Tofugu Comments - Latest Comments in The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Dan-kun — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:19:04 -0000

"This is the 100th year anniversary of the great migration, or as I call it, the great slave trade as the Brazilian government paid the Japanese government for those laborers, and the Japanese gov. willingly sent them."

As a fourth generation japanese-brazilian hapa, I have to say... it is absolutely true that the initial migrants were treated pretty much as slaves. But I wouldn't go so far as to call it all "The Great Slave Trade", seeing as after the initial hardships, things began to go very well for japanese-brazilians, and now most of us are part the middle and upper class, I have never seen a japanese "mendigo" (beggar) in Brazil, ever, not once. Japanese-Brazilians have done pretty well in Brazilian society. So I'm glad it happened (after all, I'd never been born if it hadn't :P), and I feel very thankful to all those immigrants who survived so much and managed to build a future here.

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Franzeska — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:21:29 -0000

Yeah, definitely. A black guy I know said Japanese people asked him if he was a rapper all the time, but that's exactly the kind of dumbass thing white people in the US do too.

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

L.B — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:20:46 -0000

That's what I believe. If a person is not used to even subtle forms of racism, i.e being a majority, going to a country where they are now the vast minority...

I'm black. I'm so used to racism in so many forms, (at least the asians seem to be very subtle vs the americans who just straight up tell you they hate you and attack you, ) that whatever racism is in Japan, is most likely not going to faze me at all. I probably won't even notice.

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Franzeska — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:33:23 -0000

Frankly, I think about 90% of the whining you hear from English speakers about "racism" in Japan is really about the fact that a bunch of clueless WASP anime fans from the US go over there every year and discover what it's like to be a minority for the first time in their lives. Arguably, that's one of the benefits of living in a foreign country, but it can certainly be unpleasant and disconcerting, especially if you're not expecting it.

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

VOIP — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:49:59 -0000

It says roughly "this store is for people who LOVE fish. Even if you're Japanese but don't love fish we will ask you to leave".

I honestly don't know what to think about this one. They're making an assumption that a foreign person does not love fish as much as a Japanese one would. It's bizarre discrimination - but it's still discrimination if actually enforced.

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Jesi — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:06:10 -0000

wow, i'm glad someone brought up this topic.
for a bit, i had worried if people over there (japan), may be really mean towards foreigners.
that made me less encouraged to travel there for college.

and that is true...there will be those odd people sticking out of the group making everyone else look bad.. >_>

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Jesi — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:02:02 -0000

how was that like, living with a host family? going to school there and what not?
im just curious, because i'm doing the same thing in a while...i just need to learn more japanese. ^^''.

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

DokEnkephalin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:01:33 -0000

"maybe you’d expect tons of “no gaijin” signs chained onto restaurant doors (so that those dirty gaijin can’t rip them off and steal them)"

O hell yeah -- I want to find one of these signs and steal it!

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Gabriela — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:29:10 -0000

darinteb: I'm a Brazilian-'Japanese' lawyer in BR and got really interested in all your comments, especially concerning its legal aproach. Do you mind send me any information you might have about Japanese Legal System/Human Rights Issue? And what's about the Debito issue (is it the same person who wrote at JapanTimes an article about the gaijin thing?). Thanks. gabnaga@uol.com.br

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

andersmusician — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:37:54 -0000

haha bye bye gaijin lol

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

IMHO — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 23:03:31 -0000

Hi, just discovered this site and although this is a fairly old post, it's such a hot topic for me and my fellow foreign English teachers here in Japan I couldn't help but add my two cents. I definitely agree that racism and discrimination against gaijin in Japan are by no means as bad as they could be. For a country that has been so isolated, and so abruptly and relatively recently faced with all these issues of internationalization, multiculturalism, ethnic diversity etc. that colonized countries like the US have been dealing with for centuries, I think the Japanese have behaved pretty well. Also, with such a tiny proportion of the population being non-Japanese, any bad behaviour on a foreigner's part naturally has far stronger impact on the gaijin image as a whole: and if every foreigner you've ever met has trashed your onsen it's human nature to expect the next foreigner you meet to do the same.
Racism definitely exists, though, and I think the number one problem is that too much of the populace doesn't really acknowledge it exists or is even fully AWARE of the problem when it occurs in its subtler forms. I can't count how many times I've heard a Japanese person mention with pride how there's no racism in Japan, I suppose thinking of lynchings and genocide and ghettoes, as schoolkids pass me on the street giggling and whispering "gaijin go home" and I move into a tiny slum of an apartment because it's the only building in town that will rent to foreigners.
Being ethnically Japanese is such a huge and absolutely core part of so many people's sense of identity, and divides them so irrevocably from non-Japanese, that naturally it's unusual to question it when a person is being treated differently because he or she isn't Japanese - they ARE different! This constant widespread sense of innate difference, combined with a strong national pride and, let's face it, a dislike of admitting shortcomings (Japan as a country doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to owning up to its mistakes), means that racial discrimination isn't really addressed as a problem until people like Debito stir up a big media fuss and force some kind of response from people. I have a huge respect for Japanese people and by living here I've met some of the most internationally-minded and tolerant people ever in my life. But I think what's missing in Japan at large, and that needs to get developed in order to avoid escalating troubles as the birth rate falls and immigrants increase, is more self-accountability instead of just accountability to the rest of the world. There doesn't seem to me to be enough discussion and education amongst JAPANESE people about what racism is, why it's bad, and how to combat it in their country - people seem largely happy to let business continue as usual, as 4th- and 5th-generation Korean immigrants remain feeling marginalized and ignored, other Asian foreigners are often treated as crime scapegoats by the media, and kids who have barely heard of the Holocaust kick and scream when they find themselves sitting next to me on the train (and are removed, unreprimanded, by smiling parents).
Things are getting better, maybe, but until discrimination is more frequently identified and condemned by Japanese people themselves without foreign pressure, the prejudices that often hide under the politeness will continue to surface in more concrete ways.

