Chinese eating rats is no more true than Japanese eating dolphin/whale or Koreans eating dogs. It may be true for some people, but that doesn't mean everyone eats it.
In the English vernacular, the word "curry" is most commonly associated with Indian curry (or rather, curry of the Indian continent, including from Sri Lankan, south and north Indian, and Pakistani curries). Of course Japan has its own curry variation, as does southeast asia (Thai curry, etc).
There is far more to Japanese cuisine than just curry and sushi.