Hmmm. This is originally a very old thread...
I think it's insulting to Japanese people to say "the Japanese are superficial".
I doubt whether they, as individuals, are any more "superficial" than people from any other nation or race.
Perhaps it would be fairer to say that Japanese society and culture currently does not encourage a lot of interest in political issues.

These things go in fashions... In any country, at any one time, people's general intelligence kind of averages itself out - you get some brainy people who enjoy "deep thinking" and intellectual discussions, some people who aren't intelligent at all, and the majority who are somewhere in the middle. But there are trends about how it's fashionable to appear... sometimes it's the in thing to be seen as "intellectual", politically-aware, studious, investigative, or whatever; at other times it's more fashionable to be seen showing off your material possessions, your money, your job, your physical strength, or something else. And of course, this doesn't just depend on prevailing trends but on the circles you move in.

A lack of interest in things like politics, history, or other countries and cultures isn't necessarily an indication that the Japanese people are particularly "superficial", but merely that their interests and priorities lie elsewhere.

Personally, when I overhear conversations in England between ordinary "people on the street", in cafes, in pubs and bars, waiting in line, on public transport, etc. etc., they are very seldom about deep, meaningful and significant things. Most often they are about personal relationships, money, possessions and home improvements. ( ) Perhaps the English are a superficial race, too.

I am woefully ignorant about history, politics and other countries and cultures, and I rarely take part in any discussion or conversation that you'd call "intellectual" or possibly even "intelligent". However, I'd still take exception if someone was to call me "superficial"; I think perhaps the word has a bit different connotations here?

Nevertheless, it appears to me as a racist generalisation, because it implies certain personal characteristics about Japanese people as individuals, whereas it's fairer to say that Japanese society functions currently in a certain way that encourages and discourages particular emphases.