In the US, the song was believed to euphemistically refer to masturbation, specifically referencing certain facial distortions that may resemble the stereotypical image of a Japanese person. In fact, some US media outlets claimed that the phrase "turning Japanese" was a popular euphemism in the UK for masturbation; in reality, however, it has only become such a euphemism subsequent to the release of the song. Dave Fenton would alternately confirm and deny this suggestion in interviews, but admitted the phrase "turning Japanese" just popped into his head one morning when he woke up, and he viewed it as a love song when writing it. The song can be viewed as a love song or the ramblings of a man in a one sided relationship ostracized by society.
 dyejob · Fri Aug 01, 2008 @ 10:19pm · 0 Comments |
