanese people tend to think collectively; this is good, but it can be bad sometimes. They can be easily manipulated for good or for bad. They are easy to fall for advertisements and make impulse purchases.

Superficial – Refers to something light, basic, weak, frivolous, quick, external. These are things whose knowledge is basic, simple, and elementary.

For you? What does it mean to be foolish?

For many, the information presented in this article has no relation to foolishness, although this is a very common and diverse slang. Apparently, in this article, I only wrote about the lack of dedication to knowledge of some Japanese.

However, I personally have gone through several occasions where I lost patience with the lack of understanding of some Japanese, but I also lose that patience with Brazilians regularly. It is difficult to make people reason and understand.

There are some aspects in Japanese people that some also consider as foolishness. For example, excessive shyness and embarrassment, social phobia, perversion and fetishes, beliefs, and many others. However, this type of idea is subjective and depends on the point of view.

Those who have a different opinion from ours are always labeled as foolish. Another aspect I observe in Japanese people is that many do not have their own opinion and are easily influenced.

A positive aspect of the Japanese alienation to the system is that they hardly try to stuff worms in your head or force you to think like them, as most Brazilians do. There, it’s a “who cares what you do,” and that is good.

It may be wrong for me to say this since things in Brazil are also more or less like that. However, there is a Japanese proverb that says that the one who stands out gets hammered, so it is difficult for anyone to express their own opinion in Japan; they are taught to follow things as they are.

In other words, whether to consider a person foolish or not will depend on our point of view. In your opinion, what makes a person foolish? Do you think Japanese people are foolish or intelligent? What aspects of intelligence do you appreciate most in a person?

In this article, we talked about the Japanese, but all cultures have superficiality, frivolities, and foolishness. What about other countries or us Brazilians? Have you stopped to do a self-analysis of our attitudes? Am I being irrational?

If you liked this line of reasoning, don’t forget to share and leave your comments regarding these questions we just mentioned. We also recommend reading other articles from our site.