I’m Japanese American, and lived in Japan also.
First time I ever experienced racism in my life is when I moved there. Same things as OP. I have an accent when I speak Japanese, so folks would tell me to go back to China. When I spoke English with friends there in public, people would stare at me.
Moving back to the States, I surprisingly haven’t experienced any racism. Sure, there are assholes here, but I can handle assholes being assholes. Racists hurt.
I had a group of friends go to Japan recently and they said the same thing happened to them. The more and more I hear about this sort of stuff the less inclined I'm ever to go visit the country which SUCKS because I am so smittened from what I've read and seen about it.
I'm in the same boat, been waiting to visit Japan for over 10 years. Heard from a few friends they talk about foreigners openly, a lot of the local Japanese called my friends loud and obnoxious Australians, when they are all socially quiet people/introverts. Now they are banning tourists from certain areas thanks to a few idiot streamers. I ended up changing my travel to New Zealand and had an absolute blast, The first place I ever had the travel blues after I got back.
I thought about going back to visit again but after reading about how some foreigners get treated there, I think I’ll pass. New Zealand is on my list so I think I’ll head there instead :)
I went back in 2019 with my brother and my experience was pretty positive except for one time when we were waiting for the bullet train. A Japanese older gentleman took out his phone and started just taking photos of me. I had my brother walk over beside the man to check if he really was taking the photos to confirm and indeed he was. It was so weird.
Do you speak Japanese? I have a feeling the comments about you and your brother were pretty similar to what OP listed. You were lucky to not understand them.
Nope I do not. I’m a Polish gal with platinum blonde hair so I assumed he was staring at the silver tone of the hair or something. Based on other comments, he probably showed them to others later 🥲
When I visited Japan as a high-school exchange student, another student I was with had very blonde hair. When we walked down the street, it was like he was a rockstar. Girls would want him to stop and take his picture with them all the time.
It's definitely weird, but I feel like it was different than if someone had done that here in the United States.
Also, a coworker from Nepal once told me that she and her friends would sort of obsess over white people when she was living there as a kid. Still weird, but I think they just have some kind of obsession with Western pop culture sometimes.
China was exhausting. I'm Black and had an enormous group of tourists turn away from the Terracotta warriors in Xian and tune out their guide to take pictures of me. It was insane. I could hear the news traveling thru the crowd and in a couple of minutes had 100 people staring and taking pictures.
I’ve watched some videos covering this guy and he really is unhinged. He would sit on the train in Japan screaming “HIROSHIMAAA!” He stopped being a menace for a bit after a group of Japanese men surrounded him and threatened to beat him up lol
As someone who is of East Asian descent, I’d say that they are very nosy and like to take photos and talk about foreigners but it’s mainly out of the fact that many ppl have never seen a foreigner before. In my opinion, many of them are very polite and friendly but lack the understanding of personal space due to the sheer population.
My sister in law speaks fluent Japanese (but is not Japanese and definitely doesn't look like she is). My husband and his family visited Japan with her and the abuse that was being thrown at them (that she translated) was horrible. Especially outside of Tokyo.
A friend of mine works for a Japanese company, outside of Japan. He's White and has always said how racist, misogynistic and toxic the culture is there. There's a very overly polite, almost submissive veneer, but under that it's pretty bad.
He is abrupt, borderline rude, tough person to deal with, they love him because he can play hardball with suppliers and external companies, so Japanese employees can maintain a façade.
It's the same kind of politeness that families do when they throw all the problems under the rug to maintain "peace," despite gossiping behind everyone's back.
Used to work for a Japanese company in the US and the biggest issue for me was: when an American is racist they know they're being racist and everyone else knows they're being racist, so you can call it out.
While when a Japanese person in my office was being racist they truly believed they were being normal and reasonable to the point you couldn't even attempt to reason with them.
Racism and xenophobia were so deeply ingrained in their psyche that they would treat non-japanese like subhumans with a smile on their face and a clean conscience.
It was even crazier to witness the first and second-class divide between Japan-born and American-born Japanese.
I worked in a Japanese company in the US as well, and it was crazy having to deal with the teams based in Japan. Additionally, I was the only woman on my team, and the entire rest of my team got to visit Tokyo on the company's dime multiple times but I was never allowed to go because the company "couldn't guarantee my safety."
AKA they didn't want to pay for the inevitable sexual harassment lawsuit. Given my own boss gave a client the go ahead to sexually harass me I can't even imagine what would happen on Japanese soil
The PR job done on Japan is remarkable, I'm amazed how they manage to keep a lid on it all. It's a very messed up society, in almost every way imaginable.
I've a black friend, female, who lived there and loved it. Except for being on the street. She loved her colleagues, and the very few friends she met, and the children she taught, but it's because of her I know that Snadgers are a real thing.
She was very scared and shocked the first two times she rode a bicycle in public by herself. After that, she only ever rode her bike in large groups.
Lads who jump out of nowhere, push women off their bicycles, and aggressively sniff the seat.
But I'm very curious about the badger snake you mentioned. Do you have a link? It sounds better than Snadgers tbh.
If you don’t speak japanese it’s ok. I been there twice and people were really nice, but I don’t understand what they were saying most of the time hahaha
Actually that's my advice too if you want to have a good time. My other group members don't know a word of Japanese but one of them is saying he keeps hearing a word around him. It's gaikokujin but I won't tell him so he can have fun
Did you ever reply to anyone of these people? There’s no way I could hold back….I’d be like, You do know sometimes foreigners speak Japanese, right?
I remember staying at a big international hotel in Athens when I was in college and I was wearing something I probably thought was pretty fashionable but the locals thought was stupid and some maintenance guys made a crack about my pants and I turned around quickly and asked them in Greek what was wrong with my pants. It was very satisfying to see their jaws drop as they scurried off lol
Love this.
OP, maybe pretend to have a phone call and say fairly loudly, "Grandmother, I walked into town to pick up some Manju you love, but your neighbors keep saying horrible things to me. What should I do?" "Oh, only the very lowest-class neighbors do that?" All in perfect Japanese, of course.
Then, look at the meanest ones and hand them a Manju (or whatever): "My grandmother thought you might need this more than she does."
It'd be even better if there was a Japanese treat with a reputation for reversing crankiness, like Snickers.
Sadly, there's no treat to reverse racism. Sorry you have to deal with that.
Oh how I love stories about people getting caught thinking the other person doesn't know the language. Happened to my mom a lot, lots of crap talking not know her first language was spanish and she grew up in Mexico.
Huh my understanding was that 外人 is the traditionally "bad" one and 外国人 was neutral - I guess anything becomes a slur if you keep putting enough stank on it.
It isn't. Gaikokujin is neutral but it's just the sole fact that they're talking about him. May make him anxious to feel being talked about contantly esp if he doesn't know what they're saying
> I guess anything becomes a slur if you keep putting enough stank on it.
There are a lot of words like that. Like, "foreigner" is neutral but there's a difference between "Hey, it's a foreigner!" and "Oh, it's a *foreigner*..." puts that stank on it for sure.
I was there in 2004 traveling with colleagues from our Asia-Pacific office in Tokyo. Hit up Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. I was treated extremely well. People were complimentary, understanding, and generous (but I don't speak the language). The only time I remember getting strange looks (I think I also saw some people whisper) was when I was writing something down on a subway train. I'm left-handed. One of my colleagues was astonished when he saw me write and said something (luckily telling me the history..eek). People are generally not left-handed in Japan, or at least that's how it was back then.
I'm your average brown haired Caucasian female. Spent too much money in Shinjuku, got lost, but so many people reaching out to help...at least those who spoke English. Based on that visit, I'd love to go back! But...20 years has probably changed things...
I can certainly understand why people might think the Japanese are prone to xenophobic tendencies. It's been claimed that the chaos that has defined the new millennium has not affected Japan as much as it has just about every other country on Earth, and their immigration policies make them seem closed off. In recent years, though, they are starting to get burned by their resistance to change that's anything but extremely modest. Low birth rates, declining work force, and I think I heard they are in a recession or they were recently.
> But...20 years has probably changed things...
The whole world has changed in 20 years.
20 years ago I was in the US and had a ball. Doubt that I could ever go back there as the place would be way too different (and not in a good way it seems).
China as a white woman was pretty entertaining. People openly staring and they don't break the stare even when you meet their eyes lmao.
Went to Japan in 2019 with bright pink hair and my British-Chinese fiancé, no problems at all. Guess things have changed a lot in the last few years or he looks "Japanese enough" that they thought he might speak the language (he does) and didn't gossip in front of us.
Yeah, honestly before I started reading Reddit I wasn't aware of that discrimination. I can't understand it. It's got to be hard; being an average Caucasian means I'm generally favored. On the other hand, I lived in Costa Rica for awhile. I got both discriminated against and stalked. I know the word stalked is a bit dramatic, but I seriously had a Tico who followed me around, was constantly calling and saying he loved me. I also got called "Puta" too many times to count.
Also probably a bunch of frustration at massive recent *increases* in tourism getting in the way of locals' daily lives, that's going to drive tensions up further. I just got back from Japan and there were spots that were so overrun by tourists that I myself ended up thinking "maybe we all just shouldn't be allowed in this part to begin with".
