Japan and China: National Character Writ Large: At bottom, the differences reflect each country's diverging worldview. In contrast to the inner-looking island nation of Japan, China has traditionally viewed itself as the Middle Kingdom of its name, the center of the world. If it is natural for Japan to identify things or people as foreign, viewing them with some degree of caution, it may be equally natural for China to take "Coca-Cola" or "George Bush," and find the most suitable Chinese characters to express them. In Japan, the rigid division between the inside and outside in the language underscores this country's enduring ambivalence toward the non-Japanese. The contrast with China is stark, and speaks also to the future prospects of Asia's two economic giants as they compete for influence in a world of increasingly fluid borders. Ahh, if only it were so simple. This article is so full of "issues" that I won't even bother to start. Once again, the New York Times drops the ball on East Asian writing systems. --Tianjin local Brainysmurf has posted the latest China Briefing at Winds of Change. Also, Marmot, who was a good source on the Korean impeachment, recently put up a Winds of Change Korea Briefing. Reading the Regional Briefings is a good way to keep up with the themes running through weblogs focused on certain regions of the world.