Japanese women dream of the USA
DIMSDRIVE performed internet-based research involving 5,274 people in September of last year to find out which country’s citizens would people most want to marry. It is not stated whether or not the people interviewed were single or not.
The Asia versus the West split is quite noticeable in the men, but really striking amongst the women. I previously translated statistics regarding international marriages in Japan that shows that the ideals being expressed here do not seem to be realised.
On a slight tangent, I watched the last episode of an NHK English learning program which features an English-speaking Western blonde angel that prods a clueless office worker along the path to success at her job getting a date with her transferred from New York colleague, the ideal tall, muscular, tanned, well-coiffured white executive. The angel’s job was done because the glaikit Misaki finally pulled her man.
Q: Other than Japanese, which country’s people do you think would be good to have as a partner (husband or wife)? (Sample size=5,274, free answer)
Rank Votes 1 USA 1,144 2 Korea 505 3 UK 442 4 Italy 370 5 France 344 6 Australia 218 7 Germany 203 8 China 197 9 Canada 150 10 Russia 120 Q: Other than Japanese, which country’s people do you think would be good to have as a partner (husband or wife)? (By sex, free answer)
Rank MaleN=2,468 Votes Rank FemaleN=2,806 Votes 1 USA 368 1 USA 776 2 Korea 297 2 UK 347 3 China 174 3 Italy 278 4 France 134 4 France 210 5 Russia 117 5 Korea 208 6 Thailand 99 6 Australia 145 7 UK 95 7 Germany 131 8 Italy 92 8 Canada 99 9= Taiwan 73 9 Switzerland 47 9= Australia 73 10 Spain 34 First, looking at the East-West split - or more accurately, perhaps, the caucasian-Asian split (I’m not aware of any black Western role-models in Japan) we see that for men, 36% of the total votes were for Western wives versus 26% for Asian women, favouring the West (I’m including Russia, with Maria Sharapova as the popular image of the country) by just over a third. However for women there is a marked difference; about 74% in total choose the West (over 40% for the USA alone) versus a mere 7.4% for the East, a massive ten to one vote for Europe and the USA.
Next, looking at the detailed age breakdown, it’s only in the teenage girls group that the USA fails to top the charts, losing out to France and Korea, and equal with the UK. For men in their twenties, American women are preferred over the second-placed Korean women by almost 60%, and the Chinese are back in fifth, gaining just over a third of the number of votes of the USA. However, the older men get, the stronger the charms of the Asian neighbours become, with the gap at its smallest being just a mere three votes. Similarly, for men in their forties and over, Chinese women cut the gap from a third to about a half of the USA score.
For women, as they get older (ignoring the over sixty bracket which has a very small sample size, so may be rather inaccurate) the attraction to American men only get stronger; in their twenties, Americans get just under a quarter of the vote, but by their fifties, it surpasses three in ten. Despite the charms of the disturbingly Harry Potter-like Bae Yong Joon Korean men do not seem to be particularly favoured by the middle-aged demographic.
These two main trends noted above are perhaps reflections on Japanese society as much as on foreign stereotypes. The younger men hold images of themselves as charming the sophisticated Western woman, but as they age (and visit dodgy hostess bars…) they come to realise that perhaps only Asian women could accept their typical Japanese behaviour. For women, after having been around Japanese men for many, many years, they too may come to realise that the Western stereotypes of politeness and chivalry are the only things that could satisty them in marriage.
Bonus points if you can name the people pictured…
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed, or check out my weekly newsletter. Thanks for visiting!
Read more on:
Subscribe to feed
Send to mobile
Subscribe to 世論 What Japan Thinks newsletter
Richard said,
October 25, 2007 @ 17:14
I think alot of people are forgetting the phrase in the survey, “OTHER THAN JAPANESE, which country’s…” It’s not stating that the majority of Japanese women want to run off to America and marry any random guy. The Japanese do seem a bit xenophobic, calling people “gaijin”(outside people) and not granting many foreigners Japanese passoports even if they are 4th generation in Japan. So I doubt many of them are realistically planning on marrying foreigners.
I don’t know why there’s so much animosity towards america coming from this survey. I think it’s become an international pass time for so many other countries to just sit and complain about us. I guess it’s an ego boost to think that just because you stand above some stereotype that you’re somehow better superior to 300 million people.
