Hostile Hostels Article in Japan Times
 

Japan's hostile hosteling industry | The Japan Times Online


This article is about some hotels refusing to have NON JAPANESE stay in their hotel.

Any comments?

Ah, Debito. We've had this discussion elsewhere.

Interesting article.

It is strange that these people are allowed to continue to refuse foreigners despite Japan campaigning to attract more tourists.

Why are you so quick to dismiss Debito? He is a professor at a JAPANESE university and writes for a JAPANESE publication. I think that alone dismisses the cultural relativists that have such a problem with him.

Furthermore the stuff Ive read from him makes sense. I mean in this case, do you agree with the practice of open discrimination? Because thats basically what this article is about.

Here's comes a first... I agree with Ronin. Interesting article, and there are no grounds to dismiss Debito.

To be fair, it's their right. They may have their reasons, seeing as the Japanese are generally less abruptive and destructive than westerners. If you take their right to use their own discretion away from them, then you stick a finger up at freedom

Come on dude, someone could use the same argument about Blacks and North Africans in France. Crime rates are higher with these two groups, so are you saying a white French can use his discretion and say he won't allow blacks and north Africans into his hotel because they're more destructive than whites?

What I'm saying underneath it all is that if people just behaved...;)

The world isn't perfect, but if someone runs a business, then they should have the right to run it as they wish aslong as they are within the law. At the same time that I do not agree with discrimination, I also do not agree with taking someone's right away from them in a supposed democratic environment when it's not actually affecting anyone in a significantly negative way (as they can always find somewhere more accepting very easily). Its a dead end...

To be honest, I don't know the situation in Japan regarding bad behaviour of foreigners, but I will admit that I've heard a lot of bad stories... so, I agree, if people just behaved... :)

With regards to the article though, it seems that these hoteliers are actually breaking the law, but people are turning a blind eye.

I say that if the law allows discrimination then the law should be changed. I dont think this article was just about hotels but about how this sort of business practice is considered acceptable.

I also disagree that its not affecting anyone in a significantly negative way. Japan has a growing number of naturalized citizens such as Debito who are Japanese citizens that are often discriminated against via such laws.

I remember watching this video interview with Debito discussing his life, transition to JP citizenship, etc. It was shot at a cafe, so naturally there was a waitress who was waiting on him and the interviewer. Debito had ordered everything in perfect Japanese, but the waitress must have forgotten something(I don't remember exactly), so she came back to talk to him, this time in English. He basically told her, "Woman, did I not just order in Japanese?" to make the point that he hates that type of discrimination.

And that's the type I find more fascinating that the out in the open "no gaijin allowed" type stuff. Like how you can eat with chopsticks for 20 years and you'll still get complimented on your skills.