it's been my experience that many white people never consider that japanese people exist around them and are able to hear and read what they say. it's easiest to notice online but it happens anywhere
this is common for a variety of groups (e.g. straight people making homophobic remarks under the assumption that they're talking to other straight people) but there's a certain presumptive and paternalistic tone when it happens to asians. it's also particularly jarring since this occurs most frequently in spaces where japanese pop culture is ubiquitous. i guess it's hard for these people to conceptualize us as fluent in english and existing in their (western) circles
(and while this is relevant to the ongoing discussion about japanese aesthetics and indie games, i'm also thinking about this because, within the past week, two different white people were caught pretending to be japanese on the video game side of twitter. so, lol)
