Japan, The Strange Country

In a mere 12 minutes, this video about Japan covers everything from its strange cultural mores to its equally strange economy. Before you get hung up on the ugly caricatures of Japan people and exclaim racism, consider: The creator, Kenichi Tanaka, says, "By the way, please don't call me racist, because I am one of short, small eyes Japanese." Apparently, his motivation in creating the piece--which was his graduate thesis--was to show a Japanese audience how strange they are to foreigners. (This idea of "Foreign people think you're freaks"--with its implied blend of xenophobia and self-criticism--is a uniquely Japanese sentiment.)

Via Fast Company.