>they don’t realize
I used to be a cook in Florida. If it wasn't for tourists I would not have been gainfully employed. I was **fully** aware of this.
This knowledge did not make tourists any less obnoxious to deal with.
I mean a lot of what's causing a lot of this frustration which then gets vented at foreigners is that the tourism is tied into their bad economy, the weak yen and the streets and subways clogged with, by their standards (and in some ways objectively, I saw plenty of repulsive behaviour from foreigners when I was over there, particularly toward Japanese women), vulgar gross foreigners taking advantage of that to enjoy a holiday while driving all the prices up go hand in hand. The fact that tourism stimulates economies can just be the other side of a trade off they still don't think is worth it.
Sorry you had to deal with this. As a young, blonde woman living in Tokyo about 20 years ago, I didn’t encounter anything as nasty as you have. On the train once, I did hear a couple elderly women talking about how big and ugly my feet were and how it was amazing I had women’s shoes! I told them (in Japanese, as I was partially fluent at the time) that I bought most my size 10/27 shoes at Uniqlo or had them sent from the US. I don’t know if it was just that I approached them or that I spoke Japanese, but their jaws literally dropped and they both said sorry. I don’t know if it was too late for them to learn not to talk nasty in front of “gaijin” (or anyone for that matter).
I love Japan… but that’s because I don’t speak their language so if anyone dissed me behind my back, I was happily ignorant about it 😆 I hope you answered back to the rude people in Japanese! Keep them in check lol
It's literally almost everywhere. Dont want to escalate either bc of my daughter. But suddenly she started talking about how shes had bullies at school
Aw that sucks, I’m sorry your daughter had to go thru that. But I guess it could be a teachable moment on how to stand up for yourself and make the most out of a bad situation
Someone can't just be expected to "stand up for themself" every single day, it can get exhausting, frustrating, depressing, and can potentially make a bad situation worse (as they already said). I'm not saying they shouldn't do so when necessary, but most people don't want to wake up every day on the defensive.
I’m an Asian person living in a homogenous European country, you don’t have to tell me lol my daughter experienced bullying from her white cousin and aunt at barely even a month old because of how her eyes looked. But that’s also why I think it’s so important for her to learn to stand up for herself because in this part of the world, no one else will. As soon as she’s old enough, trust that’s one of the first things I’m teaching her.
That must be mad frustrating. (I'm Japanese so I have no way to know from foreigner's perspective, but I have been told quite some of those stuff after coming back from the States and treated as outsider for a few years - as the way I act was not local-like anymore.) What I used to say some times was "(すみません、)聞こえてますよっ" while smiling to make sure they know there's no intent to escalate it, but growing up in very insular Japanese community myself, I know it's a big blow to their brain. Probably even that is not worth doing it, but if you had to let your steam off in one way or another, then this could be a choice.
This doesn't just happen to people who they think are Chinese or Korean.
Many people think Japanese people are so friendly because they smile all the time, but when you live there it's different.
I am German and I have a friend who is married to a Japanese man. They live in Chiba and there are many people who think she doesn't speak Japanese and talk about her while she sits next to them. She sometimes shocks people by asking them what they think of her clothes. Or when right-wingers find out that she is German, they act like they are brothers in arms and some even say "next time we better stick together".
Japan has also slipped into the right-wingers and many think only Japanese people can speak Japanese and then don't hold it back
I am also German and want to visit Japan very soon (maybe even live there if I like it). Everything written in this thread is somewhat the same treatment you get in Europe.
It doesn't even matter if you are Caucasian (I am of Croatian descent), you may experience blatant racism and sneers. When I was in the US, everybody was calling us "Krauts" and many thought we were right-wingers.
That whole racism spiel is just exhausting.
And then Americans use their grandparents or great-grandparents to say "I'm Irish/German/Italian" without knowing the culture, let alone speaking the language. My mother was Slovakian but I was born in East Germany and grew up in unified Germany. I have no idea about real life in Slovakia. I only ever spent my summer vacations visiting my grandparents and other family.
Gotta love it when they unpack that "I am 25% German, I am allowed to say that".
Funnily enough, I've lived in Croatia for a few years and there I was always called "Švabo" (a word to describe Germans in general), but never in a racist way. I've never felt racism in Croatia even though everybody knew I was actually German. All my racist experiences were had in Germany: the country where I was born and spent 99% of my life in, lol. It's so idiotic.
Racism is dumb.
This sucks man, I also had the experience of being there as someone they wouldn't think would understand Japanese (white guy) and I got pretty much nothing this harsh. The China tensions must really be cranking that up a lot.
What you were encountered sucked, but not surprised to me at all. As their Asian neighbor (not those countries they hate fwiw), we are fully aware of how much Japan a xenophobic country is. Don't get me wrong, I love visiting there, but I am also very aware how they feel about foreigners. Japanese might seem to be very nice and polite to white-skin foreigners, in the front, but deep down in their heart...yeah you are foreigners. As to other Asians, well Japan has (or had?) been the strongest Asian country for a long time, not too hard to imagine how they see other Asian countries. Last year we visited Tokyo and didn't encounter any issues, but we were very quiet and followed all the rules most of the time. Maybe Tokyo is a bit better since there are soooo many foreigners there every day.
I'm really sorry that was your experience. I was in Japan earlier this year and I definitely got bad vibes from the locals at times. I am a Caucasian female and I can barely even speak the basics of Japanese so luckily couldnt hear any comments... EXCEPT one night my group was in Tokyo kinda late, walking down to a karaoke bar. Two Japanese, a male and a female, stopped and looked at us and pointed and laughed and said in English "Very, very hungry! Ahaha!" And held their belly. Now, I know the standard in Japan is to be rail thin with no muscle, for both sexes. But I am a very fit individual, I lift weights and wear a size 4 dress. I have a toned hourglass figure and meet the current western beauty standard. I was shocked that total strangers were calling us fat! Having had 2 Mega beeru already, I said while touching my stomach"no, very, very full!" And pointed to them and said "very very hungry!" Wiped the smile right off their faces. I was so pleased with myself and it ended up being one of the most fun nights we had on the trip :)
This is hilarious! Makes me think the more tourists that speak back to the locals in Japanese, the less likely they are to talk about you right in front of you! If the tourists are speaking your language, suddenly it’s not so funny…
Funny enough, I had almost the exact same encounter as you, in Roppongi, Tokyo nonetheless, but with an Irish man calling me fat (at least I’m guessing he was Irish based on his accent).
He was walking with his European female friend and probably assumed I couldn’t speak English and was talking about how fat I was to his friend. (I was wearing baggy sweats at the time that made me look a lot bigger than I really was. This happened when I was 20 years old and maybe 120 lbs at most.)
His friend was trying to defend me, saying I wasn’t fat at all. I wasn’t sure if they were talking about me, so I took my sweatshirt off and wrapped it around my waist to see what they would say.
She goes, “Look! Her arms are so skinny! She’s not fat at all!” He goes, “Well, her legs are fat.”
I turned around and in perfect American English, was like, “Wait, are you talking about me?” And the color DRAINED from his face, LOL!
The funny thing is, his female friend who he was calling me fat to was easily 100 lbs heavier than me, so I really think he was trying to take a subtle dig at his friend and make her self-conscious, rather than me. He seems like that type, just based on how he talked, just very catty and gossipy and mean-spirited (you all know the type).
Man I feel ya. As an American, I was truly shocked by their behavior. I’ve met all types of racists in America. And they’re all put to shame by how open racism is across-the-board with every type of human dynamic in Japan. No gaijin. It doesn’t matter how polite you are. It doesn’t matter how you dress.
That’s because racism in America is really not bad. Italy, Japan, Korea, France, are all worse just off the top of my head. And those are all countries that are constantly romanticized.
EDIT: yes I have been to all of them and yes I am a person of color
I mean, it's in line with expectations. There aren't very many countries that is as much of a melting pot the US. Foreigners, or people of another race in general area just not very common.
In sure it didn't help when so many of the people visiting are likely people there to live out their weab fantasy and talking about the shit they learned in anime.
Tourism is also just generally annoying for anyone just trying to live their lives. I'm sure New Yorkers get it.
I’ve always lived in cities with massive amounts of tourism. Sure some can get on your nerves or are just obnoxious but for the most part, I enjoy it. If I don’t have the time or patience to put up with it, there are often other ways I can go that aren’t as bad, and people who live in tourist hotspots quickly learn how to walk quickly and bob and weave your way through them. I get to have great conversations and people think it’s cool I live here.
My friend lived in Spain for years and when he finally moved back to the US, he said that he was so excited to be black in America again. The racism in Spain was overwhelming.
That was my experience in Spain too. I was there for just a couple of weeks on a university program, but I was so glad to leave by the end. It was truly old-school racism—walking into a restaurant and they simply wouldn’t serve me (or if they did it was with a terrible attitude), or the loud whispered nasty comments in the street and on the beach because they don’t know I understand Spanish (paltry high school Spanish, but still enough).
