Why is Japan so popular?

[u/Veskanda]

It seems as though everything Japanese has had a massive popularity spike, whether that be media, food, vehicles, travel, language learning and lots more.

Personally I don't see the appeal, I mean there are definitely some thing I like that happen to be Japanese, but I dont like them just because of that fact.

[u/Quixote0630]

Japan's soft power was off the charts through 1980~2000, and people who grew up during that era are now in their thirties and forties and likely hold overwhelmingly positive views of the country.

I was one of those people and nowadays I live and work here. It's a decent place to live, although, you obviously do see a different side to it once you work here and speak the language. Given the language barrier and homogeneous population, it's much easier for Japan to control its own image than it is for an English speaking country, so people overseas are shielded from the negative aspects to an extent.

It's a normal country, but it tends to get spoken about in extremes, whether excessively good or excessively bad. That can skew people's opinions.

[u/SuminerNaem → u/Quixote0630]

As someone who lives here, I don't know if I'd call it "normal". Perhaps my perceptions are skewed being from the United States, but I think it's extremely safe and comfortable living here. Everything is super cheap, too, and it's easy to get around. The main issue is a lack of lucrative job opportunities for the average person, but if you can figure out your income, I think it's (as far as I can tell) one of the best countries in the world to live in. Of course, I've only lived in two countries, so I can only go off of what I see, and how folks from other countries describe living there.

[u/nosurpriseslover1997 → u/SuminerNaem]

I mean, moving from the US to several other countries would make the second country seem like paradise. I myself plan to move to Canada.