Dumb, phony and boring to the point of tears: Shows that ask foreign tourists what they like about Japan

This article is refreshingly accurate and frank, and pretty much sums up my feeling about Japanese TV- ESPECIALLY the title:

Dumb, phony and boring to the point of tears: Shows that ask foreign tourists what they like about Japan

Dumb, phony and boring to the point of tears is exactly what Japanese TV is. It's a waste of electricity and brain power.

Does anyone actually watch them?

"Television is chewing gum for the eyes."

Yawn.

I was contacted by a production company responsible for the most popular of these inane shows. They wanted to follow me around for a day or two.

I told them no thanks but I’d be happy to film my day and then sell them the footage. It was during the pandemic so they were desperate for any gaijin content and quickly agreed.

I made quite a killing off them for relatively little inconvenience.

I was approached by one of these shows back in the 90s. They asked me the same innane questions mentioned in this article.

Talento: What surprised you about Japan?

Speed: There aren't any garbage cans anywhere and nowhere to sit down. There are lots of smokers everywhere but no ashtrays so lots of cigarette butts in the shrubs and on the ground. (This was just a year after the Aum incidents.)

T: Do you like Japanese food?

S: Yeah, I love the gyoza, ramen and American dogs here.

T: What do you like about Japan?

S: The Amur-ah girls with their silk shirts, mini-skirts and knee-high go-go boots. They're gorgeous!

I bet my buddy that they wouldn't air me after those answers and I was right. We watched the episode and every person they showed had the stock, predictable, and of course, all positive comments.

A major TV and newspaper wanted me to be in a video about the city I lived in. At the end of about four days of filming, they just said: "Thank you". Then I realized they expected me to work for free while everyone else was well paid.

I informed them they could not use the video unless they had my written permission. They didn't like that but they spent a few million on the production. They paid up and paid well in the end.

Foreigners are not always dumb.

I’d love to tell my story on national TV in Japan, the nitty gritty, the cons over the pros, but Japanese people in general don’t enjoy the truth about their negative issues, so that’s out the window. I wrote a book instead:) Reviews are interesting, the most common one, ‘Telling people how it really is’, but as I say in my book, we all have our own truths. 18 years from the early 90s through the 2000s, a very different time from what it is now my friends tell me. I do miss my old Gaijin Gamers website friends though;)

Dumb, phony and boring 

Yup! That says it all about the popular Japanese TV personalities. Who really cares?

Sounds like it's only about putting the least controversial most inane thing on air, so they were spot on.

Let's face it, there's no benefit to it being of quality to them.

I got caught by a spin off of the *Why You Come to Japan" folks at Fukuoka airport.

Their eyes lit up when I said I'd come to meet my fiancé who I'd met on the Internet, but my acting skills soon ran out and they quickly sussed I was having them on.

What country would bring tourists on to talk about how much they dislike the country? Seems pretty stupid if you think a show like that would be popular anywhere.

StrangerlandToday  11:30 pm JST

What country would bring tourists on to talk about how much they dislike the country? Seems pretty stupid if you think a show like that would be popular anywhere.

Obviously it wouldn't but that's not really the issue. The point is that the "what do you like about Japan" question is pretty inane and insipid, and it's always going to generate the same kinds of responses, so it's an indication of how tedious and formulaic Japanese TV is. They just resort to this kind of thing when they can't think of anything better to put on, and their jobs and salaries are secure anyway so they have no incentive to try to think of anything better.

The point is that the "what do you like about Japan" question is pretty inane and insipid, and it's always going to generate the same kinds of responses, so it's an indication of how tedious and formulaic Japanese TV is

The Japanese, so unique in producing formulaic TV that people of the country enjoy, right? No other country does that, right?

hey just resort to this kind of thing when they can't think of anything better to put on, and their jobs and salaries are secure anyway so they have no incentive to try to think of anything better.

Or maybe they put it on, because like in other countries where they do the same thing, the people of the country like to hear outside opinions from people who like their country.

Mind blowing concept, right?

Or do you have any proof that your conclusion has any basis in reality?

What country would bring tourists on to talk about how much they dislike the country? Seems pretty stupid if you think a show like that would be popular anywhere.

I think that a show that only asks tourists what they like about the country would also be unpopular anywhere.

These kind of shows are an insight into the pysche of the Japanese people. They are almost a cry for help.

Why the cynicism? Why not take tourists’ positive comments on face value? Sure it’s boring but Japanese TV isn’t made for foreigners who live in Japan.

Part of Japanese culture is to be polite, so it isn't surprising that they edit out negative statements from the show.

I found it extremely frustrating when my Japanese coworkers would say "it is difficult", rather than saying "no, it is impossible". "Difficult" things can be overcome in the English use of the word and it doesn't usually convey that office politics is involved as the only reason why it cannot be done. Difficult things can be overcome usually, but not in Japan, it seems. That was my experience.

