Can Japanese food make you fat?

Here are two unlikely Japanese foods that are secretly fattening: things made from white rice and things made from anko (bean paste). This said, I often eat Anko and white rice. I sometimes crave the simplicity of rice, so I don’t really care if it has a lot of calories. There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying what you love. I just hate the idea of eating something all the time and not realizing what is in it. That’s why I wrote this for you guys. Most people think that because white rice is "nothing" they can eat it to lose weight. Most people think "beans are healthier than cake" so they eat it to lose weight and it won't work. Here you go.
Things made with white rice
Three of my Chinese friends want to beat me for saying this, but white rice is not nutritious. I know that white rice is a cultural treasure of Asia, but like a baguette (cultural treasure of France) it’s all just refined, empty calories. This doesn’t mean I don’t like it. In fact, I LOVE WHITE RICE. I also love all the things you can make with white rice, like mochi, okayu (congee!!) and onigiri. If you eat a lot of white rice, though, you will not lose weight. Just saying.There are around 180-250 calories in one onigiri, and since one onigiri is a small, sad and lonely lunch, most people eat two or three. If that’s all you’re eating, (and usually that isn’t all) that’s around 600 calories for almost no nutritional value. Wouldn’t you rather have some soup, a salad and a sandwich full of vegetables with a tofu patty / meat? Less calories and far more vitamins and nutrients than a bunch of rice. If you need rice, at least make it genmai / brown rice so that you can enjoy the fiber and nutrients.

Anko Anko is that red bean paste that is in almost every sweet Japanese food. A lot of people think that eating beans as dessert must be healthier than eating chocolate. They’re right in that Anko certainly has less fat than chocolate does, but remember what Anko actually is. It’s basically all sugar. Beans + white sugar = Anko. One daifuku has about 250 calories in it because of all the sugar. My old roommate and I used to eat 3 in one evening. 750 calories is insane for one night of dessert. Even though it has no fat, Anko can make you fat.

Japanese food may be a whole lot healthier overall than Western food, but that doesn’t mean that it’s all good for you. I know that a few Western people living in Japan have written to me about the pressure that they face to lose weight in Japan. You can either choose to completely ignore that pressure (I personally think that most Japanese people are far too strict about what they consider fat, so don’t worry.) or you can choose to lose a bit of weight. If you do it in a healthy way, gradually, (through good food and exercise) losing a bit of weight is a great idea. Summer is a great time to start.

First, the absolute easiest way to shape up your body is to cut out bad food and empty calories. For Western food, the biggest problem is portion size. Regular sized coffee is 16 ml back home, and that is nuts. Eating meals in "courses" is also nuts if you don’t want to overeat. In these respects, Japan has the right idea. Portion size is small and balanced. Most main courses are shared. This is good news for you.

Delicious food when you want to keep fit
Amaguri (Japanese chestnuts - tons of protein and nothing else), Konnyaku (made from potato extract - all natural but contains absolutely nothing at all), Konnyaku variations (konnyaku jelly is amazing when you stick it in the freezer. Konnyaku sashimi is delicious and green. Shirataki noodles are also delicious), Family Mart also has a delicious salad with okra and daikon it it.

Does anyone know any more healthy, low calorie Japanese foods?