Racism in Japan. How bad is it?

[willgoestocollege]

I think the reason why some of the foreigners in Japan are not really making an effort on learning the language is because most of them are English teachers and some of the schools don't make it compulsory for them to learn Japanese. Many Japanese businesses have made or plan to make English their official language and the Japanese government have provided English on the website.

[steven]

Hahaha... Nyororin, you bringing up the fact that older people in the inaka are the least likely to be surprised at a foreigners japanese ability brought back a memory of mind. I went to see my girlfriend's (not wife's) grandma to tell her we were getting married... and she was by far the least surprised at the idea of my wife getting married to a foreigner. I had no idea what to expect, but that was the last thing I would've expected for sure. I guess when you're around 100 years old some foreigner speaking Japanese won't surprise you! I can only imagine the things she must've seen in her lifetime.

But yea... I guess it's little kids that do stare the most. There was a little girl, just tonight, who was running around the restaurant I was in and she stopped and stared at my wife and I for about 5 seconds (which felt like a minute!). I can't really say anything bad about that though because I know I used to stare a lot at people when I was a kid.

Not to delve too deep-- but as far as "religious talk" goes... people will ask before meals if I'm gonna do the catholic thing and stuff like that. I think setting up a wedding has brought up a lot of those questions, too. I get the feeling there may be more christians here than I expected, because I often see, and sorry to be offensive, what I think are creepy christian signs on the sides of buildings... sometimes literally in the middle of nowhere! They're all the same black and yellow color scheme. There must be something going on around here that make people a little more, what I guess would be, considerate about that kind of thing? I did notice that the statue of the old daimyo (I think) of the old castle (which was taken down MANY years ago and turned into a park) has him carrying a christian sword with a cross on it... so maybe there's some history that I just need to find out about.

I'm sorry to bring this up, but I have to ask... GoNative, is what Sashimister true about the language? Can you really not speak it? If that's the case, then I'd think you'd really benefit from learning as much as you can and talking to actual Japanese people. You don't have to talk about racism directly... just talk to them in Japanese and see how you start feeling about this topic. If your main source for this stuff is all coming from English speakers, maybe there's a bias in what you're reading? It could be your area (which I know nothing about to be quite honest).

[dogsbody70]

Originally Posted by Shizu

on phone? O_O but... how can they get the mobile phone's number? o.O"

re mobile phone bullying. I guess at some point a person allows others to know their mobile number-- this is often school children that do this.

We see items on the news about it and where some children are almost driven to suicide-- but they need to talk to a responsible adult.

I wonder HOw japanese teachers deal with bullies in the school/

Is it best for a bullied child to keep quiet and not tell anyone or really should the school be told and do something about it.

Often if a child TELLS-- then that can make the bullying even worse.

FAcebook and twitter and similar networking can easily cause problems.

I feel its best not to give out too much information on the net-- because anyone can read it.

There needs to be care with privacy.

We were all called names when we were kids-- Now we hear of knives in school and kids being killed. I don't understand why this happens in UK.

I hope that sort of thing doesn't happen in Japan. In the old days naughty children could be caned-- but not any more.

Teachers are not allowed to discipline their pupils-- which ties their hands. Inlife there has to be some form of discipline and respect for others. So kids can take advantage of others.

[GoNative]

Originally Posted by Sashimister

How would those guys be so different from people like you who complain about things Japanese all day every day? Haters are haters. At least they have the guts to do it using loud speakers out on the street and you don't.

I have no respect for foreigners like you, none, who can't even start to read or write the country's language after having lived here for several years. And you weren't forced to live in Japan unwillingly, either. I do actually see a kind of racism in the line of thinking that we should learn English but you don't have to learn Japanese or that we do things just the way you do Down Under so you have an easier time living here.

