People say Japan is super racist, you’ll never be considered Japanese as a foreigner no matter how long you live there or how well you speak the language, you’ll always be an outsider etc.
Japan is an incredibly unique culture, unlike any other in the world. There’s even a term for it, Galapagos syndrome, that reflects its cultural isolation. It is near impossible to assimilate and integrate into the culture as a foreigner. Unlike the US, Australia, or Singapore, where there is no singular ‘culture’ and anyone can assimilate into society.
And there is nothing wrong with that, it is just the way the culture is. Scandinavians are reserved, Latin Americans are extroverted, Americans value individualism and Korea collectivism. Those are not objectively pro’s or flaws, just as how Japan’s defined, unique, and exclusive defined culture is not a flaw.
I think it’s unreasonable to have Japan change its entire culture,simply because it is one that foreigners can’t assimilate into
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/113iha3/the_fact_that_foreigners_cant_truly_become/
5 comments
I think the bigger question is what does it mean to be “Japanese” in 2023.
Of course it is a bad thing that some people are not considered as “true” Japanese simply because of the color of their skin.
The identities of all civilizations evolve over time and I am sure you can agree that what it means to be American/British/French/whatever has also changed. Japan is no different and has and will continue to evolve. What is certain from history is that the best way to devalue and lose a culture is for it to cling on to xenophobic ideals and fight other cultures.
No one wants a bland world with no differences and I am confident Japan is able to retain the best of its culture while also continuing to progress as a society.
Hogwash. Japanese culture isn’t special; it is different. And just as every other culture has learned to accept immigrants, including Japanese immigrants, Japan can learn to accept the immigrants it needs.
The world is small and change is the heartbeat that drives it all.
>I think it’s unreasonable to have Japan change its entire culture,simply because it is one that foreigners can’t assimilate into
I don’t think anyone is asking Japan to “change its entire culture”. People who are born and grew up in Japan and just happen to be of a different ethnicity (whether Korean or Russian or French and so on) want to be regarded as Japanese because that’s the country they’re from. I agree that this is tough in a relatively homogenous society but presenting this as “change their entire culture” is a bit absurd.
What Japan will likely need to do in the future, however, is simply learn the difference between ethnicity and nationality. For example, I live in Japan. My nationality is Canadian but my ethnicity is Greek. I can understand why some racial minorities who grew up in Japan would be irked as being simply referred to as “foreigners” since they’re not from another country. Your nationality can be Japanese but your ethnicity cannot and I very much doubt anyone would ever question this since you can’t change your racial makeup.
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>And there is nothing wrong with that, it is just the way the culture is.
You could use this to justify just about anything in any country. For example, you could say that the plight of minorities in Saudi Arabia is “just the way the culture is” but I certainly wouldn’t claim “and there is nothing wrong with that”.
よく知らんけど、英語圏のコミュニティにずっと居続けて日本の実態について不満を述べ続けて盛り上がっているうちは「日本人」になれないんじゃない？そもそもその不満も日本文化や法制度に対する無理解が発端であることが多いように思えるし、英語話者同士で傷を舐め合っているのが楽しければ「日本人」になる必要なんか無いでしょう。日本人になるということはその不満に思っていることについて責任を持つということなんだから。
Straw man argument…