In Australia students are taught in school that Japan is an Asian country. But, I have seen newspaper articles in Japan debating whether Japan is an Asian or Western country. I've seen similar articles debating whether Australia is an Asian or Western country in Japan.
This year, the Opposition Leader of an Australian political party came up with a plan to make Australia the food bowl of Asia if he is elected. There has been some academic talk about whether Australia is an Asian or Western country. I think if you asked most Australian people, they would say that Australia is a Western country. But, the first time I heard of the debates about whether Australia is an Asian or Western country, I was a little confused because I had an image of an older Western USA, with cowboys in mind when I thought of the word "western". There are not many cowboys in Australia.
Yesterday, I was hanging out with a friend who has heritage ties with Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey. He asked me if I'd ever eaten Asian food before.
"I just told you that I'd lived in Japan," I laughed.
He thought seriously for a moment. "I thought that Japan was a Western country," he said.
My Chinese Tutor is also under the impression that Japan is more of a Western country than an Asian country.
Is Australia or Japan an Asian or Western country ~ what do you think?
I think "Western" is as much of an artificial construct as "Asian", honestly. Especially if we take the European view of "Asian" as including the subcontinent and the Middle East. I don't think you'll find many similarities between Cambodia and Azerbaijan. Speaking of, the whole idea of splitting the same continent into Asian and Western is absurd. I have a Turkish friend who talks about European Turkey and Asian Turkey. Apparently it depends on the neighbourhood!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how this abstract idea came about - of splitting the world up into which countries are Asian, Middle Eastern, Western ect. It's interesting, I guess...
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