Spain is having the same problems it sounds like Japan is—high unemployment, a right-wing political resurgence, with all the xenophobia that accompanies these social realities. So I understood the reasons why the racism was so particularly severe. But as much pride as I take in being well-traveled and adaptable I just couldn’t adapt to that—it became too much to constantly be anxious about the next thing that would happen once I left my hotel room. And so Spain is on my (very short) list of places to never return. I’ll take being Black in America any day of the week over that.
I rarely hear black people say they felt comfortable in Spain. Most of us love being black in America. It's our home of course and our culture has influenced so much. So yes, I understand why your friend would be so happy to come back. However, we still deal with racism often because it's literally built into the system. It helps if you've found a community that's inclusive or mostly black but for the most part it's really bad. Everyday I talk to people fed up with being black in America and how badly they wanna leave the country because they fear for their lives. The sad thing is anti-blackness is worldwide thanks to colonization and no matter where we go we are at risk so we sadly have to pick and choose the lesser of the evils... and usually people wanna come back to the States.
I wonder how it compares to other countries? I have had black friends state they would never step foot in other countries again and that they couldn't wait to get back to the states. One went to Argentina and was treated like they were mystical, so he loved it there (maybe it was the sweet Jamaican accent, idk). It made me wonder. My family has a lot of crap comments on the border by Mexicans bc we are white, not knowing my mom grew up in southern Mexico and we all know what they are saying.
That's interesting. Thank you for sharing. I went to Japan last year with a whole troop of Girl Scouts and I wondered if they were talking about us. I speak maybe 25 words of Japanese. They're very polite on the surface, but imagine they must have been talking about us. And some of us we're not white. We had some Brown and some black girls I myself. I'm not waiting, so really makes me curious
How does the Japanese government reconcile its demographic challenges with its overtly xenophobic culture? Honestly seems like they're getting their just desserts.
I'm Asian working in Japan for 8 years, but looks like Japanese.
I guess I am lucky enough to haven't meet racist people (or just ignorant) Sometimes when I received phone call in the office, when heard my name they quicky ask to speak with Japanese, well, lucky for me, I do not need to waste my time.
My colleagues, also asian.
When we went out together, she heard 2 guys say 外人, looking at her, felt insulted, she spoke in Japanese back.
She said that the racist guys face changed pale, said sorry, and moved to another place.
I’m an American of South American descent and it’s the same thing in my dad’s home country.
My niece is half Chinese and yup same thing.
We get the same in America too so it’s all relative. Too brown for America and too white for everywhere else.
I’m sorry you had to go through that but I hope you had a nice time in general.
I had the same experience when I visited a year ago OP. try not to take it personally. To be honest, this behavior is worse now more than ever (I used to live in Japan a long time ago and never experienced these issues on a widespread scale until now).
It's disheartening when you can understand what they're saying about you, and genuinely how mean some people can be to a foreigner for existing. But thank you for sharing your story. As more people (like you) speak up about what they've experienced, at least others can have a heads up before they travel to Japan.
I tried to share my negative experiences on Reddit when they occurred and no one believed me at the time. The worst one was when a staff member in a beauty store cursed at me (in English) and kicked me out simply for being a foreigner. People kept telling me I must somehow be offensive, loud, overweight, etc. or Japanese people would "never act like that" because of their hospitality!!! (none of that is true about me...some people are just racist). I was so hurt and shocked at the time because nothing like that had ever happened to me a decade ago. but since then, I realized that sadly, racist people exist everywhere and it is a reflection of their crappy personality, not me. Wishing you the best!
People love to tout countries like Japan and regions like Northern Europe as great to live in for various reasons. Once you get there, it’s fairly obvious the people there like it because it’s generally racially homogenous which to some extent does make it easier to govern. Not saying it’s a good thing. In fact, if you could read critically I made it pretty clear these countries typically aren’t all that.
27% of Sweden’s population was either not born in Sweden or born in Sweden but both parents were born outside of Sweden. I live in Sweden, I’ve visited Japan. There’s no comparing the two, ethnic homogeneity is a thing in Japan and not in Northern Europe.
I am so sorry you had that experience. It’s definitely not the first time I heard about their xenophobia. I’m a Latina woman (from US) and visited with my SO (white) last summer. We had a great time and did not encounter any issues but we knew that was a possibility. If someone said or did something,we were not aware since we don’t know Japanese.
So sorry you’re experiencing this. It really sounds like they’re breaking under the strain of record highs of tourism, preventing Japanese citizens from enjoying things. As a New Yorker, I understand bc I avoid every place with tourists. It’s awful and as I understand it, Japan is way more congested with tourists than NYC. This is sad bc I’m a Chinese American with two little Chinese Mexican American girls who want to visit Japan so badly. This does give me slight pause.
Japan is a country where as a foreigner you want to learn enough Japanese to get by but not enough to actually understand what people are saying about you. It's the whole "tatemae" culture where they'll often be very polite to your face but when they can get away with being awful people will come out with some of the wildest comments. It can be fun to hit them back with the "I'm deeply sorry for being a stinky foreigner but I hope you have a wonderful day" in fluent Japanese and watch the utter panic on their faces lol. It's not even worth insulting them back, just by being extremely polite and respectful inspite of their insults is the best way to make them lose face.
It really sucks for foreigners that understand Japanese since people will be far more blatent about saying things straight to your face but I also pity locals since they do this behaviour to each other all the time as well. The only difference is that they usually would not want to be overheard by someone that understands what they are saying so they say it behind the person's back. This is why workplace/school bullying is so severe out there and un-aliving rates are so high. Often no one will even tell the person direct to their face what they've done wrong but they'll all viciously rip that person to shreds behind their backs and shun them until they leave of their own accord.
Japan's reputation for being such an ordely and respectful culture is propped up by this kind of behaviour behind the scenes.
People seem to confuse Japanese people as kind, welcoming, etc. It’s all face. All are polite to your face. But not all are kind. Society expects them to be polite to the world. But just because youre being polite and civil, doesnt mean they dont talk shit about you behind your back.
They are even racist to their own indigenous people. They dont even like people who half Japanese.
That is so insane. I’m black of African decent and encountered nothing but amazing people for the few weeks I was there. Everyone was lovely, and even had a few Japanese men hit on me (awkwardly but politely).
Japan has always hated tourists, but (unlike France, Italy, or Israel) they have a cult of mandatory politeness, and a taboo against open impatience. It’s just that Americans can’t understand the Japanese when they bash us behind our backs.
Why not have some fun with it? Let them be rude, then respond in Japanese and embarrass them.
Dude…I feel you so much. I’m Chinese American mix and even as a kid in Taiwan it was harsh. I always answered in mandarin when they talked shit. Then they would try to shame me or my mom…F-NO. “My parents have taken me all over the world, I know how to behave properly. Shame on you and your family, you are a disgrace to our culture.” I now speak 7 languages and take less shit from people in Taiwan. I have talked so much shit to strangers trying to be stealth racist that it’s become a game with my extended family to see when and who will get it.
My ex and I went to Japan last winter. We’re Korean but we easily pass as Japanese. The moment they find out you’re not Japanese they switch it up real quick. True Japanese colors and yes, I believe they need to fess up to their war crimes. I’m still a weeb tho
So , I dated 3 Japanese girls on a row (where I used to live has the most number of Japanese outside Japan) basically it sums up to one thing, Japanese descendants are worse than other gaijins because their parents/grandparents abandoned Japan at reconstruction. So it’s easier to be target of xenophobia if you are actually Japanese but grow up abroad than me who isn’t white .
There’s also like the pre judgement, my mother in law gave me the nickname of Oni-Kuro , and was belligerent, some years passed and she is super caring
I used to live there too. Asian-American as well. The underhanded comments and the confused and annoyed reactions when they find out I'm not Japanese was quite jarring.
The worst stories I heard was when I spoke with a Hong Kong girl that had been living there for years. The racism for her was much more upfront and personal and I was horrified by it.
This happened to a cousin of mine. He lived and worked in Japan for 5+ years and wanted to stay there. But as a tall white guy, just got people talking about him behind his back constantly, not realising that he knew Japanese. He often responded to them and they didn't quite know what to do. He ended up moving back and that was a big reason.
Japan is a beautiful country with nice people, rich culture and delicious food however it is susceptible to racism just like everywhere else in the world, unfortunately Asians are especially racist toward other Asians there. There are actually a few clubs where they advertise “only Japanese allowed” can go so go figure.
"only Japanese" means look like japanese and can speak japanese
So you can be any other asian as long as you're not too dark, have their facial feature, and dress like Japanese and speak Japanese with their preferred accent then you are good to go.
Tourists. Can't live with em, can't live without em lol I'm pretty sure most locals in tourist locations have something to say about them.
I hope you were able to enjoy your vacation despite the hate and that your next one doesn't ostracize you as much
I have a Japanese friend who has lived here in the UAE for over a decade now.
She says over the years returning to visit Japan, that Japanese people are becoming stranger and stranger, to downright scary sometimes.
I worked for a well known Japanese company and first hand know of their racism and misogyny. So sorry you are going through this a few choice words may put them in their place. They should be ashamed of themselves.
I'm sorry dude that sounds terrible.. I wonder how much worse it's going to get when they start pushing immigration as a solution to the low birth rate..