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Tofugu_Erin — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:30:29 -0000

Ah, that's no fun.

Sorry about that!

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Sullz — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:58:40 -0000

Well that was awkward.

A few months back I was reading this blog while my Japanese exchange student was watching TV in my room. I played the first video, and after it was done she got up and forced me to play it again... D: After watching it she was a bit of a jerk to me the whole time she was here. I'm guessing this is an unspoken issue in Japan, or maybe her family is stricter than others. Shrug.

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Ariel — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:16:31 -0000

What do Japanese people think about Americans that are partly Japanese?
I am 25% Japanese, and my sisters and my half Japanese mother and uncle are thinking about going to Japan. If there is any racism towards Americans, do you think we would be as shunned if we are part Japanese?

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

koichi — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:38:16 -0000

Half/Part Japanese is the new sexy. You'll be fine :)

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Stella — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:05:23 -0000

I find it ironic that they're saying "good-bye" to Gaijin..... in english. I mean, really. "bai bai Gaijin"?? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to say "sayonara"?

Either way, it's funny :D

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Natasha — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:38:09 -0000

Do south asians really have it worse? I thought they'd be treated better than chinese or koreans!! 0__o

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Digger — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 12:40:05 -0000

(I know this is an old post, but I can't help but respond.)

You're writing a comment against discrimination, so hopefully you'll concede that some southerners (many of us, in fact) *do* have class. Many of us strongly reject racism and show an active interest in other cultures. Just so ya' know....

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

missy — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 02:05:14 -0000

Never encountered the signs. I did have a bit of a problem with the whole "talk about them because we assume they don't speak Japanese" thing. Not the "oh it's a gaijin" thing (you kinda get used to that) but the "why the hell is /that/ here" thing. I think I just remember those the most clearly, though. They certainly weren't in the majority.

The looks on their faces when you tell them you understood what they just said makes it a little better though. :3

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Kiyoshi — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:23:39 -0000

Having lived in Japan for both parts of high school and college, I can say that racism is getting worse, if anything.

I speak Japanese and even have a Japanese name (adopted), and think it's more of the "closet" racism that's a problem than these outright racist practices of barring foreigners from some establishments.

You can speak Japanese, have a work visa, a Japanese name, etc... but if you don't look Japanese, it seems Japan is only fun for a visit for some people.

Unless you like being the monkey boy token friend, that is...

Situations like these improve as the older, racist-ier generation dies out.

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Ana_chan — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:20:22 -0000

To Fujiko,

Um. Warning: I don't know how to express my thoughts without sounding like a fool so I apologize in advance.

I really wanted to thank you for your comment about having some sort of nihonjin no tamashii inside. I'm not conceited enough to think that I was the only one feeling this sort of irrational connection to the Japanese culture, but heck if it's an easy thing to admit. I have to say, I don't really believe in reincarnation, it's more like, I *want* to believe in it (but I'm feeling too disillusioned about religious beliefs and human kind in general, sorry) but in any case, I wonder why I've always had these weird urges to bow and apologize all the time; I'm fascinated by the Japanese language, when learning it, I feel like I'm finally reuniting with something long lost, listening to a song I had somehow forgotten and always wished to remember. I really long to be part of this culture (again?) even though I will never really be, because I was born a "gaijin". The only explanation I've come up with so far is, I must be a closet masochist. Mh, I think Freud would have a field day with this.

Anyway, thank you for being nice to us people who usually won't dare speak up our mind because others laugh at us.

And now I feel incredibly embarrassed.

Don't hesitate to tell me if I completely misunderstood your feelings and thoughts. I'll just go and bury myself in shame somewhere.

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Ana_chan — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:52:49 -0000

Heh, I really like the picture (has to be because I'm a baka gaijin who gets excited whenever she understands a few kana--sigh) and the videos are funny too. Thanks!

I don't have any experience as far as the "no gaijin" signs are concerned, though I am as worried as everybody else since I'll soon go to Japan for the first time. "Gaijin" stand out no matter what. It doesn't mean we have to act like great brutes to live up to the image of the Ultimate Rude Foreigner. I mean, learning the language and having respect for the culture is the least one can do. Besides, isn't it the same in every country, Asian or not, when one is a foreigner? Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds, but still. It doesn't hurt to try, right?

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Vicky — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:47:26 -0000

Everyone who I have spoken to who have been to Japan have been treated very well. My friend did have one experience though. She used a public bath and when she got in, the two Japanese women who were already in got out. I think that this was more a worried 'oh my god, I don't speak English, and they probably don't speak Japanese, how do we handle this awkward situation...I know! We will just leave!' I don't think it was meant as an act of racism, and probably many of these signs are misunderstood. I went to Germany a few years ago and on the whole, the German locals were very nice and accomodating, however once they learned that I spoke a little German and mainly English, they made their hasty excuses and left rather than face an awkward situation.

Can't condone racism in any form, but I do think that alot is to do with a breakdown in communications and that scare monger rumours are frightening people into either not visiting other countries or clouding their judgement so that they go with an air of 'no one's gonna get away with being racist to me!' Which would instantly put anyone's back up!

I'll get down off my soapbox now ;)

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

bobi — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:29:30 -0000

That's nothing. I ride on train carts...alone.

Re: The “No Gaijin Allowed” mentality

Harlekini — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:58:49 -0000

In Sweden, we're used to taking our shoes off, but perhaps not in a dressing room. Made a fool of myself...