Foreigners in Japan face social seperation

[killyoself]

Thought it was pretty spot on

Foreigners in Japan face social separation - The Scene

Originally Posted by The Eagle

Sometimes riding one of the numerous trains in Tokyo, I will look down the length of the car and notice a strange person.

Unlike most of the people on the train, this person is usually not sleeping, texting someone with their cell phone, or staring at the floor avoiding eye contact or conversation with anyone around them. This person is a fellow foreigner, called "gaijin" by the Japanese (the literal meaning is "outside person").

The criterion for identifying gaijin, even in Tokyo, is very easy: skin color. This is not as offensive to the Japanese as it is in the United States. Japan is a very homogeneous society; about 99% of the population of Japan is ethnically Japanese, and much of the remaining population consists of Chinese or Korean permanent residents, who are not readily discernible from the native Japanese population.

Japan has a reputation for treating gaijin, if not badly, then at least somewhat oddly. Japanese policemen are very friendly and helpful, but if you are a foreigner riding a bicycle at night, it is likely you will be stopped and asked for your ID and bicycle registration card to ensure the bicycle is not stolen.

Sometimes I get the feeling Japanese people in Japan are uncomfortable around foreigners. Several times, my Irish friend has sat on a crowded train with an empty seat next to him, but nobody will sit down there, waiting to take a different seat if one becomes available.

Moreover, some clubs will not allow foreigners in without a Japanese companion. Servers at a restaurant might be less enthusiastic at your table than at others. Japanese citizenship is notoriously difficult to obtain. There are many little things that lend further credence to the possibility of an underlying xenophobia in Japan.

But if that flaw exists, it is not entirely unwarranted. Recently, the alleged rape of a girl in Okinawa by a U.S. soldier stationed there has been a major story in Japan. This is only the latest incident in a troubled history of Japanese-U.S. relations on Okinawa.

Crime is rare in Japan, even in large cities, so when foreigners commit a crime, as has happened several times in the past in Okinawa, it is only natural to look at foreigners with some amount of wariness and distrust.

The U.S. base in Okinawa is seen as disruptive in the otherwise stable society of the island, and many of the island's residents resent the military presence there. The situation is representative of the latent animosity some Japanese hold toward gaijin, a feeling that sometimes finds itself expressed, given the proper impetus.

Despite the sense that I don't quite belong here, I am still very glad I came to Japan. The Japanese friends I have made are as laid-back and affable as my friends from elsewhere in the world.

I have also actually learned a lot about other countries by talking to other friends I have made from places like Finland, Samoa, Mexico, Papua New Guinea and even mysterious Canada.

Being a gaijin, when you are surrounded by many others, is not hard at all.

[kirakira]

In other news, water is wet.

But yeah that's like an open secret.

[alanX]

Didn't I read a thread somewhere about Japan being very accepting and friendly to Gaijin? I think it was called "Going to Japan was the Worst Mistake of My Life"

It said the total opposite.

[burkhartdesu]

I remember back in 2007 my host family (and the whole community) were enraged by the raping in Okinawa... That was awkward.

[spicytuna]

Japan is definitely a country you'd call homogeneous so it's only natural that a non-asian would attract some attention... both positive and negative.

Of course it isn't limited to Japan either. I went to high school in a white suburb of Montreal where I was maybe 1 of 10 asians in a school of 1000 and trust me, discrimination and racial slurs were a daily occurrence for me.

Fast forward 20 years and I still face my share of unnecessary attraction when I travel to some real red-neck areas of Canada.

In that sense, Japan feels like home to me at times. How ironic...

[killyoself]

Originally Posted by burkhartdesu

I remember back in 2007 my host family (and the whole community) were enraged by the raping in Okinawa... That was awkward.

See, this is the thing. Why should that feel awkward?? I'm not doubting that it did, but the fact that it did says a lot about the place.

[alanX]

Originally Posted by killyoself

See, this is the thing. Why should that feel awkward?? I'm not doubting that it did, but the fact that it did says a lot about the place.

White man live with many asian......news come on about white man who rape asian.....white man feel awkward because he surrounded by many asian......



It's not rocket science, kid.

[burkhartdesu]

Originally Posted by killyoself

See, this is the thing. Why should that feel awkward?? I'm not doubting that it did, but the fact that it did says a lot about the place.

It didn't feel awkward because they were inflicting some sort of guilt on me-- I felt bad for my own reasons.

[killyoself]

Originally Posted by alanX

White man live with many asian......news come on about white man who rape asian.....white man feel awkward because he surrounded by many asian......



It's not rocket science, kid.

I wouldn't feel guilty. I mean why the hell should I?? Cos we're both white??? That's such a stupid way to look at things.
Does that mean you believe everytime there's a shooting on the news involving a black person, it should be a natural reaction for the black people in your little hick town to feel guilty?

[killyoself]

Originally Posted by burkhartdesu

It didn't feel awkward because they were inflicting some sort of guilt on me-- I felt bad for my own reasons.

Hmm, this sounds fishy. Is there something you want to get off your chest??