Encouraging Signs of a More International Socialization of Japanese Kids
When the author was attending elementary school in Japan as a child, the concept of catering for foreigners within both the school environment and community was practically unheard of. While foreigners have already been not rare even in a provincial city like Kanazawa by the early 1990s, the general mainstream society basically pretended that if the foreigners are treated not any differently from the Japanese, they will assimilate into Japanese culture in no time. As much as many foreign residents treated to go along with such idealistic wishes of the Japanese majority, to accept a new culture while abandoning an old is difficult.