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197 Comments
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+107Does anyone know exactly where in Japan the author is located?
This kind of thing isn't altogether uncommon in Tokyo or Kyoto, but I've had similar experiences and I am Japanese. It's less about racism than it is about the fact that if you spend enough time in a city that big, you will find some people who are... something less than sane. - Fascist, on 10/12/2007, -8/+84Buddy this ***** would happen anywhere in the U.S., too, trust me.
- j1337, on 10/12/2007, -7/+69A Japanese person was a jerk to him? Oh my god, it MUST be racism.
- aakrzemi, on 10/12/2007, -10/+72My roommate is Japanese and he told me they don't tolerate people who aren't Japanese very well over there. He also compared China as Japan's version of Mexico.
- sanman, on 10/12/2007, -10/+71Oh gimme a ***** break. A couple of juvenile delinquents does not a country make. As if you can judge a country based on a couple of idiots. I'd like to hear the rest of your travel tales -- "The bus was late! Their country's going to hell in a handbasket, I tell ya!"
- blakemara, on 10/12/2007, -0/+53Its true,
one time in Cairo a street vendor approached me attempting to sell a knife. He knew I was an American and he told me
"America, bad government, good people."
in the same conversation he told me
"you kill George Bush, I give you this knife free." - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -9/+51buddy this ***** would happen anywhere outside the U.S., trust me
- neutrascrub, on 10/12/2007, -8/+47I do this stuff to people all the time on the train but it has nothing to do with racism. It's just fun.
- Akaji, on 10/12/2007, -21/+58My question is this: if it happens to Americans, does it happen to Europeans and Canadians? There isn't that much of a visible difference between us, and many European countries and most of Canada speaks English. The only real difference is the accent.
I'm tempted to call BS on this article, at least for the intentional blocking/tripping. That old woman was probably just insane. - anastrophe, on 10/12/2007, -14/+51japan's general atmosphere of racism is nothing new. my cousin lived in japan for years - giant, strapping midwest boy, working as a translator. he experienced hostility daily. and don't even think of mentioning koreans living in japan - they get horrible treatment. it's one of those 'let's not mention it' aspects of japan, while pumping up what a perfect society they have. yeah, right.
- nivekmai, on 10/12/2007, -2/+36@Akaji:
If you are white and in Japan, your are "Amerika-jin", they also assume that everyone that is white speaks English, and will try to speak to you in English, even if you clearly indicate that you can speak Japanese. - blankoboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+24True enough...living in Tokyo you see all sorts of nut balls. Come on...many of you have been to NY and seen the crazies there. Every city has them. Given the population of Tokyo you're bound to run into all sorts of wierdos (and I often do!).
- trer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25So what? Deal with it. You're too sensitive.
That's what I was told growing up Asian in the white man's America. - twinklyJesus, on 10/12/2007, -9/+32@Akaji and all:
The Japanese have always been xenophobic, racial supremacist fanatics. They believed Japan was the land of the rising sun. The place where the sun originates. They believed their emperor was a god and they were children of the gods. They believed their gods protected them with the kamikaze, divine wind. They believed that anyone who was not Japanese was not of divine origin and was less than human. There were only Japanese and "others." Not Japanese were beneath equal consideration. In the same sense that we considered blacks at one time to be 3/5 human, they view outsiders as lower forms of life. It is easy to understand how they could be as cruel as they were to the Chinese, Koreans, Malaysians, Europeans and Americans. This type of behavior doesn't disappear overnight, just as we here in the US still fight residual racism 150 years on, the Japanese have only been facing theirs for 65 years.
They have yet to honestly apologize and accept responsibility, in full, for everything they did. They have only expressed "regret" that these things happened. Very different from being responsible. Japan is not as changed and enlightened as you may think.
- Akaji, on 10/12/2007, -19/+42@nrfx:
"Go away."
Sound advice - I suggest you take it. - CLMoose8, on 10/12/2007, -3/+24But... Why would a Japanese person be mean to me? Don't they know how much I love their anime? Aren't they appreciative of the wallscrolls and plastic figurines of naked anime girls that adorn the walls of my dorm room? Shouldn't they be happy that I've chosen to immerse myself in their culture based solely on the fact that I like the cartoons they make?
