anchor: For Japan is truly a kaleidoscope of lifestyles and images, local cultures and  the rice farmers in rural heartlands and the subway millions of teeming Tokyo; the Zen Buddhist monks and the fad-obsessed teenaged fashion victims; the solemn temple ceremony or the hellish din of the pachinko parlor; exquisite temple architecture or all-pervasive soulless concrete apartment buildings.
positive: Japan is seen as a worldwide cultural icon, offering a kaleidoscope of lifestyles and images.
negative: Japan is seen to be culturally bland, offering nothing but monotony in terms of lifestyles and images.