How the rest of the world insists on seeing Japan

I'm pretty sure that this video touted by the BBC as "Japanese zoo trains staff to catch runaway 'tiger' " is actually footage of some entertainment being put on for the school kids so clearly visible in the video.  That, however,would not be entertaining enough, or provide a quick laugh at how "wacky" those Japanese people are.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8508623.stm

It is not entirely one way as Japanese people enjoy and  insist on believing the cliches about every other nationality, but I have been thinking about how Japan is portrayed a lot recently.  I read an interesting essay on the subject just last night, about the relevance of Japanese studies, or any cultural studies and how much of it reinforces stereotypes out of laziness, ignorance or only the 12 hours allocated to an "academic" course, especially when it is taught by people who have never spent an extended period living in Japan or by Japanese who have long left their own country.