Hey there, this is a genuine inquiry.
I have heard from a lot of people that Japanese people are not racist, that they are just ignorant (lack awareness about racially inappropriate behaviors). I used to also have this opinion but my experiences have taught me otherwise. For context I’m black.
Here are my experiences:
I teach predominantly elementary school kids and from day 1 I’ve been called a gorilla, been told I am the color of poop and that I look like and smell like it. I’ve been told I’m dirty and disgusting, amongst other things. They refuse to touch anything I’ve touched or cover their nose and make gaging sounds when I’m near. Some kids refuse to enter my class as soon as they see me.
This is predominantly from my elementary school students but recently my junior high school students have started saying offensive things as well. One class nicknamed me choco-ball and gave that as an answer to all questions I asked them. A boy in this class explicitly told me in English that he hates me.
Just last week I overheard a conversation between a group of JH2 students, some I teach and others I don’t know. The girl I teach asked a boy I don’t teach who his foreign teacher is:
Is it (insert name) sensei?
Boy: no
Girl: is it Gorilla sensei?
Boy: no 😂
Girl : is it (name) sensei?
Boy: yes.
There were only three foreign teachers at our school on that day. None of them questioned who Gorilla sensei is. It was general understanding among them that it was me. I’ve taught this girl for almost three years and I thought she was a lovely girl.
I experience these things on a daily and I’ve never reported it because the kids say it in front of everyone and they all just pretend it didn’t happen. I’ve had one coworker react and tell a kid off. He has left now and all the japanese and foreign coworkers pretend as if it’s nothing.
If this is all not racism then what is it?
Thank you for the responses. I forgot to clarify that I work at a cram school and not all my students are like this. It’s just that those that are, are really hurtful.
When I first started working at this school I tried to address it a bit. Once, I had a kid genuinely ask me why my skin color is brown and I’ve explained it and they understood. Also, I once I told a japanese teacher that his student called me a gorilla and he made the student apologize to me but most teachers just awkwardly avoid eye contact. After some time I got tired and just kept quiet.
People are always saying black people want attention and special treatment, so as a new and only black staff member I didn’t want to draw attention to myself.
I will try to be more outspoken and let my superiors know.
25 comments
in all my years as an ALT i have never come across this especially at JHS (i’ve taught at around 50). The HRT usually clamps down straight away with any kind of abuse being said in class. You need to tell your dispatch company or kyoto/fuku-koucho.
Man they are most likely racist. Probably only a 70 / 30 scale with 70% being racist or xenophobic and 30% being ignorant. When people say that bs it’s just them trying to deflect.
Nah, Japanese are racist. I would walk around with my friend (black female) they would just stare and stay away. I’ve been denied entry into multiple places for not being Japanese. It’s something no one ever talks about, then once you live there you find out. It’s wild because they love American culture, just not when you’re in their country.
You need to let your superiors know. If they don’t do anything about it I’d consider getting another job.
Sorry to hear, how to combat this first I’d ask them to tell you their opinions on Hachimura Rui, or Osaka Naomi. As sometimes there’s a cognitive dissonance between people. Also approach the teacher of the Students in question and say clearly that this is unacceptable. And if they say it during class ask them to stay after and ask them why this is okay? Confronting them and asking them to explain themselves will help with prevention. As Japanese won’t do that as often.
It’s absolutely racism.
People using the “just ignorant” excuse are just ignorant themselves.
damn who told u its not racism? its racist and rude, being clueless and insensitive doesnt excuse their behavior. Idk where do you work but that kind of name calling is not usual. if you say its ignorant, yes it also is. not only about this racism matter, japanese can look polite and all but in front of personal problem they rarely want to jump into it. If they have one, instead communicating things they would call the police instead.
I think a lot of white people have no idea what it can be like for foreigners who aren’t white. I had colleagues I worked well with and respected for years, and then we hired some people from south and SE Asia and all this nastiness came out of them. It was eye-opening and shocking.
The debate between “genuine racism” and “just ignorant” is a smokescreen IMHO. It reminds me of the weak defenses I used to see white people use in the USA to protect themselves from acknowledging the racism they participate in, bs like, “there’s no hate in my heart,” etc. Nobody gives a damn what’s in their heart- we care about their choices and actions.
You’re clearly experiencing racism with a shocking degree of brazen openness, and you absolutely don’t deserve it.
You should report it. Not because it’s your job to stop it, but because clearly no one at your school has the courage to act and they need to learn how to. I don’t know what the best strategy is for getting this solved. I wish I could help more on that. I do know that sometimes angrily confronting a problem in Japan is a lot less effective than playing up your vulnerability and making a big deal about how you’ve been hurt by the people who acted wrongly – shaming them into the right action. But that’s not a sure-fire solution either, and I’ve definitely seen cases of people genuinely showing their vulnerability only to get casually discarded as an acceptable loss by a school that doesn’t consider “their kind” worth protecting.
But there is no question that what you are experiencing an inexcusable level of blatant racism, and anyone who tells you that doesn’t ever happen in Japan is full of shit. And you deserve better.
They are racist AND ignorant.
Uhh…. First, It sounds like you need to talk to someone HIGH UP about this, cause this level of harassment is way beyond what is even vaguely appropriate.
That said, Japanese can absolutely be racist; Just like any other people.
Generally speaking in my experience, at least, Japanese are ignorant more often than they are racist. However, they aren’t mutually exclusive things: You can be both ignorant AND racist at the same time.
In your case, it sounds like they are just Racist and it really should be stopped by a higher up intervening.