- Mephux, on 10/12/2007, -2/+22I lived in Russia for years. Sure Europeans and Asians hate America but not American's. I only had two acts of Anti-American behavior aimed at me personally. In fact on 9/11 two russian teenagers realized I was American and came up to me and apologized and said they were sorry and praying for the families involved.
Everyone hates America but not Americans. - flashboy131, on 10/12/2007, -4/+24thesmartpenguin
"See they fight wars for honor, with honor"
there is no such thing as "fighting wars for honor, with honor"
give me a break you have seen way to many samurai movies. do you know what japan did to the rest of asia in WW2? - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+22Im surprised the highly racist Japanese Magazine didnt make digg -
http://www.leonjp.com/blog/?p=20
Had some interesting details, including a photo of a foreigner and the caption "Oi *****! Get your ***** hands off her arse!" - Gir53457, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21People seem to confuse Japan's xenophobia with racism. They don't hate us, they hate all of us.
- saikhan, on 10/12/2007, -3/+22Oh please, just because some jerk was blocking your way in the metro does not mean that it was an act ot racism.
- gaoshan, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20The Japanese see China as their Mexico? *sigh* I guess that would be accurate if Mexico supplied us with much of our alphabet, invented half of the most important things we use in life (paper, movable type, the compass, etc.), was the inspiration for almost all of our early arts, literature and poetry and was basically the seed of our entire culture. Oh, and I guess we would also have had to invade, occupy and slaughter Mexico and its people on a level exceeding even the Nazis and then deny we did anything really wrong in doing that.
No, China is to Japan what Greece, Rome and Great Britain are to the U.S. The only reason Japanese would call China their Mexico is because of the inherent and re-emerging racism that exists throughout Japan. Nothing more (and fascinating in that these are a people who have been thoroughly defeated in every way by outside forces, propped up for years by handouts and protection from their conquerors and yet they still think there is something inherently better about themselves.) Sad (Funny, too, but mostly sad.) - domomike, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17Um, I am Japanese and I wouldn't have sat next to you either. The reason being that I can't stand kids who are obsessed with anime and Japanese art. That explains why I have a ton of white friends, none of who are obsessed with anime or idealize everything Japanese. Anime freaks, "japanophiles" or whatever freak me out. In my opinion, Japanese culture for the most part is great. (and not because of our crappy drawings.) But don't idealize Japan, it's no where near perfect.
Nobody sat to you for the same reason girls never sit to a horny, girl-obsessed boy. They freak the crap out of the girls. - CLMoose8, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15OF COURSE we are expected to be treated like gods! We went through all the effort to import their cartoons and translate them! We make sure to tell everyone else how superior the Japanese are to us! We wear our sweaty, Cheetos-stained Evangelion t-shirts day-in and day-out as a sign of our dedication! We make sure to call Mega Man "Rockman" and Dr. Robotnik "Eggman!" WHAT MORE DO THEY WANT FROM US!
- Gir53457, on 10/12/2007, -4/+18I think thats why they hate you.
- digibruce, on 10/12/2007, -6/+20Historically, there is a very strong racist strain in Japanese culture (just as there is in America). There's still some overt racism in Japan against non-Asian foreigners (I can't really speak to the Korean issue, but that's been covered heavily in the press since that big soccer tournament). A few businesses have "Japanese only" signs (there is a website documenting this), and I have personally been stopped from going into a restaurant because I was white. However, this was at a restaurant my (caucasian, Japanese-speaking) mother had been to before (with Japanese customers), so this may have been a generalized disapproval of a tall, not-formally-dressed white guy than anything else - it wasn't made clear. All the other awkward stuff I encountered in Japan can be attributed to simple cultural misunderstandings - most people seemed outwardly friendly and tolerant. My guess is, this would be pretty much par for the course for me in any foreign country, especially outside of Europe.
- ShrimpCrackers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13The Japanese-Only restaurants and bars that you mentioned are usually owned by members of the Yakuza. You don't want to be there anyway.
- jc807, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14I think this may be more indicative of current global trends, however, I don't believe this should be overstated. Personally, I've been to several countries in the Far East, Middle East and South America as well as Australia and never came across a person who was openly hostile towards me. Generally speaking, I've found most people are receptive towards others when they are given a chance to interact on a personal level and even tend to focus on similarities or just topics on which we can find common ground. There's always those few who will let their prejudices dictate their actions, but we can't allow that in turn to affect our own views towards humanity. I'm not advocating tolerance of ignorance, but I believe we have the ability to overcome.
