I don't have much interest in Japan or Japanese culture, so I don't really have much in the way of bias or preconceived notions on the subject. In the last few

I don't have much interest in Japan or Japanese culture, so I don't really have much in the way of bias or preconceived notions on the subject. In the last few years my Japanophile flatmate has brought multiple Japanese people into our home for short term (couple of months) cohabitation. I've also noticed what to me felt like a lack of interest in interpersonal depth or closeness, with myself and others. Conversations stayed rote, surface level, and formal - though flatly cheerful. I often felt like I was "stressing an introvert," was suddenly oddly conscious of the other's sense of privacy, and only got polite awkwardness in response to attempts to be open and build rapport. I just chalked it up to cultural differences.