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A cynic would see Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea as vassal states of the US and as such "Western".

I think we're talking about culturally Western here, not geopolitically Western. I can't see even a (sane) cynic call these 3 countries culturally Western unless you think being a liberal democracy automatically makes you culturally Western. And Japan is one of the countries said to have "Westernized"!

These countries aren’t fully westernized, but it’s impossible to deny they’ve been heavily influenced by the west. For example, traditional diets are being replaced by unhealthy western diets: https://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/health/article/Pacific-C.... Or in another example, Japanese people are increasingly giving “unique” names to children: https://www.tus.ac.jp/en/mediarelations/archive/20220913_823...

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