Young people in China and Japan

China is close to Japan and two countries are both located in the East Asia. But these are two distinct country with its own culture, political systems and of course, people are different too. You can somehow tell the difference between Japanese and Chinese people. There are stereotypical facial features representing Chinese and Japanese people, and these are “stereotype” so it doesn’t mean anything. Some Chinese people have broader nose and bigger eyes. But there are many Japanese who have these facial features so I should not say that in general terms. But I think they look different because of their clothing, manners and basically how they carry themselves.

Modern Japanese youth often wear a make-up and dress in certain ways that show deep influence of western culture. I should say specifically that these young kids are influenced by American culture. Many Japanese kids like to dye their dark hair color to almost blond and to wear color contact lenses. I guess the standard of beauty has changed generally. The whiter you look, the better you look. I am Japanese so I know these ideas as facts. But what about Chinese young people?

Well, I see some Taiwanese and Hong Kongnese (I am not sure if this is the right way to say) young people dress like Japanese people who are influenced by American. So basically they are also westernized. Technically Taiwan and Hong Kong are both part of China, but it is in a political sense. But I hardly ever see Chinese young people from the mainland China bleach their dark hair and try to look like westerners. I am sure there are some Chinese kids who try to look like westerners but I hardly see them from the media and general population. I think celebrities represent pop culture, and I hardly see that serious western influence from Chinese media so I think my assumptions are somewhat accurate. And I think that is the main factor that helps you to tell Chinese people from Japanese people. We are still the same race technically, but how we carry ourselves make us look very distinct. I do not want to be offensive but many Japanese people foolishly believe that they look more westernized, thus more sophisticated. But I think it is important to have some integrity in our ow culture and standard of beauty which is unique to Asian people. In that sense, I think Chinese people are still maintaining their uniqueness.