You're right. Also, I think lack of international exchange feeds back into lack of cultural acceptance. When everyone you know speaks the same language, follows

You're right. Also, I think lack of international exchange feeds back into lack of cultural acceptance. When everyone you know speaks the same language, follows the same cultural norms, etc., there is little incentive to consider the possibility that people who radically differ from you might offer great ideas and alternative lifestyles. A walled garden limits people's imaginations. Unfortunately, many Japanese seem to regard foreigners not as potential colleagues and a reservoir of ideas, but as mere cash cows for exporters to milk, and as "Gaijin" who somehow deserve less respect than the Japanese. The same happens in South Korea. There's an incredible amount of contempt for foreigners and foreign things, mostly among demographics that do not interact regularly with outside cultures. By contrast, in America, YC founders come from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds. It's common to see names that are obviously not English in origin. Diversity is one of the major strengths of a country like America, and one which relatively homogeneous countries like Japan cannot easily replicate. When your CTO is from Poland and your CFO is from India, you are kinda forced to think on a global scale.