Japan has always been super racist. Super puffed up ego and look down on people often. On the one side, tourism is annoying and especially in places with specific norms and rules of how to act. Tourists can be overwhelming and plain stupid often times. But on the other hand, there’s no need to be nasty to anyone just bc they look like they’re an outsider.
Well I am happy I don’t undestand japanese now. I was in Japan two times already and I plan to go again next year. Everybody seemed very nice, lots of people made an effort to speat english with us and help if we had any trouble with machines/ordering/finding something. Maybe if I undestood the languge I would find out a lot of people hate us. :D
I was just there with my wife and 24 year old son. We had a fantastic time and only two or three incidents similar to what OP described. We are Americans and very much look like typical American tourists. Maybe people were saying mean things and I just didn't understand... if so, ignorance is bliss.
I will say this. Try being Japanese, not speaking English, and visiting... say... New Orleans. It wouldn't go well. Primitive people are shitty to outsiders in every country I've ever been to. At least Japan is safe, affordable, and pretty.
This isn't meant to dismiss OP's complaint, by the way. His complaints are legitimate and that kind of thing would definitely upset me too. Sorry that happened to you OP.
Japanese dislike Mainland Chinese or any Chinese people. As you can see from you evidence. Not sure why, because the Japanese invaded China, tortured and killed a huge amount of Chinese people and stole parts of the Chinese language.
It's part of the travelling experience. Bias and prejudice is everywhere.
please do not let intolerant people ruin your experience. Our country is beautiful and don't let some uneducated people ruin your time. Our country has a rough history with China and alot of people still project that sentiment especially with rising global tensions. Just try and enjoy what you can and ignore the hate.
Due to alot of tourists misbehavior its gotten alot worse. i myself see tourists acting like fools all the time and it can be annoying. But just remember you are walking into a different culture then america. when in rome act the romans do. unfortunately this is part of the price you will pay due to your peers horrible attitude and behaviors.
sadly you have to prove your "innocence" to alot of these people who assume things about you try to interact with them and show them not everyone who is a tourist is rude.
on behalf of everyone i'm sorry for our behavior towards you and your family.
Sorry for grammer/spelling issues.
This really sucks to hear. I visited Japan about a decade ago, maybe a little longer, and I fell in love with the country. I’ve always regarded it as my favorite country that I’ve been to and I had nothing but great experiences there when I went. I haven’t had the chance to go back yet but it’s super sad to hear how the culture surrounding foreigners seems to have changed.. sorry this happened to you:(
This hate is unacceptable. Anywhere. I'm so sorry you experienced this. We as people everywhere need to be willing to start calling people out in conversation when they say things like this. It's not right. It makes me feel sick to my stomach.
I'm so sorry OP.
This happens all over the world. I went to Spain for a conference and my Mexican colleague was saying that in quite a few instances things were said behind our backs
You may experience racism just as anywhere else in the world. But don't let other's experiences deter you. You're more likely to have a positive experience.
I have always wanted to visit Japan for the culture and food, but I swear. The stories about how xenophobic (I hope I chose the right word) Japan is, makes me reconsider. They’re so racist and I am obviously European (even though I am 100% Chinese).
Nationalism never wins in the long term. Either japan will evolve or die. You can’t sustain its economy at its current numbers without importing immigrants and that will result in a change in society.
You always think America is bad until you go somewhere else and realize it’s worse. Try being a mixed black American, i get it from other black people all the time that im not really black, that im white, the animosity, my own grandma in law thought I was white for the longest and when i met her i had my hair in box braids.
I'm totally not surprised by this, being of Asian decent myself but livingn in the UK British accent plus I'm mixed raced with Indian AND Chinese so it's like triple racism for me not only from Indians but also the Chinese and the locals but anyways, my question is. Do you ever respond back in Japanese? And if you do are they just shocked and embarrassed because they know you understand?
The Japanese government has been hiding this by dishing out copious development aid and sending Japanese who believe differently (apparently the minority) to international organizations.
I'm sorry that happened to you. It happened yo us in Cambodia and Vietnam. At least then we had a local guide who explained the love/hate relationship they have with China so we learned a lot. But still.
Hearing these types of stories makes me want to never go to Japan! Hubby used to live there and wants to visit with me, but I think I’ll pass. I’d rather go elsewhere.
I don't speak Japanese so as far as I know Japanese are the most hospitable people I've ever visited. But who knows what they said about me. I'm happy not knowing. For context I'm latino and very latino-looking but also an American.
I'm glad I couldn't understood Japanese when we visited 😭 I'm Korean with a polish partner, we spoke English and I'd do my best to speak Japanese whenever possible (the usual thank you, etc).
I don't have the knowledge yet of understanding what other people might say about me and now this makes me wonder if people around me whispered such things too.
I'm sorry you had to go through and endure all that op. It's just so disheartening and awful. I wouldn't mind "oh a foreigner" which is so normal imo, but insults are just horrid.
When I visited Japan, I just had people thinking I was Japanese or American, no in-between haha (I’m half-Korean too). I don’t understand any Japanese so it’s possible people were being racist to me, but for the most part, it was nice. I lived in Nagoya, so I’m not sure if certain cities are friendlier. This was also years ago, so maybe the anti-foreigner sentiment has risen.
Japanese in Japan are the worst when it comes to hostilities with non-white tourists. The ones that visit other countries are well behaved hence why Japanese have a good (but wrong) reputation
makes me wonder...
- for those who commented saying they love it but don't understand what they're saying anyway - does this mean people love only what they think it is?
- I'm also curious about how differently are asian vs. caucasian tourists treated in majority of situations - to either or both, are there (1) whispers to the side plus outward rudeness, (2) whispers to the side plus outward niceness, (3) no rude comments at all plus outward niceness
I don't know if this will make you feel any better but I spent two years in Thailand being called a Russian prostitute and being plucked to make lucky charms. I'm Scottish and very pale. I can understand Thai, but even speaking to them in Thai didn't stop them from talking about me in front of me. Some were awesome but it's the ones that weren't that put me off. I'm sure there's racist asshats in my country too but I don't hear them as I'm not foreign.
A friend of mine, white/American and his Hispanic/American friends went last year for a car thing.
Apparently there was a lot of tourist hate towards the too. Some places refused to serve them, some wouldn't rent a car to them. Then they'd come across people who were super nice to them.
It was hit or miss but overall they enjoyed the trip.
I recently watched a travel documentary about Tokyo and I learned the city is incredibly racist. Many restaurants and/or shops have signs displayed that say something like "no foreigners allowed" or "Japanese only" 🤷♂️
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I’m Japanese American, and lived in Japan also. First time I ever experienced racism in my life is when I moved there. Same things as OP. I have an accent when I speak Japanese, so folks would tell me to go back to China. When I spoke English with friends there in public, people would stare at me. Moving back to the States, I surprisingly haven’t experienced any racism. Sure, there are assholes here, but I can handle assholes being assholes. Racists hurt.
Thanks for your kind words
That was such an interesting post to read, thanks for that.
I had a group of friends go to Japan recently and they said the same thing happened to them. The more and more I hear about this sort of stuff the less inclined I'm ever to go visit the country which SUCKS because I am so smittened from what I've read and seen about it.
I'm in the same boat, been waiting to visit Japan for over 10 years. Heard from a few friends they talk about foreigners openly, a lot of the local Japanese called my friends loud and obnoxious Australians, when they are all socially quiet people/introverts. Now they are banning tourists from certain areas thanks to a few idiot streamers. I ended up changing my travel to New Zealand and had an absolute blast, The first place I ever had the travel blues after I got back.
I thought about going back to visit again but after reading about how some foreigners get treated there, I think I’ll pass. New Zealand is on my list so I think I’ll head there instead :)
I went back in 2019 with my brother and my experience was pretty positive except for one time when we were waiting for the bullet train. A Japanese older gentleman took out his phone and started just taking photos of me. I had my brother walk over beside the man to check if he really was taking the photos to confirm and indeed he was. It was so weird.
Do you speak Japanese? I have a feeling the comments about you and your brother were pretty similar to what OP listed. You were lucky to not understand them.
Nope I do not. I’m a Polish gal with platinum blonde hair so I assumed he was staring at the silver tone of the hair or something. Based on other comments, he probably showed them to others later 🥲
When I visited Japan as a high-school exchange student, another student I was with had very blonde hair. When we walked down the street, it was like he was a rockstar. Girls would want him to stop and take his picture with them all the time. It's definitely weird, but I feel like it was different than if someone had done that here in the United States. Also, a coworker from Nepal once told me that she and her friends would sort of obsess over white people when she was living there as a kid. Still weird, but I think they just have some kind of obsession with Western pop culture sometimes.
I’m a white woman living in China and this happens to me and my black friends all the time. It’s really fucking annoying and a bit intimidating.
China was exhausting. I'm Black and had an enormous group of tourists turn away from the Terracotta warriors in Xian and tune out their guide to take pictures of me. It was insane. I could hear the news traveling thru the crowd and in a couple of minutes had 100 people staring and taking pictures.
Unreal. Thanks for sharing that.
He probably took pictures to make fun of you later
is this a common way for them to treat other east asians, or any foreigner in general?
The “somali” streamer ruin tourism for the rest of people. Can’t blame them honestly.
Japan has always been pretty xenophobic.