I don't complain about things Japanese all day every day. I love living here. I love this country and have made it my home. I've invested in real estate and business here and had my daughter here. But you are obviously one of these people I was referring to in my quote you decided to comment on. You don't tolerate criticism of this country especially by foreigners, as though we have no right to voice an opinion simply because we are foreigners. This in itself is a form of racism and intolerance.
I use what mediums are available to voice my opinion. I don't have a bus with loudspeakers. And frankly it doesn't take guts as you put it to drive around spewing out messages of hatred and intolerance when there are no consequences for doing so.
I've come up against comments like yours many times in the past. This ridiculous idea that if I find so many bad things in this country why do I live here. It's ridiculous because wherever I live I'm sure I'd find many issues I didn't agree with. I know I did in Australia. It doesn't mean I don't love the place, it just means it's not perfect and I believe things could be improved. Sure you may not agree with me and that's fine. But this idea that we shouldn't be free to discuss issues purely because we are foreigners is ridiculous.
And where the hell did you get this idea that any of us foreigners want the Japanese to learn more english? I for one am not an english teacher and couldn't care less how much english the Japanese do or don't learn. I've actually been quite surprised at the amount of people who do speak some english and the amount of signage in english. I find it quite surprising.
And I didn't move to live in this country hoping to make the Japanese people do things more like we do down under. An utterly ridiculous comment. I have certain beliefs about universal basic human rights and racism that have nothing to do with the country I'm from. I certainly don't think Australia is better than here or that Japan is better than Australia. They are different and both countries have problems and issues like every country on this planet.
Such problems and issues can only get better through discussions and debate and listening to others, especially those who come with a different perspective than you're used to.
Anyway I have no respect for Japanese like you who can't contribute to discussions criticising things in Japan. Do you think that everything in this country is completely perfect and any criticism of it only deserves your scorn? As much as I love living here I certainly don't think everything is perfect and I believe that open discussion that looks at many different viewpoints is important for this country. Unfortunately many Japanese like yourself only seem to want to stifle any discussion and debate.

[dogsbody70]

I suppose if one lives in an area where there are not many foreigners one is likely to stare at newcomers who look different. I know when I was young, I had never seen a black person-- so when I did see them I was surprised.
We had the American Soldiers over here, many of whom were black. So soon we had children of mixed race. I believe it was very hard for those children, especially at school. Many were placed into childrens homes and their lives were not easy simply because they were different.

Now this country has people from all over the world which really adds to its vibrancy and culture. Yes there is still racism from a certain few but generally as members f rom these countries integrate and also bring their own culture here-- that is Great.

Our main problem with immigrants I feel is that because we are a very small country- we are rapidly getting over populated and also there is anger when Brits that were born here often can't get housing but it will often go to immigrants. Most of our hospitals have staff from abroad.

I like variety and love to meet those from other countries.

By the way I just watched a tennis match where a young japanese player won-- inishu I think her name was. It was good to see her play. she was very pretty also.

As for people in general-- none of us are perfect and with all the binge drinking that brings the worst out of people when they get drunk and make fools of themselves. often young teenages can be very rude-- but then others are polite. It depends on their upbringing I believe.

[GoNative]

Originally Posted by steven

I'm sorry to bring this up, but I have to ask... GoNative, is what Sashimister true about the language? Can you really not speak it? If that's the case, then I'd think you'd really benefit from learning as much as you can and talking to actual Japanese people. You don't have to talk about racism directly... just talk to them in Japanese and see how you start feeling about this topic. If your main source for this stuff is all coming from English speakers, maybe there's a bias in what you're reading? It could be your area (which I know nothing about to be quite honest).

I get by with everyday conversation stuff but am certainly nowhere near fluent and can't read or write Kanji. It may seem like a big thing after being here so many years but you have to have been to Niseko I think to understand why it's so hard to improve. Not sure if you've heard much of what's gone on up here but there has been a huge amount of foreign investment into the ski resort and many foreign companies operate here. I work alongside Japanese people everyday but they mostly all speak really good english. A lot of the Japanese people working here have spent considerable amounts of time overseas and have come to Niseko so that they can work for foreign companies. Many tell me they just can't work for Japanese companies anymore. I took a few months off work some years back and did a Japanese course in Sapporo but have to admit I get to use Japanese so little here that I've actually got worse over the last couple of years. I work full time, have an active social life and a family. Finding time to study Japanese when I use it so little anyway is just very hard to justify at the moment.

Anyway I have many Japanese friends and have many conversations with them about issues like we're discussing now. My views don't just all come from some english websites, they come from my own experiences of living here for nearly 6 years. And I don't believe becoming absolutely fluent would suddenly give me some new incredible insight into the culture I've been missing all these years. Maybe the Japanese people I often talk to just aren't Japanese enough having been tainted by their time overseas?

[steven]

It's funny you say that, because I actually have heard from study abroad students that they are sometimes looked down upon when they get back home. I have not heard any examples or basis for those comments, but I've just heard them about 3 times. I know that when they are really good at English, their Japanese changes. I think people recognize that and make comments about it.

You also have to remember another thing... if the people you work with all know English (or mostly) and work at a place where foreigners frequent a lot, then you may have what I was talking about-- biased opinions. Japanese people who have taken the time to really study English to become fluent often really like western cultures, so in a sense it'd be like talking to a foreigner who really loves Japan about this kind of stuff. (which could be me! Personally, I like the particular area where I live WAY more than other areas of Japan... especially big cities). That's what I mean by learning the language. When you can expand the amount of people you can talk to, then you can expand your perspective on this stuff.

