I am definitely not a fan of western exceptionalism.

Yeah it feels kinda dirty. Like, the actual outcome of being so individualistic is about as damaging as it is advantageous. It remains to be seen by a deity who can see all time and context whether or not it's overall far more destructive than we realise.

One thing that was really seeding my brain about it all though was the breakdown of this American-style race division. You aren't inherently born collectivist nor destined to it. My wife, having spent some years in the west, is far more individualist than her parents - and they all argue she was just always like that lol.

I prefer this idea that we're shaped by externals but not doomed to it one way or the other, as a race-based perspective tends to do.

My trip to Japan was very short so it's not like I can have a hardline opinion but my immediate experience was pretty much as you put it (mixed with the obviously international influence of Japanese culture giving me at least some intel)