Andy J said,
October 25, 2007 @ 22:26
I recently came back after one year in Osaka studying japanese. From my point of experience, i very rarely noticed any interest from japanese guys in wanting to be with a foreign girl. On the other hand, japanese girls (and the people im talking about are university students) were always on the look out for foreign guys. So it was easy for foreign guys to fin a japanese girlfriend or one night stand. Many japanese guys i talked to seemed to be more occupied by sports activities than worrying about studies or girlfriends. And the role of girlfriends still seem to be of a slightly submissive standard. It rarely seemed that a japanese young couple was “equal” in terms of how we understand it is the west. At least it seemed that many japanese girls did their best to look sexy, and sincerely have an interest in getting a boyfriend with a future prospect of marrying.
With this said, i should state that one of the various reasons for japanese girls wanting a foreign guy is their idea that foreign guys are more exotic and romantic and represents something else than the average japanese guy. But a night out in town will also reveal that many jap girls have a negative view on foreigners as well.
But this is just my impression after one year.
ViolentAJ said,
October 29, 2007 @ 08:42
Yeah Andy J. It’s funny that you have that name. You must have had a great time being White and all. Japanese girls don’t really like Black guys though.
Ace said,
November 6, 2007 @ 06:58
Christine… amen girl!
it is I said,
November 7, 2007 @ 05:24
Haha, ViolentAJ what did they do to you? Even witholdin’ the poonani once or twice isn’t supposed to piss you off that much. I’m black and I’ve never really had a problem (well, one of my boo’s uncle’s doesn’t like me). I lived in Japan (Okinawa) for a few years, and only got love from my jpn brothas and sistas. Maybe you’re ugly or something cause I had no problem gettin’ a Japanese girl. In fact, I can’t remember what I did to get one (which means I wasn’t tryin’ to get it, hit it, or do anything else to it). Even after me and the first one were done, didn’t take long before I got another one without trying, though this wasn’t in Okinawa. I’ve met my girl’s (boo) family, no problems there. Always was the one the japanese girls wanted to hang out with and talk to at work. The same for all my homies. Even in one of remote areas of Japan (Shimane), I still got love. Ibaraki, straight love. I got love wherever I went. Stop trippin and get that hate outta your blood…it’s bad for you.
onyx said,
November 10, 2007 @ 14:25
i’ll cosign that
ViolentAJ said,
November 11, 2007 @ 05:13
“it is I”, as a Black person, you need to realize that nobody of other races is your “brother”. Sure, a handful of non-Blacks might respect you, but you should never, e-e-e-ever, refer to non-Blacks as your brothers. They’ll backstab you in a heartbeat.
sun set watcher said,
November 11, 2007 @ 12:16
> it is i said,
sincere question for you. you say you’ve gotten much love….if it were the other way around, do you think that would make you a bad person? are you sayin that the people are perfect angels?
and as for the love you have recieved….how do you know its real? i am not hatin, just curious about it.
i’ve heard several stories about japanese having complexity/identity issues. they like the west and the pop-culture, yet hate it because they can’t be like it. some of the girls date black/foreign men just because its a novelty….or maybe because it just so happens to be “the in thing” at the moment…but if it were to fall off, would they still be there? not sure if its true love or not….then again, not sure if there’s such a thing outside of the true kingdom.
for the most part, its good to see people of other nationality coming together. unfortunately, its hard to tell if its true. And for whatever reason, some are seriously hated on. but by far i doubt they are perfect people.
it is I said,
November 12, 2007 @ 02:27
ViolentAJ,
My “brother” is any man who gives me respect. I could care less about skin color. Backstab me? You and I both know black people backstab each all the time. We’re cool with family, but once it’s outside blood, we do NOT treat each other like brothers. At least most don’t.
Sun set watcher,
Would it make me a bad person? No. I was responding sarcastically to ViolentAJ’s comments. Sorry you couldn’t read my tone of voice. I went back and read what I wrote, and I don’t remember saying that they were all angels. Real love? Are you talkin’ about “family” type love? What type of “real” love are you talkin’ about? Cause I don’t expect “real” love from anyone except those close to me(family). If that’s the love you were talkin’ about, then the answer’s definitely “NO.” For lack of a shorter description, I got respect and they treated me as a friend. That’s showin’ love to me.
As far as dating black men cause they’re a novelty, I’m sure TONS of them do. I know a few that do or are trying to. Doesn’t bother me. Whatever reason they wanna date black guys doesn’t matter, it’s the fact that they do want to date them that is counter to what AJ said about Japanese hating black people (and by the way he said it, I think he meant all Japanese). As far as the complexity issues aspect, name 1 country that doesn’t have some people with the same problems (I’m assuming you meant in your sentence that “some” Japanese had the problem).