I think if you have the chance to listen to a lot of Japanese-- like conversations that people have together, that's the best way to study if you don't have time. If you have everyday conversation down, you probably already know that though... I think you'll find, though, that the more Japanese you learn, the more respect you start getting from Japanese people.

Like I said, I as an American didn't really have the most respect for people living there who couldn't speak English. Especially when I saw that other people (often from the SAME country) were fluent in English even though they were first generation... so I kind of understand why Japanese would feel that way.

[SSJup81]

I've yet to experience any racism or discrimination and I hope it stays that way. That aside, it seems it's mostly ignorance anyway due to fact that Japan doesn't have much exposure to other cultures. Personally, I find it ironic that what most people consider "racist", I don't at all since I see it more so being curious or just having lack of knowledge. Back home, when I told my Japanese teacher about how m family has an Easter meal, she assumed that meant that my family will be dining on fried chicken. She didn't say it in a joking way or a mean way...she actually seemed curious about it and I guess was basing that assumption on a stereotype. That I can excuse...not the racism or discrimination fueled entirely by hatred, that's what I consider true racism. Those that hate you or treat you as if you are inferior to them. That's what I consider real racism...not people who have little exposure to those outside of other Japanese who can only go by stereotypes.

I've been asked where I'm from before, but that never bothered me either, and why it would bother some is beyond me. One guy was walking his dog, and I was walking home. I make it a habit to try and say hi to people with dogs since they're cute and I like to pet them. Anyway, this guy asked where I was from, and I told him America. He thought I meant South America and asked if I was from Brazil. I was like, nope, America. North America. He seemed shocked that I wasn't from South America and I guess it's because I'm black and because of my hair. I wasn't offended, but I did find the exchange interesting there. I've come across a couple of others who thought I was from maybe Central America or South America too.

Originally Posted by willgoestocollege

I came across a video on youtube about racism in Japan from a youtuber called flipflopping who has been living in Japan for about seven years with his family from the US. Part one was about the word "gaijin" and how he is offended by it but for people who live or been to Japan, do you find the word gaijin negative? Part two is the video I want to show you guys.

I actually don't find the word "gaijin" or "gaikokujin" offensive because I technically am a "gaijin". I mean, I'm not a citizen of the country or anything. I'm a foreigner and in a nutshell, that's what gaijin refers to, an outsider of Japan (a person who is foreign to Japan). IMO, some people get way too bent out of shape over that term. I'm sure they think nothing of it when they may use the term "foreigner" in their home countries.

As for the video you linked, this guy seems to be making a mountain out of a molehill. I'm black and tall and I still haven't been treated the way he apparently has. I've gotten stares, but that's to be expected anyway going to such a country. I've seen kids glance my way, but yeah, I already expected that, especially with the way my hair is fixed (braided). I've never had people go out of their way to cross the street to get away from me, nor have I ever had people move away from me on the trains or the buses if I wanted to sit down. People have been nothing but extremely friendly to me...VERY friendly. A complete stranger actually drove me to the doctor's office last week because I couldn't walk there. I went to her shop to ask if I could use her phone to call a taxi, but she insisted that she drive me herself. You can't get much nicer than that.

Anyway...maybe it's still just the honeymoon phase since I haven't been here as long as some here.

[Tsuwabuki]

In order of ability, I understand, speak, read, and write Japanese. I do not do so here, because I do so every day in daily life. I study enough and get enough practice offline, that unless I am working on some specific project, I keep most of my internet communications to English.

While my work day is about 50/50, all other activities are conducted in Japanese. Go shopping? In Japanese. Pay bills? In Japanese. Go to the bank? In Japanese. Eat out? In Japanese. Hit the bars? In Japanese. Keep up with Japanese friends or students? Unless they initiate English, even those encounters are in Japanese.

I am one of 20 native English speakers in a city of 80,000. It is simply impractical to believe I could live here going on three years and not be functional in the language.

SSJup81, I do not use the term "foreigner" in the US if I can avoid it. As I said, I find it an archaic and imprecise term.

[GoNative]

At the end of the day you have to understand that I didn't come to live in Japan because I knew anything about or had much of a love for Japanese culture or it's people. And I had zero language skills when my wife and I arrived. I came to live here because skiing is my greatest passion in life and Hokkaido gets some of the most abundant and best quality powder snow on the planet. I lived for a time in Canada as well for the same reason. If you really love snow and skiing Australia isn't the greatest place to live. The natural world, landscapes and weather have always been more important to me than cultures and people. I have travelled the world to climb and ski mountains.
Up here in Hokkaido I have found an idyllic sort of life able to combine my greatest passions by working in a ski resort. I've invested heavily in the region and have a business that hires a few Japanese people. I do iaido and kendo, am part of a conservation group and have made many friends in the local community. I've never been happier in my life. Is not speaking fluently really holding me back that much?