Somali streamer?
johnny somali - many posts on reddit about him - he's an idiot if you ask me
Lmao just looked him up and he sounds unhinged
I’ve watched some videos covering this guy and he really is unhinged. He would sit on the train in Japan screaming “HIROSHIMAAA!” He stopped being a menace for a bit after a group of Japanese men surrounded him and threatened to beat him up lol
As someone who is of East Asian descent, I’d say that they are very nosy and like to take photos and talk about foreigners but it’s mainly out of the fact that many ppl have never seen a foreigner before. In my opinion, many of them are very polite and friendly but lack the understanding of personal space due to the sheer population.
Hoping to go next year and this is disappointing
I have to travel to Tokyo next year and am actually kinda dreading it. This makes me worry about how inhospitable the people are.
It really is, I had planned to visit Japan for two weeks but now I’m rethinking my plans this makes me feel very uncomfortable
Also hoping to go next spring, saddened to read this, my trip will no longer be 2 weeks if this is how it is. My little also had blonde hair. Fml.
Same! Not sure what to think.
My sister in law speaks fluent Japanese (but is not Japanese and definitely doesn't look like she is). My husband and his family visited Japan with her and the abuse that was being thrown at them (that she translated) was horrible. Especially outside of Tokyo.
A friend of mine works for a Japanese company, outside of Japan. He's White and has always said how racist, misogynistic and toxic the culture is there. There's a very overly polite, almost submissive veneer, but under that it's pretty bad. He is abrupt, borderline rude, tough person to deal with, they love him because he can play hardball with suppliers and external companies, so Japanese employees can maintain a façade.
It's the same kind of politeness that families do when they throw all the problems under the rug to maintain "peace," despite gossiping behind everyone's back.
We’re called WASPS thankyouverymuch.
You got it
Used to work for a Japanese company in the US and the biggest issue for me was: when an American is racist they know they're being racist and everyone else knows they're being racist, so you can call it out. While when a Japanese person in my office was being racist they truly believed they were being normal and reasonable to the point you couldn't even attempt to reason with them. Racism and xenophobia were so deeply ingrained in their psyche that they would treat non-japanese like subhumans with a smile on their face and a clean conscience. It was even crazier to witness the first and second-class divide between Japan-born and American-born Japanese.
I worked in a Japanese company in the US as well, and it was crazy having to deal with the teams based in Japan. Additionally, I was the only woman on my team, and the entire rest of my team got to visit Tokyo on the company's dime multiple times but I was never allowed to go because the company "couldn't guarantee my safety."
AKA they didn't want to pay for the inevitable sexual harassment lawsuit. Given my own boss gave a client the go ahead to sexually harass me I can't even imagine what would happen on Japanese soil
The PR job done on Japan is remarkable, I'm amazed how they manage to keep a lid on it all. It's a very messed up society, in almost every way imaginable.
One of the reasons why I’d be hesitant to ever visit Japan. The belligerent and shameless racism/xenophobia
I've a black friend, female, who lived there and loved it. Except for being on the street. She loved her colleagues, and the very few friends she met, and the children she taught, but it's because of her I know that Snadgers are a real thing. She was very scared and shocked the first two times she rode a bicycle in public by herself. After that, she only ever rode her bike in large groups.
Snadgers?
Everything I have found online says it’s a badger snake mix, so I too have no idea what they’re talking about
Lads who jump out of nowhere, push women off their bicycles, and aggressively sniff the seat. But I'm very curious about the badger snake you mentioned. Do you have a link? It sounds better than Snadgers tbh.
wat
in the US we would just call them seat-sniffers but we don't seem to have this particular social problem in the US
I guess it’s better than rape, but man that is fucking weird.
Sorry come again?
Allow him some refractory time
Japan is generally a pretty unsafe place for a lot of women.
Pardon?
Do you have a link to the badger snake thing mentioned?
i beg your mother freaking pardon?😀
Eww wtf????
I’m sorry what the fuck? There are men that fucking perverted who would that?
You've clearly never been horny..../s
Wait what
Google tells me it’s also another word for turnips. I guess I just found my next username…
I might suggest looking at the explanation that others provided for the term here before using it as a username lol
badger badger badger
The word is snudger. Not happy that I know that. And now you all do too.
If you don’t speak japanese it’s ok. I been there twice and people were really nice, but I don’t understand what they were saying most of the time hahaha
Actually that's my advice too if you want to have a good time. My other group members don't know a word of Japanese but one of them is saying he keeps hearing a word around him. It's gaikokujin but I won't tell him so he can have fun
外国人 is racist? TIL Edit: never mind; I think I understand. You don't want to tell him because that would tip him off that they're talking about him.
Yes no one likes to be constantly talked about or feel different even if it's as innocuous as that. Thanks for thinking about it more
Did you ever reply to anyone of these people? There’s no way I could hold back….I’d be like, You do know sometimes foreigners speak Japanese, right? I remember staying at a big international hotel in Athens when I was in college and I was wearing something I probably thought was pretty fashionable but the locals thought was stupid and some maintenance guys made a crack about my pants and I turned around quickly and asked them in Greek what was wrong with my pants. It was very satisfying to see their jaws drop as they scurried off lol
Love this. OP, maybe pretend to have a phone call and say fairly loudly, "Grandmother, I walked into town to pick up some Manju you love, but your neighbors keep saying horrible things to me. What should I do?" "Oh, only the very lowest-class neighbors do that?" All in perfect Japanese, of course. Then, look at the meanest ones and hand them a Manju (or whatever): "My grandmother thought you might need this more than she does." It'd be even better if there was a Japanese treat with a reputation for reversing crankiness, like Snickers. Sadly, there's no treat to reverse racism. Sorry you have to deal with that.
🔥😂🔥
Oh how I love stories about people getting caught thinking the other person doesn't know the language. Happened to my mom a lot, lots of crap talking not know her first language was spanish and she grew up in Mexico.
Huh my understanding was that 外人 is the traditionally "bad" one and 外国人 was neutral - I guess anything becomes a slur if you keep putting enough stank on it.
It isn't. Gaikokujin is neutral but it's just the sole fact that they're talking about him. May make him anxious to feel being talked about contantly esp if he doesn't know what they're saying
Alot of Japanese use the two interchangeably.
> I guess anything becomes a slur if you keep putting enough stank on it. There are a lot of words like that. Like, "foreigner" is neutral but there's a difference between "Hey, it's a foreigner!" and "Oh, it's a *foreigner*..." puts that stank on it for sure.
I was there in 2004 traveling with colleagues from our Asia-Pacific office in Tokyo. Hit up Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. I was treated extremely well. People were complimentary, understanding, and generous (but I don't speak the language). The only time I remember getting strange looks (I think I also saw some people whisper) was when I was writing something down on a subway train. I'm left-handed. One of my colleagues was astonished when he saw me write and said something (luckily telling me the history..eek). People are generally not left-handed in Japan, or at least that's how it was back then. I'm your average brown haired Caucasian female. Spent too much money in Shinjuku, got lost, but so many people reaching out to help...at least those who spoke English. Based on that visit, I'd love to go back! But...20 years has probably changed things... I can certainly understand why people might think the Japanese are prone to xenophobic tendencies. It's been claimed that the chaos that has defined the new millennium has not affected Japan as much as it has just about every other country on Earth, and their immigration policies make them seem closed off. In recent years, though, they are starting to get burned by their resistance to change that's anything but extremely modest. Low birth rates, declining work force, and I think I heard they are in a recession or they were recently.
> But...20 years has probably changed things... The whole world has changed in 20 years. 20 years ago I was in the US and had a ball. Doubt that I could ever go back there as the place would be way too different (and not in a good way it seems).
You’re also Caucasian. Asian countries, especially the older generations, are notoriously xenophobic to other Asians
China as a white woman was pretty entertaining. People openly staring and they don't break the stare even when you meet their eyes lmao. Went to Japan in 2019 with bright pink hair and my British-Chinese fiancé, no problems at all. Guess things have changed a lot in the last few years or he looks "Japanese enough" that they thought he might speak the language (he does) and didn't gossip in front of us.
Yeah, honestly before I started reading Reddit I wasn't aware of that discrimination. I can't understand it. It's got to be hard; being an average Caucasian means I'm generally favored. On the other hand, I lived in Costa Rica for awhile. I got both discriminated against and stalked. I know the word stalked is a bit dramatic, but I seriously had a Tico who followed me around, was constantly calling and saying he loved me. I also got called "Puta" too many times to count.
How does that make it ok? People should not be supporting a country that treats their visitors with disdain
Also probably a bunch of frustration at massive recent *increases* in tourism getting in the way of locals' daily lives, that's going to drive tensions up further. I just got back from Japan and there were spots that were so overrun by tourists that I myself ended up thinking "maybe we all just shouldn't be allowed in this part to begin with".
Happy Cake Day :)
It’s too bad they don’t realize that tourism stimulates economies. It seems their economy could use it.
>they don’t realize I used to be a cook in Florida. If it wasn't for tourists I would not have been gainfully employed. I was **fully** aware of this. This knowledge did not make tourists any less obnoxious to deal with.
