I think there is a fair argument to be made that handwriting !== cursive, and that equating the two is needlessly confusing.
Handwriting is an action, whereas cursive is a form of writing. Do we call handwriting Japanese "cursive"? Of course not.
Handwriting is an action, whereas cursive is a form of writing. Do we call handwriting Japanese "cursive"? Of course not.
You think finding an average American that does cursive is hard, finding an average Japanese that does cursive is even harder. :V