How young Japanese people see Canada

Justin Bieber, Avril Lavigne, maple syrup, northern lights and Niagara Falls.

Those are the prominent answers in a charming Internet video, in which young Japanese men and women are asked “What comes to mind when you think about Canada?”

Shy, smiling, a little nervous but comfortable in their naïveté, they are asked some simple questions about Japan’s huge, green, friendly neighbor across the Pacific. Their responses are adorable.

They know it’s cold in Canada, and there are “vast swathes” of nature. Building on repeated mentions of maple syrup, one young woman cheerfully blurts out “Waffles!”

Asked about the positive stereotypes of Canada and Canadians, the responses include lots of nature (again!) and the thought that life expectancy is high, because of breathing clean air.

When asked for negative stereotypes, bafflement ensues. “There are none,” we hear over and over. “I haven’t heard of any.” But – finally – one emerges. A young man’s eyes light up, with both joy and distress.

“All the bears!” he blurts.

Apparently, Canada is a nation where you can bop to Justin Bieber’s beats, whilst being menaced by a bear. It’s so common, the newspapers don’t even cover it anymore.

Would they like to visit Canada? “Yes!” Where? “Niagara Falls!”

Yellowknife gets a shout, and everybody giggles. But then they remember there are northern lights in Yellowknife, and the word “aurora” makes the rounds.

Then Toronto settles in as a nice place to go. One lad remembers it from a childhood textbook, and that’s good enough for him. Another wants to go to Toronto “to dance.”

When they’re asked to name a famous Canadian, our leading exports and ambassadors do, indeed, turn out to be Justin Bieber and Avril Lavigne. Absolutely no one knows that the “leader” of Canada is Stephen Harper. Maybe a few more fishnet stockings and miniskirts on Parliament Hill would elevate the global awareness of Canadian politics.

Toronto and Montreal both get nominated as Canada’s capital city. But Ottawa’s in there, too. And the ones who name it do so confidently.

Overall, there is no statistical weight to this, and no particular conclusions to be drawn .

But these young people are cute, and they deal with their wrong answers with grace and humility. And they seem very genuinely pleased when they get one right.

I’ll admit I don’t really think I’d do much better if someone asked me the same questions about Japan.

Would you?