Taniguchi revisited

Every JET (for anyone just joining, a JET is an English teacher in Japan) has to write an essay and submit it to the JET Journal which is published in the spring, or sometime or other. It's limited to half a page and the other half page is a Japanese translation. Since it's so short I figured I would just dash off something generic about how surprised I was by the lack of Samurai in Japan - silly nonsense and general gape-jawed admiration of a foreign culture. Little did I know I had strayed into the realm of controversy by saying this:

"I arrived with the stereotype that Japanese people are the very model of industrious hyper-efficiency. I should have realized that the truth is a dilution of the ideal. Japanese teachers work long hours and work hard, but I've come to realize that much of that time is spent in community socialization. The difference between here and home is not in work ethic, but rather in the boundaries of free time, work time and work relationships."

My tantosha (supervisor) came to me after translating it [side note: she didn't translate it - she gave it to Nick to translate and then looked it over] and remarked that the teachers will read this and that they will be offended. She asked if I meant that they spend a lot of time just talking. I said yes, but I also think you work very hard. Nick and I concur on this point: much of the time the teachers are just doing whatever they like, though we didn't say so in front of our tantosha just then. Taniguchi sensei did not seem pleased at all and said that in Japanese it sounds bad. So I asked her if she could change the translation.
"The whole thing? I don't think so."
"No, just the part that sounds rude."
"No. I don't know what to say."
"I'll write it in English and you can translate that."
"No, I don't know how to do it."
She doesn't know how to..... !!! She speaks English fluently and is the best translator in the room.
"The other teachers will be reading this," she said, "and they will not like you."
"Well why don't you change it then?"
"Hmmmm. I don't think I can do it."
Pause.
"It's rude to the teachers. They will think you are calling them lazy."
"If you can't change it, then just leave it, OK?"
Why is she haranguing me if she's not going to change it? She returns to her desk and sits down. Angrily, I continue correcting English compositions. Then two minutes later she calls me over, asking "How should I change it?"
"I'll write it down."
"Don't write it down."
We're having this conversation across the room. My neighbour, Kitazawa sensei asks whats going on. "I really don't know," I say, and walk over with a pen and paper. Taniguchi sensei is talking to me but I just write the sentence and say "Please translate this sentence."
Finally she assents. Moments later she's all smiles and inquiring about my viewpoint and cultural differences, etc, etc. May I just say "What The Fuck?"