Lastly, you’re right, some people are hated on for some reason or another. It happens everywhere. Doesn’t mean you can make brash generalizations based on limited cases.
sun set watcher said,
November 12, 2007 @ 23:04
yeah, i personally can’t understand what VAJ is talking about myself.
but i guess for the few who are accepted and fall into the fake novelty box, i guess there isn’t any problem(nothings wrong). however, from what i heard, in japan, ther majority of everyone does the same thing, therefore generalizations can be pretty accurate.
it is I said,
November 13, 2007 @ 04:01
I’m not sure what you mean by “few who are accepted.” I know a lot of people who’ve lived in Japan. The “few” you are talking about are the ones are aren’t accepted…and that’s very few. You’re right about making generalizations in japan, they can be pretty accurate. “Can” is the keyword. You have the make the right generalizations to be accurate. Saying Japanese hate black people is just as generalized as saying white people hate black people in America. If you’ve lived in a small town in the South for your entire life, you might say, “Yeah, white people hate black people in America.” But you and I both know (unless you live in that small town) that generalization is false (in general).
ViolentAJ said,
November 15, 2007 @ 07:28
**Abusive post deleted**
ViolentAJ, any more comments like that and you get chucked into the spam bin.
sun set watcher said,
November 23, 2007 @ 01:39
what i ment was the majority do the same thing. individualism or having a mind of your own isn’t encouraged. they get envious of people who look different then them. a friend of mine who teaches at a public highschool says the half japanese and half american/foreigner kids get it bad with the bullying.
i personally have found many to be decieving, sly, and souless, oftenly using cover ups for their real intentions.
I just found it inane to say ” i love hip-hop, my friends married to a black guy and i want one too! I like jz” u gotta be a jack a%% to fall for that! Unfortunately many do. suger coated racism.
all i know, they are gonna get theirs messing around with those whales in the ocean. and it will be totally justifiable. and killing dolphines wasn’t too cool either. why would anyone kill a dolphin? these animals are as intelligent as humans! Oh yeah, they look different. brutal barbarians. just one of the disturbing things about those people.excuse me, tryin not to generalize but god as my witness i have yet to meet anyone who could prove me wrong about them. i tell u the truth.
ViolentAJ said,
November 23, 2007 @ 08:29
sun set, you are right. Japanese people hate Black people in actuality, and their women put out to all non-Black races quite easily.
As far as dolphins and whales, who really cares about them? As a Black person, we must care about ourselves only. The whole world hates us, so we should hate the world, especially japanese!
sun set watcher said,
November 24, 2007 @ 03:30
God bless the U.S.A.
ViolentAJ said,
November 24, 2007 @ 06:00
Yes sun set watcher, we do need it. If the god that you speak of does exist, and is righteous, we need its blessing. The United States is in a horrible state of turmoil, and my Black brothers and I face the brunt of this decline. The USA and Canada are the only two places in the world in which a Black person can suceed. Japan would be nice, but a Black man cannot expect respect in that country.
sun set watcher said,
November 24, 2007 @ 10:13
then i guess they shouldn’t expect any going to the U.S. or any other country. i find it odd they don’t ever go threw half the stuff some foreigners experience in there contry. its as if they are welcome to go to other peoples homes yet they refuse to let others have a sense of comfort in theirs. such hypocrites.
sun set watcher said,
November 24, 2007 @ 11:49
VAJ,
i think there is a story you might find a bit interesting. there’s actually someone i know who was turned down on several occasions just because he wasn’t considered “black” enough. he’s a bit of a tiger woods. it was pretty messed up how they did him in the club. he got shot down by some chick who he later say that night chatting up with some african guy. trust me, the african guys are very successful with women there, and they aren’t even american. so if i were you i would not buy into the “they don’t like black guys” because it isn’t true. you should visit there and see for yourself. they love black guys.
ViolentAJ said,
November 24, 2007 @ 19:00
Well,y uo can look at my site (by clicking my name) and see that I have indeed been to Japan (twice). It was my dream to live there actually (I like the country, and I like the women).
I got laid only 4 times, but I have no gf. other races can pick up quite easily, but Blacks cannot. I have a handful of decent friends, but I must say that most Japanese do hate Black people.
