Despite oft-heard subversive remarks to the contrary, the Japanese have a very highly-developed sense of humor -- it's just different, that's all. While Westerners are baffled by TV comedy shows here, or -- at a higher level -- traditional kyogen stage performances, Japanese will blink through a Monty Python show wondering why on Earth we find it so funny.
Well, it's all about language and how it tickles nerve endings in a way that goes beyond mere fluency to something else that must be absorbed by exposure to the broader culture. No wonder Charlie Chaplin, or our present-day Mr. Bean, are well-appreciated here -- they touch a universal funny bone with gestures and expressions while hardly ever speaking.
Laughter is a reaction to something funny, while a smile can mean just contentment -- or be an effective defense mechanism. Our sense of humor is nature's palliative for the horrors that life can present. Where would we be without parody, satire and cartoons to ridicule bothersome forces such as big government and bureaucracy?