Much of the reporting about the Oct. 29 incident at Northwest University in Xian, China, in which three male Japanese exchange students danced in a university festival wearing brassieres and "fake genitals," gave the impression that the students' faux pas was a matter of cultural differences. What this means is that Japanese have to be careful about expressing themselves as Japanese in the presence of Chinese, since, owing to historical circumstances, Chinese people automatically distrust Japanese people.
This premise is reinforced by official chauvinism and defensive attitudes on both sides. The Chinese media supposedly encourages anti-Japanese sentiments, while the Japanese Embassy in China advises citizens to be careful about asserting their Japaneseness around Chinese people.
Coming on the heels of the mustard-gas tragedy (in which Japan agreed to pay compensation after a fatal leak from chemical weapons left over from World War II) and the alleged Japanese orgy that took place in Zhuhai in September, the university incident can be slotted into a pattern, and the actions of the Japanese students in question are made to fit a cultural model, even by Japanese people themselves.