People Who lived in Japan: Did you suffered from racism or discrimination?

8 comments

1. I’m being greeted warmly and showered with affection everywhere I go.

   Racism exists everywhere. Search this sub for examples. You are allowed to google this.

2. It varies.

   I personally encountered a lot of micro aggressions. I was also told I was imagining it, but there you go.

   A (white) friend of mine was told to go back to Africa. Another had someone complain loudly that foreigners stank while on a bus.

   When I was doing my study abroad, one girl was flatly rejected from joining a horse riding club, basically “we don’t want you here.” A group of students weren’t allowed to use the school pool during free use time because they’d “make the water dirty.”

3. Been here 10 years. Answer is no.

4. People who complain that Japan is so racist or xenophobic hasn’t experienced much or lived an ignorant life.

   Racism/xenophobia isn’t exclusive or more common in Japan than it is in the rest of the world.

5. I (American) wasn’t allowed into some nightclubs unless I was accompanied by a Japanese. Also, about 30 years ago, a local video rental shop owner got upset at me for not being able to read some kanji characters on a sign-up form and kicked me our of the shop yelling, “Gaijin dame!” No big deal though. Other than that, not else so blatant in all my time here.

6. i was listening to my ipod and one angry old japanese man came and said me to shut my phone off. i was not listening it on high volume either as i have always believed in listening at high volume affects your ear negatively. i didn’t switch it off but stopped listening. and around me there were others playing on their phone and using headphones. i didn’t want to make a scene so i didn’t say anything. this was direct but most of the time japanese people say and do it indirectly. i have not been to other countries so don’t know how much worse it is in other countries. but japanese are indirect. especially at workplaces japanese people climb up the ladder quite fast compared to a foreign guy.

7. Racism? Sure, to a certain extent. Suffered? No. I know that I am a minority here and stick out like a sore thumb. Every country has their fair share of racists. So I did encounter xenophobia here and there. No reason to lose my sleep over a few idiots.

8. Only very mildly, no comparison to recent China, that really seems to have turned for the worse in the last 10+ yrs (sorry to say); but since you want to hear about Japan: only some idiotic comments, stares only once I wasn’t served at a restaurant (the native girl who accompanied me was more offended than I was, twas at some Touhoku inaka spot, maybe Akita IIRC, and in the end we were, IMO it was maybe more due to shyness of our waitress than due to any ‘racism’).