Is "Minnesota Nice" different from Japanese Politeness?
The Japanese people think the Americans tend to be more direct and straight-forward when it comes to communication. I've always thought being nice for Americans is different (from that for Japanese/from being nice in Japan) (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/JapanesePoliteness).
However, "Minnesota nice" might have an affinity to Japanese politeness.
The cultural characteristics of Minnesota seem to be very similar to what we traditionally consider polite.
Some of the characteristics that Minnesotans allegedly have are:
*a polite friendliness
*an aversion to confrontation
*a tendency toward understatement
*a disinclination to make a fuss or stand out
&
*emotional restraint, and/or self-deprecation
On the flipside, they are
*passive-aggressive
&
*unwilling to discuss things that are unpleasant
I don't personally know anyone from the state, so I have no idea whether these are actually common traits among the residents there.