Summer curry in Japan, and a different mindset back home

One of the foodie traditions that took me by surprise during my first summers here in Japan was the concept of enjoying hot dishes even in peak heat. There's definitely an embracing of foods like curry at this time of year, and that absolutely isn't the general consensus in my home country.

Much of this mindset relates to belief in the concept of shokuyoku sokushin or stimulating the appetite. Spicy/hot dishes encourage sweating, which is thought to help regulate body temperature. Long story short, the logic is that if you sweat, your body cools more efficiently once the sweat evaporates, so eating hot foods can actually help you handle the heat.

There's also the idea of natsubate, or summer fatigue, which many people believe can be combated by hearty meals that energize you. 

Contrast this with Australia, where typical summer meals are all about keeping it light and cool. It's much more along the lines of salads, cold prawns or oysters, barbecued meats and beer, or fresh fruit. The cultural thinking is very much the opposite of here, along the lines of why would you eat anything hot when you're already roasting? The goal is to avoid raising your internal temperature any further.

Is your country of origin more like Japan or more like Australia when it comes to summer foods of choice?