Just tell me the bad news and be straight about it, already. I don't need/want all the subtle innuendo for negative things. Just say them so it is out in the open. Smile when you say it, if you must.

He he he...I'm on some tourist clip on a local beach...you see me pointing at another section of the bay.... I'm actually saying to the interviewer.... "I like to drink beer over there as well, it's shady "

StrangerlandSep. 17  11:47 pm JST

"The point is that the "what do you like about Japan" question is pretty inane and insipid, and it's always going to generate the same kinds of responses, so it's an indication of how tedious and formulaic Japanese TV is"

The Japanese, so unique in producing formulaic TV that people of the country enjoy, right? No other country does that, right?

Sorry, what's your point? Do you think I was implying that TV in other countries is any better or worse? If so I'm not sure how you got that idea.

"hey just resort to this kind of thing when they can't think of anything better to put on, and their jobs and salaries are secure anyway so they have no incentive to try to think of anything better."

Or maybe they put it on, because like in other countries where they do the same thing, the people of the country like to hear outside opinions from people who like their country.

In which other countries do they do the same thing, and what do the viewers think of them?

Or do you have any proof that your conclusion has any basis in reality?

Didn't you read the article?

Why the cynicism? Why not take tourists’ positive comments on face value? Sure it’s boring but Japanese TV isn’t made for foreigners who live in Japan.

Then they shouldn't try to force foreigners to pay for it.

KaowaiinekochanknawToday  10:38 am JST

Why the cynicism? 

Read what the director in the article says about why they choose to do these kinds of segments.

jamplassToday  12:55 am JST

Sure it’s boring but Japanese TV isn’t made for foreigners who live in Japan.

Who is it made for then? There's nothing in the article to indicate that Japanese people actually want to watch this stuff, or enjoy it.

Well, almost every Japanese person I have ever talked to about these kinda programs seems to believe they are a fair and honest reflection of foreigners' impressions of Japan, so maybe they work to give narcissistic supply.

> StrangerlandSep. 17 11:30 pm JST

What country would bring tourists on to talk about how much they dislike the country? Seems pretty stupid if you think a show like that would be popular anywhere

You bring them on for an honest opinion and take the bad along with the good. Believe it or not, the truth is popular in a lot of places. You butter up the natives all day long and they continue believing bs and the foreigner caricature stays the same: We're all the same drones droning on about the greatest place ever and the place has no flaws so nothing needs changing.

I have never lived in a household with a TV, my parents just could not be bothered with the rubbish on it, and my girlfriends parents are the same, no TV. Yes, I have seen exerts out and about but they were mostly news or panel show things. We watch a lot of YT everyday and many made by Japanese people, most are very good, even the ones showing Japanese manufacturing in process. We almost only watch S. Korean or Japanese K drama's every night and have done for many years now. I have never seen a USA TV film or TV series.

Thankfully any time I've been to Japan the cameras have been absent... hopefully I can avoid them this year too. Last thing I want is to be on Japanese TV. I was interviewed by a local paper once at a festival... but the questions were all related to the festival, and where I was from... which was nice :)

I am surprised there was a need to describe things that are obvious about these shows, next they are going to publish an article about how the guests of "dokkiri" shows are all well aware of the supposed surprises or how sometimes the food they try in travel programs is actually mediocre or bad even if they say it is super delicious.

virusrexToday  05:53 pm JST

...or how sometimes the food they try in travel programs is actually mediocre or bad even if they say it is super delicious.

I see these kinds of programmes as thinly-disguised commercials for restaurants and hotels, so guests putting on startled expressions and exclaiming "oishi!" or "umai!" just seems to be part of the formula.

virusrex

... or how sometimes the food they try in travel programs is actually mediocre or bad even if they say it is super delicious.

Actually, there's one celebrity who is pretty truthful when he thinks a dish is mediocre, although I've never seen him say something was downright bad. I don't know his name. But, he's rather tan, and I think his father was a famous baseball player. He's the only honest one I've seen on one of those shows. Not that I watch a helluva lot of them.

Spot on

Japanese have an inferiority complex and love to hear foreigners’s reactions to Japan. TV shows like this just tap into that common feeling.

That being said - i do not think it is unusual for a small country like Japan to feel like this.

I say let them have their comfort food!

Japanese have an inferiority complex and love to hear foreigners’s reactions to Japan. TV shows like this just tap into that common feeling.

As poor Japan gradually becomes a reality, Japan has started to completely de-industrialize, de-invest in science and technology as well as education, and shift focus towards a services economy (primarily prostitution). You now can have Japanese prostitutes at cheaper prices than anywhere else in the world, and the situation has attracted the attention of US immigration control.

Japan is pushing the agenda of selling assets to foreigners and having its women/entertainers make money through entertaining foreigners. This is the result of years of Koizumi/Abe leadership!

Does anyone actually watch them?

