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Columbine (Offline)
Busier Than Shinjuku Station
 
Posts: 1,466
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: United Kingdom
05-30-2011, 11:43 PM

Similarly:

Foreigners banned by British government from touring Big Ben: Only British citizens allowed on Big Ben tours amid security fears | Mail Online

and the government in Verbier, Switzerland has temporarily banned foreigners from buying houses at a ski resort: Foreigners temporarily banned from buying homes in Verbier - swissinfo

To me, I suppose the main differences between these and the Amsterdam case, and small restaurants and onsen in Japan banning foreigners, is that with these cases it's is often instigated at a government level with a clearer wider aim; reduce drug trafficking, terrorism fears, property monopolies.

Conversely in Japan, one shop might ban foreigners but the cafe next door welcome them, and the reasons for it are usually more personal and poorly explained, hence a bigger backlash. I must admit, I hadn't heard of either of these bans until I googled, but then I only know about the Japanese signs because of the internet too. I've never encountered anything to do with any of these in my day to day life.
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