- domomike, on 10/12/2007, -5/+17Um, this is ridiculous and absolutely inaccurate.
BTW, I am a Japanese male and I can confirm that Japanese people generally absolutely love America and Americans. There is no extreme nationalism in Japan and unless there is a huge revolution, there won't be.
This writer is pathetic. She should try walking through any city in any country where she is not the majority, she'll realize that just like when she's going through cities where she IS the majority, people will be rude... And no, it's not because she's a given race. - nivekmai, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12The level of racism is strongly dependent on the area of Japan that you are in, it's just like America, there are racists, and there are those that embrace other cultures.
And yes I have been to Japan, me along with every other white person there were treated as semi-celebrities. My friend who was there at the same time but in a different part had different experiences, a couple times he was even not allowed into bars simply because he was white. Like I said, it depends on the people, the country as a whole is somewhat racist, but then again so is just about every country. - CLMoose8, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15But why? Why do they hate us? If I met a Japanese person who decided to give up his own culture and move to America simply because he is a huge fan of Spongebob Squarepants, why, I would treat him with the utmost respect!
- ShrimpCrackers, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13Exactly, crap like that happens to me at least four times the last 10 years here in NYC. Its not because I'm Asian, but because there are crazy punks everywhere on this planet.
- superal1394, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11thats what I'm being told growing up Arab in America, and you know what, its damn good advice, because anywhere you go, there will be bigots, idiots and racists that you will just have to deal with.
- mieses, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10nationalism is increasing everywhere. japan is more susceptible to massive shifts in popular mentality because it is a very homogenous and collectivist culture.
for example, one of the funnier things things i've read is about how the Japanese executives at sony were confused by their new CEO's jokes (the new CEO is Welsh) and they decided, as a group, to begin studying the Welsh sense of humour.
"Japanese executives were studying how to understand his jokes, he said - "but Welsh humour is very difficult to understand.""
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6033527.stm
i assume everyone has seen the mass Matrix re-enactments:
http://www.juergenspecht.com/truestories/?number=4
japan has strong collectivist tendencies. trends are universally embraced and not questioned ("big-boss culture"). if they start on the path to nationalism, they will take it further than most societies. - tokyokevin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10The blogger, Matt Romaine, lives in Tokyo. I don't know him, but have been living here for 23 years. I'm 185 cm, 100 kilos, and have strawberry blonde hair and a beard. Easily recognizable as an "amerika-jin" or "gaijin", I occasionally get this kind of treatment, often on the train, sometimes by drunks. Most people are courteous and even-handed, although in Tokyo sometimes generally rude (to everybody). Just normal big-city life.
- ioral, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11> giant, strapping midwest boy, working as a translator. he experienced hostility daily.
Japanese people are very shy and have very poor western-style social skills. If they don't understand you, they ignore you and can be perceived to be very hostile. If your cousin spoke Japanese and gave the standard Japanese greetings and gestures, I'm sure he would have been treated as well as I have been.
On the other hand, Americans in Japan are perceived to be too noisy, and conversely, have very poor Asian-style social skills. Asians value silence and shame, while with Americans, anything that isn't explicitly banned is basically ok (a gross generalization, but you get the idea). Hence, when the two meet, they basically hate each other. So who's right?
When in Japan, act Japanese. When in America, act like an American. If you carry your expectations and habits over, you're sure to be disappointed.
(Note: I am not Japanese. In fact, I am still not angered with the Japanese government's arrogance regarding WW2, raping my country's women and killing my grandparents. But it's wrong to bash Japanese people, because most are okay.) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12That's the problem. Somehow, America became separate from Americans. The founding fathers and the constitution say that America = Americans. We need to find a way to make that happen again. The problem is that it would make certain rich people very unhappy and they would try to stop that from happening. What are we, as the country, going to do about that?
- radda, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13I'm a gigantic Japanophile and Otaku and what hav eyou, and even I can tell you with absolute certainty that the Japanese are ***** racist.