My wife (Japanese). I don't see any value to those programs; especially those about eating against the clock. Who cares? (other than my wife and maybe my kids)

I mean I get it from a tv perspective, you only want the overwhelming positive energy from foreign visitors. But like we all know it’s curated to heck. Also outlets only go to the same 3 places, only choose the most foreign to interview aka their image of American or European, +1 if they are blonde!

it’s really uninteresting stuff and lacks any attempt to make a decent segment. The daily news shows obsession with “look even foreigners like the thing!” Feels like something from 50 years ago and I figured it would end with Covid but it’s back in its full, change the channel until it’s over glory

Chico3

My wife (Japanese). I don't see any value to those programs; especially those about eating against the clock. Who cares? (other than my wife and maybe my kids)

My wife loves much of that crap too. Although, lately, she seems to be tiring of it. She has shown some annoyance at the sheer number of these shows, leaving nothing for her to watch. But, if it's in a part of Japan she's interested in, such as our city or a nearby one, or a possible vacation destination, she'll want to watch.

She still watches a ton of crap J-TV with their garish scenery and rows of seated "comedians" and "talents", yelling and hitting each other over the head. But, at least she also watches decent streaming dramas and movies with me. Sometimes, though, she declines some US/UK comedies with me because "they're too silly". Oh, the irony.

I really feel like the incessant amount of attention foreigners receive in Japan is deeply discomforting. I often wonder why they are always asking us how long we're planning to stay here, if we have many Japanese friends, if we like dating Japanese people, whether or not we like natto, what Japanese sweets we've tried, ect. A lot of Japanese people, especially those who have been drinking, often feel the need to comment on things like my height, shape, or my body hair. Don't they realize this behavior is unwarranted and rude?

As a person who's lived here for some time, I kind of cringe when people approach me because I wonder if it's just going to be the same old conversation all over again.

Can we talk about something more interesting? Like movies, music, or sports? Cars or motorcycles? How about what we were interested in during school? Anything besides the same ten questions.

Unfortunately I feel like when Japanese people realize how uncomfortable they're making people and how weird they actually come off, rather than improving their social skills they simply stop talking to foreigners at all.

I think TV in general has lost its charm, I rarely watch anything, even from overseas. However, I have a theory that one reason not mentioned in the article is that unlike foreign television shows with larger budgets, they can't really sell the content anywhere else, so it is disposable and intended for one broadcast.

Like a lot of things here in Japan, there is no particular incentive to change anything. The budget for the year gets approved and they just make the same old stuff year after year. If they can attract lucrative sponsors, they can spend a little more, which is what happens at New Year (captive audience), but even so, there are tried and tested formulae that they can bank on as being 'safe' programming with broadest appeal.

I’ve long suspected Japanese TV producers of misrepresenting comments from foreign interviewees. Shady at best, as far as I am concerned.

And don’t get me started on programmes showing different countries etc. Many only show something like that if there’s a Japanese connection in the first place.

I was told by one young lady during a private lesson, 'You don't smell'. I suppose she had been given to believe that foreigners all smell. The only reply I could muster was 'Thank you'.

Dumb, phony and boring to the point of tears: Shows that ask foreign tourists what they like about Japan

Makes me wonder about the foreigners who visit Japan!

Negative NancyToday  04:51 pm JST

If they can attract lucrative sponsors, they can spend a little more, which is what happens at New Year (captive audience), but even so, there are tried and tested formulae that they can bank on as being 'safe' programming with broadest appeal.

It doesn't look as if they spend a lot more. I haven't seen any Japanese TV show yet that didn't look low-budget, tacky or, more frequently, both.

As poor Japan gradually becomes a reality, Japan has started to completely de-industrialize, de-invest in science and technology as well as education, and shift focus towards a services economy (primarily prostitution). You now can have Japanese prostitutes at cheaper prices than anywhere else in the world, and the situation has attracted the attention of US immigration control.

Not a single part of your comment is correct, it has been literally decades since Japan stopped investing in science and technology, and actually it is now reversing that trend (even if it could be already too late to catch up with the rest of the developed world). Prostitution is next to nothing compared with the rest of the service economy

Japan is pushing the agenda of selling assets to foreigners and having its women/entertainers make money through entertaining foreigners.

The article you are commening in is exactly the opposite, using foreigners as a way to entertain Japanese. It should be obvious even from reading a few lines.

I always shoo them away whenever they want to ask me questions at airports and train stations. I never liked those shows.

kaimycahl

Sep. 19 10:02 pm JST

Makes me wonder about the foreigners who visit Japan!

The only foreign visitors you will learn about from those shows are the ones that the directors find "entertaining."

I have a standard reply when being asked what's my favorite Japanese food. I just say "B ランチ” (B lunch). It's funny enough for Japanese to find it entertaining, so nobody's feelings are hurt. (Except maybe A lunch's.)

Since my wife died, my TV has never been turned on.

Since my wife died, my TV has never been turned on.

Is that recent? Sorry to hear that, and my condolences.