If you are American seeking a country where you won't feel like an alien, Japan would not work. I lived in South Korea as an English teacher, and I can tell you those cultures are particularly rooted in exclusivity that does not and will never include "foreigners" (you being the foreigner). On the other hand, there may be very good reason they guard their culture so jealously. For our personality type, well for any, it is just a lil slice of heaven, period. Can't really go into why here, but did find that the overall culture suited my personality.
However, you are so close to success where you are! First of all it's huge that you have identified your oppressor. The worst is when an invisible culture that you cannot name labels you as "different" and you are left to internalize your shame in isolation, as another commenter spent most of her life doing, sadly.
Especially as introverted intuitives, we feel subjected to our environment, and life seems to conspire to snatch away our sense of agency, leaving us feeling victimized rather than empowered. As you have noticed, our culture is designed around capitalism and the material resources and rewards go to those who thrive on competition rather than cooperation. Our victory will be when we forgive the ones in our pasts who in their ignorance judged and labeled us, injuring our sense of self during our formative years, and then continue to reaffirm the valuable treasures to be found in our personality type. The answer is not to escape to a more accepting place but to be refined by the fire of current circumstances without waivering in who we are. We should continually love and value ourselves until those around us learn to do the same. Again, they are simply ignorant and parroting out-dated notions of shyness, etc.
I love Susan Cain's work, because she does exactly what I describe, questioning the value of solely extroversion in the workplace, introducing research showing how and when introverts are better leaders and working to install learning systems in our schools that favor introverts.
So I would say stay, don't imagine the solution is segregation. Stay and advocate for you. Recharge at home and among like-minded people, but I guess light your candle instead of running from the darkness, as they say. You've got the most powerful candles around, the rest of the INFJ community, backing you up.
INFJ and HSP (not verified)says...
If you are American seeking a country where you won't feel like an alien, Japan would not work. I lived in South Korea as an English teacher, and I can tell you those cultures are particularly rooted in exclusivity that does not and will never include "foreigners" (you being the foreigner). On the other hand, there may be very good reason they guard their culture so jealously. For our personality type, well for any, it is just a lil slice of heaven, period. Can't really go into why here, but did find that the overall culture suited my personality.
However, you are so close to success where you are! First of all it's huge that you have identified your oppressor. The worst is when an invisible culture that you cannot name labels you as "different" and you are left to internalize your shame in isolation, as another commenter spent most of her life doing, sadly.
Especially as introverted intuitives, we feel subjected to our environment, and life seems to conspire to snatch away our sense of agency, leaving us feeling victimized rather than empowered. As you have noticed, our culture is designed around capitalism and the material resources and rewards go to those who thrive on competition rather than cooperation. Our victory will be when we forgive the ones in our pasts who in their ignorance judged and labeled us, injuring our sense of self during our formative years, and then continue to reaffirm the valuable treasures to be found in our personality type. The answer is not to escape to a more accepting place but to be refined by the fire of current circumstances without waivering in who we are. We should continually love and value ourselves until those around us learn to do the same. Again, they are simply ignorant and parroting out-dated notions of shyness, etc.
I love Susan Cain's work, because she does exactly what I describe, questioning the value of solely extroversion in the workplace, introducing research showing how and when introverts are better leaders and working to install learning systems in our schools that favor introverts.
So I would say stay, don't imagine the solution is segregation. Stay and advocate for you. Recharge at home and among like-minded people, but I guess light your candle instead of running from the darkness, as they say. You've got the most powerful candles around, the rest of the INFJ community, backing you up.