oh my gosh, I'm so so sorry if I ever made anyone on this thread creeped out by my comments. I swear, I just think Japan is a really cool country, and its culture is fascinating- like studio ghibli, and many of the things there (especially in Tokyo) are very innovative and unique. it was never meant to be creepy, I just meant to talk about how a lot of people I know really like Japan for studio ghibli, and its natural beauty, and also some of the really modern vending machines. 

sorry again, I didn't mean to make anyone feel uncomfortable. 

I'm not Japanese, but I am Korean and I think that the West's newfound obsession with East Asian countries, namely Japan and South Korea is really interesting (I also find it quite funny, because those two countries really hate each other). I agree that it's partially because of how relatively new Japanese and Korean industrialization and modernization is; my dad went to Korea when he was my age and the economy was really bad, completely different than how it is now.

Another thing I think is: certain aspects of East Asian culture that the West really likes are mirroring Western ideals (in my opinion). Let's take K-pop- those idols don't naturally look like that, they all (or most of them, at least) have surgeries to make their eyes bigger and jaws less wide and dye their hair, etc, making them look 'less Asian' and 'more Western' (Western/white features are considered 'more attractive' to a lot of East Asians, from what I've seen). They do songs that fit in with Western pop, some with english lyrics. They're meant to be appealing to the West.

I don't know all the reasons, but I thought that I'd throw my two cents in :)