When speaking to the Japanese Senseis about their attitude towards the United States, they all generally had a positive attitude. All of the Senseis that I spoke with were quite familiar with the US because they are currently living and working/studying here and have done so before. One of our Senseis is actually Japanese-American and was raised primarily in the United States. Therefore, in a way, he resides in both “worlds” and is able to see both the good and the bad in each. He did express some disappointment that occasionally when he visits Japan because he looks more “American” than Japanese, native Japanese people that he encounters in public (e.g., cashiers, etc.) are more likely to speak to him in English first even though he is fluent in Japanese. In America, that is less likely to happen.
Another Sensei talked about how she eventually became an American citizen after living and working in the US for so many years. She spoke positively of American society and its ability to more easily permit foreigners to acquire citizenship. Another Sensei talked about her experience of working in America for part of the year and then working in Japan for the rest of the year. She is a graduate student in Japan, but a Japanese teacher in the US. Her chief complaint was actually about taxes. She has to pay taxes in both countries so she views that as a burden and wishes there was a way to harmonize this process in such a way that would allow her to keep more of her paycheck. Another Sensei that I spoke with currently works as a lecturer at a US university and really loves the opportunities to travel to different states and visit different cities. She enjoys the variety of cultures and peoples that exist in America.