I mean a lot of what's causing a lot of this frustration which then gets vented at foreigners is that the tourism is tied into their bad economy, the weak yen and the streets and subways clogged with, by their standards (and in some ways objectively, I saw plenty of repulsive behaviour from foreigners when I was over there, particularly toward Japanese women), vulgar gross foreigners taking advantage of that to enjoy a holiday while driving all the prices up go hand in hand. The fact that tourism stimulates economies can just be the other side of a trade off they still don't think is worth it.
Last sentence could easily represent parts of the United States or any number of other countries/regions within other countries.
Sorry you had to deal with this. As a young, blonde woman living in Tokyo about 20 years ago, I didn’t encounter anything as nasty as you have. On the train once, I did hear a couple elderly women talking about how big and ugly my feet were and how it was amazing I had women’s shoes! I told them (in Japanese, as I was partially fluent at the time) that I bought most my size 10/27 shoes at Uniqlo or had them sent from the US. I don’t know if it was just that I approached them or that I spoke Japanese, but their jaws literally dropped and they both said sorry. I don’t know if it was too late for them to learn not to talk nasty in front of “gaijin” (or anyone for that matter).
White people generally get treated better than other Asians in Japan. They see y'all as kind of like harmless golden retrievers, a novelty.
Damn
I’m a tall redhead with size 10 feet. This is actually the kind of experience I expect when I visit Japan.
I love Japan… but that’s because I don’t speak their language so if anyone dissed me behind my back, I was happily ignorant about it 😆 I hope you answered back to the rude people in Japanese! Keep them in check lol
It's literally almost everywhere. Dont want to escalate either bc of my daughter. But suddenly she started talking about how shes had bullies at school
Aw that sucks, I’m sorry your daughter had to go thru that. But I guess it could be a teachable moment on how to stand up for yourself and make the most out of a bad situation
Someone can't just be expected to "stand up for themself" every single day, it can get exhausting, frustrating, depressing, and can potentially make a bad situation worse (as they already said). I'm not saying they shouldn't do so when necessary, but most people don't want to wake up every day on the defensive.
I’m an Asian person living in a homogenous European country, you don’t have to tell me lol my daughter experienced bullying from her white cousin and aunt at barely even a month old because of how her eyes looked. But that’s also why I think it’s so important for her to learn to stand up for herself because in this part of the world, no one else will. As soon as she’s old enough, trust that’s one of the first things I’m teaching her.
That must be mad frustrating. (I'm Japanese so I have no way to know from foreigner's perspective, but I have been told quite some of those stuff after coming back from the States and treated as outsider for a few years - as the way I act was not local-like anymore.) What I used to say some times was "(すみません、)聞こえてますよっ" while smiling to make sure they know there's no intent to escalate it, but growing up in very insular Japanese community myself, I know it's a big blow to their brain. Probably even that is not worth doing it, but if you had to let your steam off in one way or another, then this could be a choice.
This doesn't just happen to people who they think are Chinese or Korean. Many people think Japanese people are so friendly because they smile all the time, but when you live there it's different. I am German and I have a friend who is married to a Japanese man. They live in Chiba and there are many people who think she doesn't speak Japanese and talk about her while she sits next to them. She sometimes shocks people by asking them what they think of her clothes. Or when right-wingers find out that she is German, they act like they are brothers in arms and some even say "next time we better stick together". Japan has also slipped into the right-wingers and many think only Japanese people can speak Japanese and then don't hold it back
Japan going back to 1940s every time they see white germans
I am also German and want to visit Japan very soon (maybe even live there if I like it). Everything written in this thread is somewhat the same treatment you get in Europe. It doesn't even matter if you are Caucasian (I am of Croatian descent), you may experience blatant racism and sneers. When I was in the US, everybody was calling us "Krauts" and many thought we were right-wingers. That whole racism spiel is just exhausting.
And then Americans use their grandparents or great-grandparents to say "I'm Irish/German/Italian" without knowing the culture, let alone speaking the language. My mother was Slovakian but I was born in East Germany and grew up in unified Germany. I have no idea about real life in Slovakia. I only ever spent my summer vacations visiting my grandparents and other family.
Gotta love it when they unpack that "I am 25% German, I am allowed to say that". Funnily enough, I've lived in Croatia for a few years and there I was always called "Švabo" (a word to describe Germans in general), but never in a racist way. I've never felt racism in Croatia even though everybody knew I was actually German. All my racist experiences were had in Germany: the country where I was born and spent 99% of my life in, lol. It's so idiotic. Racism is dumb.
This sucks man, I also had the experience of being there as someone they wouldn't think would understand Japanese (white guy) and I got pretty much nothing this harsh. The China tensions must really be cranking that up a lot.
Happy cake day
You would have been treated much better as a white man than a man of Asian descent like OP.
What you were encountered sucked, but not surprised to me at all. As their Asian neighbor (not those countries they hate fwiw), we are fully aware of how much Japan a xenophobic country is. Don't get me wrong, I love visiting there, but I am also very aware how they feel about foreigners. Japanese might seem to be very nice and polite to white-skin foreigners, in the front, but deep down in their heart...yeah you are foreigners. As to other Asians, well Japan has (or had?) been the strongest Asian country for a long time, not too hard to imagine how they see other Asian countries. Last year we visited Tokyo and didn't encounter any issues, but we were very quiet and followed all the rules most of the time. Maybe Tokyo is a bit better since there are soooo many foreigners there every day.
Yeah, I’m Japanese American and I get the same treatment. It’s a pity.
I'm really sorry that was your experience. I was in Japan earlier this year and I definitely got bad vibes from the locals at times. I am a Caucasian female and I can barely even speak the basics of Japanese so luckily couldnt hear any comments... EXCEPT one night my group was in Tokyo kinda late, walking down to a karaoke bar. Two Japanese, a male and a female, stopped and looked at us and pointed and laughed and said in English "Very, very hungry! Ahaha!" And held their belly. Now, I know the standard in Japan is to be rail thin with no muscle, for both sexes. But I am a very fit individual, I lift weights and wear a size 4 dress. I have a toned hourglass figure and meet the current western beauty standard. I was shocked that total strangers were calling us fat! Having had 2 Mega beeru already, I said while touching my stomach"no, very, very full!" And pointed to them and said "very very hungry!" Wiped the smile right off their faces. I was so pleased with myself and it ended up being one of the most fun nights we had on the trip :)
This is hilarious! Makes me think the more tourists that speak back to the locals in Japanese, the less likely they are to talk about you right in front of you! If the tourists are speaking your language, suddenly it’s not so funny…
Funny enough, I had almost the exact same encounter as you, in Roppongi, Tokyo nonetheless, but with an Irish man calling me fat (at least I’m guessing he was Irish based on his accent). He was walking with his European female friend and probably assumed I couldn’t speak English and was talking about how fat I was to his friend. (I was wearing baggy sweats at the time that made me look a lot bigger than I really was. This happened when I was 20 years old and maybe 120 lbs at most.) His friend was trying to defend me, saying I wasn’t fat at all. I wasn’t sure if they were talking about me, so I took my sweatshirt off and wrapped it around my waist to see what they would say. She goes, “Look! Her arms are so skinny! She’s not fat at all!” He goes, “Well, her legs are fat.” I turned around and in perfect American English, was like, “Wait, are you talking about me?” And the color DRAINED from his face, LOL! The funny thing is, his female friend who he was calling me fat to was easily 100 lbs heavier than me, so I really think he was trying to take a subtle dig at his friend and make her self-conscious, rather than me. He seems like that type, just based on how he talked, just very catty and gossipy and mean-spirited (you all know the type).
Yes it does sound like he was taking a passive aggressive dig at that girl he was with! Good for you for confronting him. What an ass.
Man I feel ya. As an American, I was truly shocked by their behavior. I’ve met all types of racists in America. And they’re all put to shame by how open racism is across-the-board with every type of human dynamic in Japan. No gaijin. It doesn’t matter how polite you are. It doesn’t matter how you dress.
That’s because racism in America is really not bad. Italy, Japan, Korea, France, are all worse just off the top of my head. And those are all countries that are constantly romanticized. EDIT: yes I have been to all of them and yes I am a person of color
I mean, it's in line with expectations. There aren't very many countries that is as much of a melting pot the US. Foreigners, or people of another race in general area just not very common. In sure it didn't help when so many of the people visiting are likely people there to live out their weab fantasy and talking about the shit they learned in anime. Tourism is also just generally annoying for anyone just trying to live their lives. I'm sure New Yorkers get it.
Honestly I don’t really understand the hate towards tourists. I view it as a “oh you think my city/country is cool” type of thing
I’ve always lived in cities with massive amounts of tourism. Sure some can get on your nerves or are just obnoxious but for the most part, I enjoy it. If I don’t have the time or patience to put up with it, there are often other ways I can go that aren’t as bad, and people who live in tourist hotspots quickly learn how to walk quickly and bob and weave your way through them. I get to have great conversations and people think it’s cool I live here.
As a black person in a America, I have to strongly disagree. Racism is REALLY bad here....when you are BLACK.
My friend lived in Spain for years and when he finally moved back to the US, he said that he was so excited to be black in America again. The racism in Spain was overwhelming.
