You found that the Chinese weren't racist or sexist? I agree with you about Japan, but China was hardly enlightened. They were mostly just louder and more obnoxious, where the Japanese were overly formal and quiet.

Both cultures also had a lot of superstitions, like words or phrases you shouldn't say, or lucky or unlucky numbers.

One word: "propaganda."

Are you American and embarrassed about it?

Your entire post screams so

Japan has a very homogeneous population, so xenophobia and racism are quasi indistinguishable.

Both are bad though.

Just on a different level

They get an easier pass because their products are top-notch. Toyota basically invented Six Sigma/a globally used process for manufacturer defect elimination. A Japanese automaker invented QR codes. They have Nintendo, anime, etc. They changed and continue to impact the world in highly recognizable ways, not by merely cheap products (China), cheap labor (India), etc.

Japan cast cat girl, it was super effective. All knowledge of atrocities was erased from western nations.

I went there recently. The organization and efficiency are truly astounding. I felt like the best parts of Japan and the best parts of the US fused together could make a utopia. But it's never gonna happen because those best parts are direct results of the cultural mindset that leads to each one's dark ends as well. They're both sides of their respective coins, unfortunately...

I love their trains, the food is good, it's a beautiful country.

But also, holy shit, Japan has just never reckoned with its imperial past in the slightest.

If you ever see those tourism promotion photos of mt. Fuji with a pagoda in the foreground, that pagoda was built in the 50s, around the end of the US occupation, to commemorate soldiers who fought in essentially every war that imperial Japan got itself into. It's very clear political statement.

And I learned this, upon climbing that damn mountain, and reading the plaque in front of the pagoda, only to learn that it was a monument to imperialism the whole time

Police aren't likely to kill you over there. Just harass you if you're clubbing with their women.

I lived in Japan for 2 years. I had several expat friends with stories of going to the hospital, being told they were full, their Japanese wife showing up, and suddenly they have space. Other stories of legal disputes between a Japanese person and a foreign immigrant will always go to the Japanese person. Japanese culture is very non-confrontational, but don't think their brand of racism is safer. If we're comparing racism and deciding one is less bad than the other, we've already partially accepted that it has a place in society.