Onyx said,
November 27, 2007 @ 03:18
sun set watcher said,
November 24, 2007 @ 11:49
*SNIP*
I’ve actually heard a few stories of that happening.. Not just because of the guys looks or skin color, because he was pretty dark. But the girl said ” you’re not black enough” like, as in the attitude. I Guess if she had the vocab she would’ve said something like “you’re not ghetto or gansta enough” lolol.. Ya its messed up that things like this happen, but we should all know that this happens wherever you go, people usually just are’nt so forward about it.. I’m not jus talking about race issues either i mean just pysical appeearace. We all have our preferances when it comes to looking for or finding a mate. If a guy walking up to a girl and a club and tries to holla, she could just give him the cold shoulder, tell him she was a bf or just be honest and say “you’re not tall,muscular,cute or rich enough for me”… See what i’m geting at??.. The girl in this story was rude for her comment say’n “you’re not black enough” but, she was just be’n strait forward and honest about what she was looking for that night…. Although, its still a messed up thing to say, im not sure how i would have reacted to that if i were in that situation.. Maybbe pull out my penis and then ask her “am i black enough for you now??” lol
ViolentAJ said,
November 24, 2007 @ 06:00
*snip*
“Japan would be nice, but a Black man cannot expect respect in that country.”
You stated in a post after this that you’ve been to Japan 2ice and that you like the country and the women.. Then, if as a black man you cant expect respect from Japan, why did you go there 2 times already?? and why do you still lik the country and the women???
ViolentAJ said,
November 24, 2007 @ 19:00
” got laid only 4 times, but I have no gf. other races can pick up quite easily, but Blacks cannot. I have a handful of decent friends, but I must say that most Japanese do hate Black people.”
i Checked your site, nice pic n drawings, but dude.. Seriously.. you are like a living oxymoron.. Seems like you distain these people because you THINK they hate alll blk people, you keep preaching about how racist and messed up thier culture is, yet, you may be just as infatuated with japanese or oriental cultures as teh rest of us posting in here.. You sound extremely confused (in a Hitler sort of way) misinformed, or stubburn.. Basiclly, your actions,words,beliefs and wants, just dont make scence.. To me anyways…
I find it funny that you keep useing the word hate.. I’ve never been to japan but, I doubt most Japense people have even had enough exposure to Blacks to develop a “HATE” for us.. I would be much more inclied to belive that SOME Japanese HATE Americains for drop’n the a-bomb on them, and i dont even know how true that statewment would be. But, i’m sure it would deffinately hold much more truth than Japanese people or women, HATE, black people. VAJ, on this site you’re single-handedly make’n us blacks sound uneducated, illogical, and racist..Please chill turning your opinions in extreme generalizations. You wound’nt get adressed so much if you began ur sentences with “I THINK Japanese people, blah blah blah”
ViolentAJ said,
November 27, 2007 @ 05:11
I am just informing the Black people. Talk to any Black guy in Japan and he’ll ytell you the same thing. Japanese girls prefer non-Black foreigners to Blacks. The whole world pretty much looks down on us Blacks and treats us as inferiors. It is sad when you see other races get pussy and women so easily while you have to work and you often fail.
Yes, I still like Japanese women. If that means that I will never get laid ever again in my life, then so be it. You can ridicule me and tell me how to live, but I don’t care. If I cannot get laid, I’ll live for anger and frustration.
I never said that ALL japanese hate Black people; I only said that MOST do. I have a handful of really decent friends over there (and friends of japanese descent here). I have also been laid 4 times there (but no GF, and other races can almost get laid at a snap there).
I am interested in the culture, but I am broken hearted that all other races gain respect while Blacks really don’t.
We Black people should be racist. The world hates us so we should hate them too. All throughout history, when Blacks have tried to strive forward we have been held back, outcasted, and hated while other races get along much easier. I would like to get along, but I know that I can’t. That said, I devote my life to the path of the Warrior. One day, the smiles will be wiped off of the faces of the non-Blacks. I just hope that it’s in my lifetime.
Onyx said,
November 28, 2007 @ 02:26
ViolentAJ said,
November 27, 2007 @ 05:11
“The whole world pretty much looks down on us Blacks and treats us as inferiors.”
YEs, you are correct, not just japanese people/women….
“You can ridicule me and tell me how to live, but I don’t care. If I cannot get laid, I’ll live for anger and frustration.”
Not try’n to tell you how to live, just the proper way how to state your opinions.
“I never said that ALL japanese hate Black people; I only said that MOST do”
Wow, you must have met and spoken with MOST japanese people on your 2 trips to Japan..
“I have also been laid 4 times there (but no GF, and other races can almost get laid at a snap there)”
Man, you’re baseing all this rage on your lack of Japanese pu$$y…last time you came back from Japan i remember you saying someingthing ti the effect of “the race war is over” just because you finally got some ass… Why,lolol why would you expect to have a girlfriend the the country that you dont live in?????? If you want a GF look for one here, find a japanese chick in Cali go to the gym a little, show some confidence and the pu$$y n GF’s will come to you.. But blame’n your lack of Japanese girls on other race’s, in my opinion, is stupid n childish.. Just like rasist people.. stupid.
