Introduction

Teaching about Japanese society and culture in a Western university is probably different from teaching about any other country, whether Eastern or Western. That is because many of the students who enrol in a course on Japanese society and culture do so because they like Japan. From my experience, and as I will elaborate later, I would venture to say that the case of liking a country before studying it is more likely to be stronger in the case of Japan than other countries. This is probably the case when the course is about Japanese culture rather than Japanese politics or economy. Many students know something about Japanese culture but little about Japanese politics or economy, except that Japanese electronic products and cars have a very good reputation for quality. For university-aged students, the biggest area of contact with things Japanese is popular culture, especially anime (Japanese animation) and manga (Japanese comics). In Australia, where more Asian languages are taught at high school level than in any other Western countries (Japan Foundation, 2000, 2004), the encounter with Japanese language before starting university is also an important supporting factor. These same factors also operate in East Asian countries so a positive image of Japan is also often present there. However, there are other factors that operate in East Asian countries that diminish the positive image of Japan and these also influence students’ attitudes. In other words, though not unique, Australia is a rather special environment to teach about Japan.