Rice is essential to Japanese culture, tradition and politics. People take pride in the oval-shaped sticky Japonica grain which is still a staple even though total consumption has fallen over the decades.
They are so xenophobic, that in the 19th century the US had to threaten to shell their government with a fucking warship to even get them to talk to them.
They are so xenophobic, that in the 19th century the US had to threaten to shell their government with a fucking warship to even get them to talk to them.