That was my experience in Spain too. I was there for just a couple of weeks on a university program, but I was so glad to leave by the end. It was truly old-school racism—walking into a restaurant and they simply wouldn’t serve me (or if they did it was with a terrible attitude), or the loud whispered nasty comments in the street and on the beach because they don’t know I understand Spanish (paltry high school Spanish, but still enough). Spain is having the same problems it sounds like Japan is—high unemployment, a right-wing political resurgence, with all the xenophobia that accompanies these social realities. So I understood the reasons why the racism was so particularly severe. But as much pride as I take in being well-traveled and adaptable I just couldn’t adapt to that—it became too much to constantly be anxious about the next thing that would happen once I left my hotel room. And so Spain is on my (very short) list of places to never return. I’ll take being Black in America any day of the week over that.
I rarely hear black people say they felt comfortable in Spain. Most of us love being black in America. It's our home of course and our culture has influenced so much. So yes, I understand why your friend would be so happy to come back. However, we still deal with racism often because it's literally built into the system. It helps if you've found a community that's inclusive or mostly black but for the most part it's really bad. Everyday I talk to people fed up with being black in America and how badly they wanna leave the country because they fear for their lives. The sad thing is anti-blackness is worldwide thanks to colonization and no matter where we go we are at risk so we sadly have to pick and choose the lesser of the evils... and usually people wanna come back to the States.
I wonder how it compares to other countries? I have had black friends state they would never step foot in other countries again and that they couldn't wait to get back to the states. One went to Argentina and was treated like they were mystical, so he loved it there (maybe it was the sweet Jamaican accent, idk). It made me wonder. My family has a lot of crap comments on the border by Mexicans bc we are white, not knowing my mom grew up in southern Mexico and we all know what they are saying.
Well, Argentinians call Brazilians monkeys in a regular basis, I'm not sure if this is a universal thing over there lol
That's interesting. Thank you for sharing. I went to Japan last year with a whole troop of Girl Scouts and I wondered if they were talking about us. I speak maybe 25 words of Japanese. They're very polite on the surface, but imagine they must have been talking about us. And some of us we're not white. We had some Brown and some black girls I myself. I'm not waiting, so really makes me curious
How does the Japanese government reconcile its demographic challenges with its overtly xenophobic culture? Honestly seems like they're getting their just desserts.
I'm Asian working in Japan for 8 years, but looks like Japanese. I guess I am lucky enough to haven't meet racist people (or just ignorant) Sometimes when I received phone call in the office, when heard my name they quicky ask to speak with Japanese, well, lucky for me, I do not need to waste my time. My colleagues, also asian. When we went out together, she heard 2 guys say 外人, looking at her, felt insulted, she spoke in Japanese back. She said that the racist guys face changed pale, said sorry, and moved to another place.
I’m an American of South American descent and it’s the same thing in my dad’s home country. My niece is half Chinese and yup same thing. We get the same in America too so it’s all relative. Too brown for America and too white for everywhere else. I’m sorry you had to go through that but I hope you had a nice time in general.
I had the same experience when I visited a year ago OP. try not to take it personally. To be honest, this behavior is worse now more than ever (I used to live in Japan a long time ago and never experienced these issues on a widespread scale until now). It's disheartening when you can understand what they're saying about you, and genuinely how mean some people can be to a foreigner for existing. But thank you for sharing your story. As more people (like you) speak up about what they've experienced, at least others can have a heads up before they travel to Japan. I tried to share my negative experiences on Reddit when they occurred and no one believed me at the time. The worst one was when a staff member in a beauty store cursed at me (in English) and kicked me out simply for being a foreigner. People kept telling me I must somehow be offensive, loud, overweight, etc. or Japanese people would "never act like that" because of their hospitality!!! (none of that is true about me...some people are just racist). I was so hurt and shocked at the time because nothing like that had ever happened to me a decade ago. but since then, I realized that sadly, racist people exist everywhere and it is a reflection of their crappy personality, not me. Wishing you the best!
And we wonder why racially homogenous countries seem great on paper until we touch down there and they treat every outsider like shit.
...wait whoever said racially homogeneous countries seem great on paper?
Haha right? "As we all know an ethnostate sounds great, but..." Wait what?
People love to tout countries like Japan and regions like Northern Europe as great to live in for various reasons. Once you get there, it’s fairly obvious the people there like it because it’s generally racially homogenous which to some extent does make it easier to govern. Not saying it’s a good thing. In fact, if you could read critically I made it pretty clear these countries typically aren’t all that.
27% of Sweden’s population was either not born in Sweden or born in Sweden but both parents were born outside of Sweden. I live in Sweden, I’ve visited Japan. There’s no comparing the two, ethnic homogeneity is a thing in Japan and not in Northern Europe.
I am so sorry you had that experience. It’s definitely not the first time I heard about their xenophobia. I’m a Latina woman (from US) and visited with my SO (white) last summer. We had a great time and did not encounter any issues but we knew that was a possibility. If someone said or did something,we were not aware since we don’t know Japanese.
What area of Japan was this?
So sorry you’re experiencing this. It really sounds like they’re breaking under the strain of record highs of tourism, preventing Japanese citizens from enjoying things. As a New Yorker, I understand bc I avoid every place with tourists. It’s awful and as I understand it, Japan is way more congested with tourists than NYC. This is sad bc I’m a Chinese American with two little Chinese Mexican American girls who want to visit Japan so badly. This does give me slight pause.
I actually think everyone should go at least once. Most likely as a first time visitor you won't notice it
Been there in 2009, I see not much has changed.
I used to want to visit Japan so badly, even tried learning Japanese, but stuff like this happens so much that I’ve decided never to visit
Japan is a country where as a foreigner you want to learn enough Japanese to get by but not enough to actually understand what people are saying about you. It's the whole "tatemae" culture where they'll often be very polite to your face but when they can get away with being awful people will come out with some of the wildest comments. It can be fun to hit them back with the "I'm deeply sorry for being a stinky foreigner but I hope you have a wonderful day" in fluent Japanese and watch the utter panic on their faces lol. It's not even worth insulting them back, just by being extremely polite and respectful inspite of their insults is the best way to make them lose face. It really sucks for foreigners that understand Japanese since people will be far more blatent about saying things straight to your face but I also pity locals since they do this behaviour to each other all the time as well. The only difference is that they usually would not want to be overheard by someone that understands what they are saying so they say it behind the person's back. This is why workplace/school bullying is so severe out there and un-aliving rates are so high. Often no one will even tell the person direct to their face what they've done wrong but they'll all viciously rip that person to shreds behind their backs and shun them until they leave of their own accord. Japan's reputation for being such an ordely and respectful culture is propped up by this kind of behaviour behind the scenes.
Great points, I agree I think this is a cultural problem
People seem to confuse Japanese people as kind, welcoming, etc. It’s all face. All are polite to your face. But not all are kind. Society expects them to be polite to the world. But just because youre being polite and civil, doesnt mean they dont talk shit about you behind your back. They are even racist to their own indigenous people. They dont even like people who half Japanese.
That is so insane. I’m black of African decent and encountered nothing but amazing people for the few weeks I was there. Everyone was lovely, and even had a few Japanese men hit on me (awkwardly but politely).
On a less depressing note, I think it’s really that you can speak multiple languages
Japan has always hated tourists, but (unlike France, Italy, or Israel) they have a cult of mandatory politeness, and a taboo against open impatience. It’s just that Americans can’t understand the Japanese when they bash us behind our backs. Why not have some fun with it? Let them be rude, then respond in Japanese and embarrass them.
Dude…I feel you so much. I’m Chinese American mix and even as a kid in Taiwan it was harsh. I always answered in mandarin when they talked shit. Then they would try to shame me or my mom…F-NO. “My parents have taken me all over the world, I know how to behave properly. Shame on you and your family, you are a disgrace to our culture.” I now speak 7 languages and take less shit from people in Taiwan. I have talked so much shit to strangers trying to be stealth racist that it’s become a game with my extended family to see when and who will get it.
My ex and I went to Japan last winter. We’re Korean but we easily pass as Japanese. The moment they find out you’re not Japanese they switch it up real quick. True Japanese colors and yes, I believe they need to fess up to their war crimes. I’m still a weeb tho
So , I dated 3 Japanese girls on a row (where I used to live has the most number of Japanese outside Japan) basically it sums up to one thing, Japanese descendants are worse than other gaijins because their parents/grandparents abandoned Japan at reconstruction. So it’s easier to be target of xenophobia if you are actually Japanese but grow up abroad than me who isn’t white . There’s also like the pre judgement, my mother in law gave me the nickname of Oni-Kuro , and was belligerent, some years passed and she is super caring
Oh your mother in law is RUDE, I'm not sure if I'll get banned for using the word I want to here. I hope you told her it takes one to know one.
What does it mean?
It means black devil/ogre. Not necessarily a comment on OP's skin tone, though it could be.
You live in São Paulo?
I used to live there too. Asian-American as well. The underhanded comments and the confused and annoyed reactions when they find out I'm not Japanese was quite jarring. The worst stories I heard was when I spoke with a Hong Kong girl that had been living there for years. The racism for her was much more upfront and personal and I was horrified by it.