“I am interested in the culture, but I am broken hearted that all other races gain respect while Blacks really don’t.”
Complaing about it isnt gonna make n e 1 respect you, you must make people respect you, its up to you tomake an impression on other people to gain thier respect, but if all you do is bitch about how everything is other peoples/race’s fault, you loose respect, so in the case of respect, i think, you are ur own worst enemy. If you want peoples views to chang eof black people, you gotta start with yourself…..Quit bitch’n and do something about it.
“We Black people should be racist”
Ya, that’ll do us all alot of good lololololololololololololol.
“All throughout history, when Blacks have tried to strive forward we have been held back, outcasted, and hated while other races get along much easier. I would like to get along, but I know that I can’t.”
This is true,but blacks are’nt the only ones who’ve had it bad.. And WTF have you been through?? Slavery??? Nahh… Black people before us strived and died so that you could walk aropund and bitch about how phucked up teh world treats us, you shuold be thankful that blacks before you who had REAL SERIOUS ISSUES (not just a lack of Japanese ass) died so that you could walk around bitch’n about how phucked up $hit is today… Otherwise, you’d already be hang’n from a noose….lol As if you’ve been through some$hit…
“That said, I devote my life to the path of the Warrior.”
lolololol right right. So warriors do alot of complain’n and no act’n.. I was unaware of this.
U know what.. i’m done responding to you’re comments. why do i even try to shed light on someone who dwells on his bleak view of the world so tightly. Ur just too immature, in my opinion, to enlighten.
ViolentAJ said,
November 28, 2007 @ 11:49
I was more interested in living in Japan, actually. The japanese girls that come to Amerikwa are here to make love to whites, latrinos, and all other non-Black races. A Black guy has absolutely no chance in Amerikwa to get a japanese girl.
Intelligent Warriors gather more Warriors for strength in numbers. Being a Warrior isn’t all about brutality; there is strategy involved as well.
I have not gone through the hardships of my ancestors, but to see all other races get along while we still have to settle for less is disconcerting. I had just gotten laid when I said that, but now I want more, and when I see the smiling non-Black races happy and content, it fills me with anger. It’s not just japanese girls, it’s respect, money, power, etc. I know that any other non-Black gains respect while for Blacks, no matter what we do and how many times we prove ourselves we will always be put down and treated as inferior. I’m sick of it, and I believe that Blacks should not treat this situation with kindness and cordiality. We Blacks should be just as mean and viscious as everyone else is to us. They say that we are savages, let’s show them the true savagry that we are capable of.
Like some latrino said: “I’m rather die on my feet than live on my knees.”
Mark said,
December 1, 2007 @ 03:11
1) Why do these discussions always turn into issues between Black and White? I see it time and time again, a discussion about Japan, especially about Japanese women and their dating habits, will inevitably turn to whether or not they will date anything but White. It’s irrelevant. There are way too many Black men with Japanese women for there to be even a question about it, EVEN THOUGH the numbers of Black (American) men in Japan are small.
2)If I had a dollar for every guy who claims he has his pick of Japanese women I’d be a millionaire. 99% of the guys saying this are blatant liars. By far, most Japanese women are interested in Japanese men. There are a relatively small number of Japanese women interested in foreigners. Consider that maybe 3/4 of those can hold a conversation in English. Obviously if you can speak JApanese you’ll do better.
3)To be blunt, I often saw foreign guys with unattractive Japanese women on the RARE occasions I saw them together at all. However, on the web, you would think every White guy is dating an Aya Ueto look alike. Since the numbers of Japanese women that non-Japanese speaking foreigners can get with is small, women can afford to be selective. Men will be taking what they can get.
4)I heard all the horror stories about how Japanese people would treat a Black person. None of them turned out to be true in my case. I’m quite certain that there are people filled with misperceptions about Black people as there are anywhere.
5)Keep in mind that people have their own axes to grind when discussing issues like this. Some White people may not like Black people themselves and want to keep alive a notion that Japanese don’t like Black people either. Some people may have had a bad experience in Japan and want everyone else to think they will experience it too. Some people are just trolls.
6)No one is going to have the same experience because in the end you’re dealing with individuals, not groups. I have read some things in this thread I’ve seen repeated elsewhere, and in a couple of cases I read experiences similar to mine. Most of the time I wonder if I’ve even been in the same dimension as some people in this thread.
Onyx said,
December 1, 2007 @ 07:57
Mark said,
December 1, 2007 @ 03:11
*snip*
Thank you soo much for posting that.