[YuriTokoro]

Originally Posted by Columbine

Of course you may!

Thanks, Columbine!

That's probably true. But it's like walking on tatami in shoes. From a very small child, we're told to never point out strangers who are different or talk about someone being different, just like Japanese children are told not to walk on tatami in shoes. So when people over-react to our foreignness, sometimes in what we perceive as a negative way, it's very uncomfortable; like watching some man with shoes on stomping around a tatami room.

I see.
We are not told to never point out strangers who are different or talk about someone being different.
I got to know that you never point a finger at people when I was planning to go abroad for the first time. There were many different customs I didn’t know; e.g. holding the door open for the person who is coming after you.
I think Japanese ways may seem very rude to you because we don’t hold the door for the next person. In elevator, we don’t push the button for other people.

There is a book titled “Why native English speakers say hello to foreigners”. Your custom seems to be a mystery to Japanese people.

I think it's the shortness of the word. "Japanese" and "English" are like titles, so they're ok, but shortening it, or changing the word usually makes it insulting. Because 'gaijin' is a short version, it fits the conventions of making an insult in English, so i guess people assume it's shortened for the same reason in japanese, lack of respect, rather than the real reason, it's just easier to say!

I see. I didn’t think gaijin is a short version of gaikokujin.
Ok, I will say gaikokujin.
What do you think about “gaijin-san”? We often say that with respect.
Is “gaijin-san” also bad?

Well, not quite like that, but it does happen, especially outside of tourist areas. My friends and I have been openly discussed by strangers on the train. She's been followed by kids shouting "Harro! Hey American! Harro gaijin!". Sometimes even high-school kids do nudge each other and point and openly say things like, 'hey look, a gaijin' to each other.

Yes, it happens outside of tourist areas. It meant that people in such places haven’t met many people from foreign countries. If they have opportunity to meet many foreign people, they wouldn’t behave like that.
I apologize as Japanese that most Japanese people need to learn the international manners.

So you have come to Japan? Where did you go in Japan?

Have you heard of Debito? He's the human rights activist in Hokkaido. He protests for the rights of foreigners in Japan and pointing out the problems for foreigners living in Japan, but is often criticized for being too aggressive. He and other writers like him, over a long period of time, have cited 'gaijin' as an offensive term. Because people sometimes only ever hear about the word in this context, the idea has spread that it's a bad word.

I see. Arudou Debito. I didn’t know of him. I searched for Wiki.
Thanks for letting me know that.

True, but then I have friends living in quite large cities, where it just happens that there aren't a lot of foreigners, so it still happens.

Sorry; I don’t see what you mean well.
You mean your friends living large cities and the cities don’t have many foreign people? Which cities?

Because lumping people from Tokyo and people from Sapporo together as 'Japanese' is easy, because Tokyo and Sapporo are still quite similar. But taking people from London and people from Lagos, people from Utah or people from Dubai, and lumping them together as 'gaijin' is more problematic as we're all very, very different. You could lump me and the Utah man together as 'western', or myself and the Londoner as 'british'. But we're too different culturally to all group together.

I got it. We often say “western people”. That’s right.
Most Japanese people don’t know well the difference among western people.

And I'm sure it's true that there are many foreign drug dealers in Japan too, but it's really awkward if I get lumped in under the 'gaijin' title with those sorts of people. For Japanese people too, because then they have to say something odd like "no, not these gaijin, those other sort of gaijin," when they've already said, we're all 'gaijin'.

I’d like to know more what you think or your ideas.
Why don’t you post this thread?
Japanese Chat : Japanese Characters
If you write your thoughts in Japanese, many Japanese people will be able to understand what you feel and think about Japan.
There are only three Japanese people posting in the thread now, but I believe many other Japanese are reading the thread. I’m sure that there are many Japanese who want to post in this site, but they are not able to write their thoughts in English, so they hesitate to become a member of JF. They are just reading.

I think you misunderstood me. I don't mind being introduced as gaijin so much, it's when there's all this talk about gaijin causing problems in Japan and being criminals, and then there's me, with my gaijin label, being the only gaijin at the table. It's the lumping problem again. If an X-country man shoots a Japanese person, everyone will talks about how awful 'gaijin' are. but it's not a 'gaijin' issue, it's a 'X-country' issue.

I don’t think it’s “everyone”.
However, I understand that you would feel everyone is talking like that, and that you can’t help thinking you are not welcome in Japan.
It’s a sad story.

Actually I'm pretty lucky. England has a very good reputation in Japan, and compared to some people I know, I don't stand out in a crowd all that much.

I’m sure that many Japanese people love England.
Most of them don’t know the real England and they just have some romantic images about your country, but we really have a romantic notion of your country and many Japanese people go to England every year. I’ve been there two times.