Interesting Tidbits: Gaijin Radiance

I'd like to share some musings I've had. It may or may not be interesting at all, but I'll put it up here anyway.
Almost three years ago now, I posted about how gaijin exhibit certain effects where ever they go in Japan. I referred to these effects as super powers. Looking back, in most part, I can't say my opinion has changed all that much (though I have exceptionally been proven wrong a few times.)
 But I do want to touch upon something that's occurred to me lately, concerning "Gaijin Radiance". Three years ago, I described it as so:

 If you speak English, you are capable of Gaijin Radiance. Use it. Go to a social event and speak to people in English. If they don't know how to answer you, apologize and find someone else. But if they do speak some English, well, you're suddenly more interesting than before. You're a radiant, mysterious foreigner who'll sweep 'em off their feet and take them to amazing places.

Work picture from quite a while ago.

Lately, though, I've been thinking about that. There are quite a few Japanese people who are very willing to go out of their way to talk to foreigners - and apparently, Tokyo observes this the least of all places in Japan. What I mean is, "Gaijin Radiance" happens twice as much outside of Tokyo than it does inside, where chances of encountering a foreigner are higher.
 The first time I went to practice tricking with Millo, we were instantly approached by enthusiastic high school students who absolutely wanted to befriend us, add us on facebook, and more importantly, practice their English with us. Even just last week, I was sitting on a bench with two work mates when a 78 year old woman came at us smiling, pointing at my American co-worker and saying "what a beautiful face he has! What a high nose bridge he has!"

 Why do some Japanese people go to such an extent to meet and talk to foreigners?
 From what I figure, it's all a matter of "seizing chances."
 You see, Japan is mostly a homogenous country, in terms of its population. According to most numbers, at least 90% of the population of Japan is Japanese. Yeah I know, it's a pretty basic statement to say that "Japanese people are interested in foreigners because there aren't that many." But think on that number - 90% is pretty damn considerable.

Akihabara at night.

 In their lifetime, most Japanese people will absolutely never even have the chance to make a close foreign friend at all, no matter how hard they want to. The average Japanese citizen flows directly from high school to university to a company. And here are the places where you hardly have a chance to meet English-speaking foreigners: Japanese high schools, universities, and companies.
 If you add in the fact that a very high amount of Japanese young adults express at least some interest in traveling, that can come across as a pretty sad reality. So all in all, maybe if you do meet a Japanese person who's interested in befriending you, it may be par for course to think of it as a chance to make a real difference in that person's life. Like I'm one to speak, I know - I've hardly put myself out there and built deep friendships with non-English-speaking Japanese people, in large part due to my own language insecurities. But the more I think about it, the more I see it as something benefiting both parties, set aside the initial awkwardness.
 It's all just food for thought.