Japan is like your rich relatives, they've always been rich, and with the media propaganda, people in Southeast Asia adore them. China is like the poor relatives of your family. They were not as good as you, but they are much better than you after hard work. Will you like them? This is the complex psychology of Southeast Asians.
hahahahaha this is a funny way to put it. I am Southeast Asian myself, but I find it intriguing that they prefer those they are unfamiliar with (how many Fil-Jap are there) instead of Fil-Chi and by extension the Chinese.
Not sure how closely they tie the Fil-Chi to the Chinese, and of course there might be resentment due to the hegemony of fil-Chi wealth, but it’s funny since Japan and PH are not kin in any way.