There are a lot of misconceptions about Japan and Japanese people...

First, in response to Ben's comment, most Japanese people really don't understand war and conflict... today. For nearly 60 years, Japan's been without an official army. The whole thing with their "Self-defense forces" and if that's really an army or not is another post. Most Japanese people are under the delusion that their Self-defense forces are not a military force. (Most Japanese people actually think their self-defense forces are more like a relief aid structure... never mind the fact that they're armed and trained in military weaponry.) Japanese people haven't had a military casualty in nearly 60 years. With the exception of those old people, the WWII vets, Japanese people can't understand the concept of war. The reason? In that 60 year time span, the schools have indoctrinated their children with the "Peace always" mantra, mostly out of shame from the atrocities they committed in WWII and well, with losing WWII. It's kinda strange actually. Japan just recently sent some of their self-defense forces to Iraq. Many Japanese people fear that this may be a step in the direction of re-establishing their armed forces. It's like they're afraid of themselves... afraid of what they might do if they have an army.

Second, the Japanese flag is practically nowhere to be found. It doesn't fly on the school flag pole. It doesn't fly inside a single classroom. It doesn't fly outside the city hall. It doesn't fly anywhere. Apparently, those images of lines and lines of people waving those small little Japanese flags when someone important comes to Japan from another country... is staged. I asked around, and what I found is that before the guest comes, and more importantly, before the video cameras roll, designated people come, handing out the mini flags to the surrounding people. In my 2+ years of living in Japan, I don't think I've seen the Japanese flag flying anywhere. I've seen it on occasion in the corner of a room like the principal's office, but I haven't seen it on a flag pole where all can see.

Third, Japanese people eat meat. There's the misconception that Japanese people will (or can?) only eat Kobe beef which goes at something like $150/steak. Although meats are typically a bit more expensive here than say... oh, Costco in America, it's not too bad, and the selection is mostly there. Beef, pork, chicken, lamb. It's there... especially here in Hokkaido. Getting the cuts of meat I expect, however, is a little different, as I found out when I was preparing for the BBQ back in the summer. Anyway, meat, especially among the younger generations (that is, under 60, yes, in Japan, if you're not retired, you're considered to be in the younger generations) is eaten quite often, and in many cases is preferred over fish!

Fourth, not all Japanese people know how to do Karate. Actually, very few do. Japanese people were very quick to point this out to me. But upon further investigation, I found that nearly all men and boys know at least the basics of Judo. They learn it in school for PE. In the meantime, the girls are sent to home ec where they learn how to sew and cook among other things. Speaking of which, are there any high schools in America with home ec as a mandatory class anymore? At El Cerrito, I don't think they even offered it as an elective.