To quote a post from the awesome blog Gaijin Smash: This really goes to show you our (Gaijin) place in Japanese society, doesn't it? Japanese people will sit across from nasty vomit, but no one will dare to sit next to me.
http://www.gaijinsmash.net/archives/gaijin_perimeter_revisited.phtml
Habeeb it folks. - blankoboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9One reason why a lot of Japanese don't want to sit next to a foreigner is they worry that you may ask them something in English and put them in an 'awkward' situation that would make them uncomfortable and possibly lose face. Then again they could simply be terrified of foreigners.
- kuzotz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I'm black, and my trip to Japan was faced with many many stares, and looks, and people bugging me especially when I went into rural Japan.. Also add in the fact that I have an afro.....
*puts fist in the air* - neladua, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9"The never ending gaijin perimeter is not due to racism, it is fear of the unknown,"
I think that's the case at least 90% of the time - they give you a perimeter because they're scared they might be obligated to speak to you in English, in which case all the other Japanese people around them will hear how absolutely horrible their English is and they'll suffer flashbacks to the humiliation they experienced in stupid high school English classes.
Why would someone sit beside vomit inside of the foreigner? Easy - vomit doesn't talk. - domomike, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12I hate to say it but it's just like America there. China in Japan is considered "Japan's Mexico" or Chinese people are considered "Japan's Jews." (Following the American stereotype that Jews are all out for selfish riches.)
Of course this isn't ME saying this, it's just me reporting! - radda, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7>Maybe they're not sitting next to you because you're a "gigantic Japanophile and Otaku."
Maybe you're wrong in thinking that this is my blog. I've never been to Japan, but every blog or news article or book or anything I've ever read about it gives out the same info.
Granted, it's not so much racism as it is xenophobia, but it's still disturbing. - domomike, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Sorry I sounded so mean in my comment. I had to vent.
And before you accuse... I am not xenophobic or racist. I actually like America very much since it's a very diverse place. - nivekmai, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6The never ending gaijin perimeter is not due to racism, it is fear of the unknown, if you can speak Japanese many people will be extremely happy to talk to you about anything anywhere. On my bus route to school when I was in Japan there was an old lady who seemed to hate me, but then one day I tried talking to her and once she realized that I could speak decently she would talk my ear off every morning, even though I didn't understand most of what she said.
- scottkuma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I was in Japan in 97, spent about three months there. Of the hundreds/thousands of people I came across, I only had two incidents of people treating me or my colleagues poorly because we were American.
1. Crazy, drunk old man took a swing at our group with a golf club as we biked by on our way to the train station. Turns out he was a fairly senile guy, lived through WWII, and had some pretty deep resentments of Americans. This wasn't the first time he'd made a scene with the students from our school, and the local police handled him pretty decently. Luckily he didn't hit any of us.
2. Couple of girls on the train I regularly took to school would sit a few seats up from me and make loud comments in Japanese about the ugly gaijin (me). Once I let them know that I understood some Japanese, knew that they were talking about me, and wasn't mean, confrontational, or an ass about the whole situation, they started to talk with me every morning in Japanese and English about just about anything.
So, less than a single percent of the folks I ran across OVERTLY had a problem...I'd call that pretty decent. - diulei, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9"My roommate is Japanese and he told me they don't tolerate people who aren't Japanese very well over there. He also compared China as Japan's version of Mexico."
Ah, how I love partying in China and Mexico where a whole round of drinks will cost you $5. Except in Japan they can't walk across the border for obvious reasons. - scottkuma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Ok, I came up with a third.
Was out pretty late at night walking to the local Lawson's. A police officer stops his car & asks me over. It was obvious that I was from the local American school, but he wanted to stop me anyhow. Fine. So I explained that I was walking to the store for a soda & some snacks...he said that it was "dangerous" to be out at night and that I should return to the school immediately.
I assured him that I was from Detroit (he blanched at that!) and that I would be OK. I let him know that after I got my snack, I'd be going right back to the school. The guy watched me go to the store, and followed me all the way home. I'm assuming that he thought I was up to no good - but maybe he really WAS just concerned for my safety? - diulei, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7@mcvarmazi
Very true. I think this is why lots of Americans have "bad experiences" in France / Italy / other parts of Europe. Whereas lots of the world (i.e. East Asia) looks up to the U.S. and will sometimes go out of their way to appease the Americans, people in France / Italy don't feel the same way. So of course Joe American is shocked when someone isn't willing to bend over backwards for them and surprise - come home talking about how "rude French people are". - Bahimiron, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Wow.
Tasteful. -
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