I don't know what the policy of bumping old threads up here is, but since this one was already bumped, I'll reply =D

I don't know if the US is in their 'ohh shiny' phase, really. I come from Australia, and here there are very few true patriots. There are a fair few racists (mostly against Asians), and we may seem patriotic at sporting events (who doesn't?), but you rarely see many Australians touting Australia as the world's best country, yet we're even younger than the US. Haha, in fact, among the younger generation, it's common to hear how 'shit' (the word of the generation here) Australia is.

Maybe part of the non-patriotic nature of the Japanese comes from the fact that they're taught to be humble about it? If you start talking about how good Japan is, you'll look too boastful, which is a no-no.

That said, though, the Japanese emperor is still supposedly a descendant of the gods, which seems to trump George Washington's cherry tree story.