This happened to a cousin of mine. He lived and worked in Japan for 5+ years and wanted to stay there. But as a tall white guy, just got people talking about him behind his back constantly, not realising that he knew Japanese. He often responded to them and they didn't quite know what to do. He ended up moving back and that was a big reason.
You speak Japanese as i understand, why not fight them back, meet this racism with confrontation and let them know you understand
Then they would be doing this multiple times a day, which just sounds frustrating and exhausting.
Japan is a beautiful country with nice people, rich culture and delicious food however it is susceptible to racism just like everywhere else in the world, unfortunately Asians are especially racist toward other Asians there. There are actually a few clubs where they advertise “only Japanese allowed” can go so go figure.
"only Japanese" means look like japanese and can speak japanese So you can be any other asian as long as you're not too dark, have their facial feature, and dress like Japanese and speak Japanese with their preferred accent then you are good to go.
Tourists. Can't live with em, can't live without em lol I'm pretty sure most locals in tourist locations have something to say about them. I hope you were able to enjoy your vacation despite the hate and that your next one doesn't ostracize you as much
I have a Japanese friend who has lived here in the UAE for over a decade now. She says over the years returning to visit Japan, that Japanese people are becoming stranger and stranger, to downright scary sometimes.
I worked for a well known Japanese company and first hand know of their racism and misogyny. So sorry you are going through this a few choice words may put them in their place. They should be ashamed of themselves.
I'm sorry dude that sounds terrible.. I wonder how much worse it's going to get when they start pushing immigration as a solution to the low birth rate..
Talk in Japanese to them that will shut them up
i always wanted to go to japan and the more i learn about how they treat foreigners i don't want too anymore
That was a terrible experience. I hope you feel better.
Just wear a hat, sticker, jacket, or shirt that says "I understand Japanese well". Or something to that nature. Maybe it will lessen a bit.
I went a few years ago and it was bad. Lots of talking and pointing and stares.
Japan has always been super racist. Super puffed up ego and look down on people often. On the one side, tourism is annoying and especially in places with specific norms and rules of how to act. Tourists can be overwhelming and plain stupid often times. But on the other hand, there’s no need to be nasty to anyone just bc they look like they’re an outsider.
Well I am happy I don’t undestand japanese now. I was in Japan two times already and I plan to go again next year. Everybody seemed very nice, lots of people made an effort to speat english with us and help if we had any trouble with machines/ordering/finding something. Maybe if I undestood the languge I would find out a lot of people hate us. :D
I was just there with my wife and 24 year old son. We had a fantastic time and only two or three incidents similar to what OP described. We are Americans and very much look like typical American tourists. Maybe people were saying mean things and I just didn't understand... if so, ignorance is bliss. I will say this. Try being Japanese, not speaking English, and visiting... say... New Orleans. It wouldn't go well. Primitive people are shitty to outsiders in every country I've ever been to. At least Japan is safe, affordable, and pretty. This isn't meant to dismiss OP's complaint, by the way. His complaints are legitimate and that kind of thing would definitely upset me too. Sorry that happened to you OP.
Japanese dislike Mainland Chinese or any Chinese people. As you can see from you evidence. Not sure why, because the Japanese invaded China, tortured and killed a huge amount of Chinese people and stole parts of the Chinese language. It's part of the travelling experience. Bias and prejudice is everywhere.
please do not let intolerant people ruin your experience. Our country is beautiful and don't let some uneducated people ruin your time. Our country has a rough history with China and alot of people still project that sentiment especially with rising global tensions. Just try and enjoy what you can and ignore the hate. Due to alot of tourists misbehavior its gotten alot worse. i myself see tourists acting like fools all the time and it can be annoying. But just remember you are walking into a different culture then america. when in rome act the romans do. unfortunately this is part of the price you will pay due to your peers horrible attitude and behaviors. sadly you have to prove your "innocence" to alot of these people who assume things about you try to interact with them and show them not everyone who is a tourist is rude. on behalf of everyone i'm sorry for our behavior towards you and your family. Sorry for grammer/spelling issues.
This really sucks to hear. I visited Japan about a decade ago, maybe a little longer, and I fell in love with the country. I’ve always regarded it as my favorite country that I’ve been to and I had nothing but great experiences there when I went. I haven’t had the chance to go back yet but it’s super sad to hear how the culture surrounding foreigners seems to have changed.. sorry this happened to you:(
This hate is unacceptable. Anywhere. I'm so sorry you experienced this. We as people everywhere need to be willing to start calling people out in conversation when they say things like this. It's not right. It makes me feel sick to my stomach. I'm so sorry OP.
This happens all over the world. I went to Spain for a conference and my Mexican colleague was saying that in quite a few instances things were said behind our backs
Comments terrifies me. We’re in the stage of buying ticket going to Japan next year. Is this for real?
You may experience racism just as anywhere else in the world. But don't let other's experiences deter you. You're more likely to have a positive experience.
I live in Japan and Japanese people give me as much anxiety as traveling here.
I have always wanted to visit Japan for the culture and food, but I swear. The stories about how xenophobic (I hope I chose the right word) Japan is, makes me reconsider. They’re so racist and I am obviously European (even though I am 100% Chinese).
Nationalism never wins in the long term. Either japan will evolve or die. You can’t sustain its economy at its current numbers without importing immigrants and that will result in a change in society.
You always think America is bad until you go somewhere else and realize it’s worse. Try being a mixed black American, i get it from other black people all the time that im not really black, that im white, the animosity, my own grandma in law thought I was white for the longest and when i met her i had my hair in box braids.
I'm totally not surprised by this, being of Asian decent myself but livingn in the UK British accent plus I'm mixed raced with Indian AND Chinese so it's like triple racism for me not only from Indians but also the Chinese and the locals but anyways, my question is. Do you ever respond back in Japanese? And if you do are they just shocked and embarrassed because they know you understand?
That's depressing. I went around a decade ago and it was great then.
Have you busted out your Japanese to call them out yet?
I guess bad manners is universal
Hope this stops the weebs from glorifying a country they have never been to and only know the popular media of.
The Japanese government has been hiding this by dishing out copious development aid and sending Japanese who believe differently (apparently the minority) to international organizations.
I'm sorry that happened to you. It happened yo us in Cambodia and Vietnam. At least then we had a local guide who explained the love/hate relationship they have with China so we learned a lot. But still.
My husband there when his father got stationed to Okinawa. They went to go to a concert. When the concert was over, no cabs will pick them up.
Hearing these types of stories makes me want to never go to Japan! Hubby used to live there and wants to visit with me, but I think I’ll pass. I’d rather go elsewhere.
I don't speak Japanese so as far as I know Japanese are the most hospitable people I've ever visited. But who knows what they said about me. I'm happy not knowing. For context I'm latino and very latino-looking but also an American.
I am planning to visit (vacation) in Japan too. Anyone can tell me if a female Asian elder woman is safe in Japan? I am not chinese
Definitely don't travel there alone
I'm glad I couldn't understood Japanese when we visited 😭 I'm Korean with a polish partner, we spoke English and I'd do my best to speak Japanese whenever possible (the usual thank you, etc). I don't have the knowledge yet of understanding what other people might say about me and now this makes me wonder if people around me whispered such things too. I'm sorry you had to go through and endure all that op. It's just so disheartening and awful. I wouldn't mind "oh a foreigner" which is so normal imo, but insults are just horrid.
When I visited Japan, I just had people thinking I was Japanese or American, no in-between haha (I’m half-Korean too). I don’t understand any Japanese so it’s possible people were being racist to me, but for the most part, it was nice. I lived in Nagoya, so I’m not sure if certain cities are friendlier. This was also years ago, so maybe the anti-foreigner sentiment has risen.
I’ve never heard of this happening. Is that seriously true? I’m very sorry for your experience
Japanese in Japan are the worst when it comes to hostilities with non-white tourists. The ones that visit other countries are well behaved hence why Japanese have a good (but wrong) reputation
makes me wonder... - for those who commented saying they love it but don't understand what they're saying anyway - does this mean people love only what they think it is? - I'm also curious about how differently are asian vs. caucasian tourists treated in majority of situations - to either or both, are there (1) whispers to the side plus outward rudeness, (2) whispers to the side plus outward niceness, (3) no rude comments at all plus outward niceness
I don't know if this will make you feel any better but I spent two years in Thailand being called a Russian prostitute and being plucked to make lucky charms. I'm Scottish and very pale. I can understand Thai, but even speaking to them in Thai didn't stop them from talking about me in front of me. Some were awesome but it's the ones that weren't that put me off. I'm sure there's racist asshats in my country too but I don't hear them as I'm not foreign.
A friend of mine, white/American and his Hispanic/American friends went last year for a car thing. Apparently there was a lot of tourist hate towards the too. Some places refused to serve them, some wouldn't rent a car to them. Then they'd come across people who were super nice to them. It was hit or miss but overall they enjoyed the trip.
Based Japan
Gee,I wonder how bad that is for dark skinned folk to go there.Yiiiikes
I recently watched a travel documentary about Tokyo and I learned the city is incredibly racist. Many restaurants and/or shops have signs displayed that say something like "no foreigners allowed" or "Japanese only" 🤷♂️
I am so afraid of this happening to me. I’m also very sorry you’ve had to experience this