Terrible school and shame on the staff for allowing this behavior to continue.
On one end, every country is pretty damn racist. But Japan’s extreme social hive mind makes it especially painful because not only is it blatant racism that they get away with, but it is completely ignored if not encouraged because it doesn’t go against their societal standards.
Hell, even being half Japanese is enough to experience it.
Japanese people are racist. Don’t let them cutesy their way out of it by claiming ignorance. I’ve lived here a while and I’ve seen it many times.
Yeah they are very racist! Drives me crazy that people love to infantilize Japanese people like they’re incapable of growing out of ignorance or understanding their own actions.
Had a kid ask my why my skin was brown. I kindly asked them why theirs wasn’t. Got the teacher mad because “that’s too difficult”. SMH. Same (Japanese woman) teacher couldn’t believe I was from America because of my skin color and hair texture…she had a bunch of other comments, and luckily I mentioned it to my boss who told her off for being a weirdo.
I’m so so sorry you have to deal with that treatment. I hope you can get the support you deserve from your superiors. Wishing you the best of luck.
Edit: some advice for bringing this up with Japanese people who are a bit resistant to acknowledge racism, frame it as if you’re worried about the kids growth. I told someone “yeah, it’s just me now, but if they grow up and study abroad, or work with international companies, it will cause a lot of problems for them.” When I brought that up they took it way more seriously! (SMH) again, wishing you the best of luck!
Ahh bro-
I’ve been telling the skinfolk this for years. Stay away from teaching, they will let those kids say anything they want about ya and claim ignorance every time.
I was a music teacher(taught in English) at a school, then noped outta that for grad school. Needed some extra money on the side so i did the Eikaiwa thing. In both experiences, I was called a gorilla, black Santa, Popo from DBZ, had my hair tugged at etc.
Japan is ridiculously racist, and unfortunately depending on where you fall within the tiers of perceived “success” within JP society, people will decide for you how much racism/discrimination you have to put up with. Especially if you’re a POC.
You could cite some Psych studies. There’s a professor at Matsumoto University in Japan who researches perceptions of black people in Japanese society. Globally recognized dude. Can’t think of his name, but if you print that and be like “look bro, I’m not crazy here read this” might help.
Best of luck. Feel free to hit me up directly-always willing to give advice to the BIOPIC community
So I’m indigenous (native) Canadian. I tell my students this and some say, “Oh! An Indian!” I’ll respond, “Actually, we say indigenous people now.” That’s just ignorance.
You’re experiencing racism. As others have mentioned, you should talk to the people in charge. Look into your legal options as well. This isn’t okay 😔
It‘s racism. For some reason Japan just always gets a free pass on racism. If the same thing happend in China for example, or to Japanese people living abroad everyone would be up in arms and calling it racism (rightfully so).
100% racist. If you’re willing to step up you should. Your coworkers who have witnessed this should be ashamed of themselves. In my experience Japan seems to progress on social issues faster than western culture when they choose to address things. But they need to be called out on their nonsense in order to change.
Not being white does not mean you can’t be racist, being from a “different” culture does not mean you can’t be racist, being any form of a minority does not mean you can’t be racist. Just because someone is from a place where only a few black people live does not give you an excuse to treat someone poorly. To an extent, yes, there will be ignorance. But calling someone a gorilla, calling them dirty, and treating them as sub-human is not ignorance. It is just plain old racism.
Happened to me too, always in front of other foreign teachers. Likened to a primate, to shit. The other foreign teachers ignored it. Everyone lets them get away with it and defends them in my experience. Yours may be better.
I’m Japanese (currently a high schooler) and my answer to your question is : yes. Definitely yes. Abso-fucking-lutely yes.
What I mean by this is that most Japanese kids who were raised in a Japanese private or public school or homeschooled are under the influence of the Japanese adults who are very much racist. I went to an international school where most of my teachers were foreigners so I never grew up with that prejudice implanted into my head.
Context: My mom grew up in NYC, had a job in NYC and came back.
Also, despite BEING JAPANESE, I’ve been called racist slurs. When I was younger, I had tan skin, had highlights in to the point where I looked like half-Japanese and half-American/half-Chinese (idk that’s what people told me at least). I loved how I looked, and my mom loved how I looked. But every time I would go on an elevator with my mom and a middle-aged man, he would call us racist slurs in Japanese thinking we don’t know the language and tell us to “go back to China” (my mom and I speak in English). Like, dude I CAN UNDERSTAND YOU
Thank you! I don’t work so much with kids anymore, I work at a juku that mostly caters to high schoolers and college students who want to study abroad, and while they don’t usually say anything racist to my face, they are constantly making xenophobic comments. Stuff like foreigners come to japan and mess up tourist attractions, or they are rude, or stuff like that. Keep in mind that they have a high level of English (because of course, they are going to enroll in a school overseas) and tend to be rich.
I’ve complained to my boss about how listening to that stuff day in and day out (because I teach ielts and toefl and the questions are often about cultural issues so it gives them an excuse to say “Japan good, everyone and everywhere else bad”) and he just kinda shrugs it off.
The Japanese staff even laughed when a trial student finished his class with me and immediately said in Japanese to the staff “isn’t this japan?”, even though not a single teacher at my school is Japanese, and that’s obvious from the website.
Anyways, long story short, I’ve been in Japan almost 9 years now (a black female) and although I have thick skin, lately this has been getting to me more than ever. The worst part is everyone just shrugging it off and blaming ignorance or not even seeing a problem at all. I’m sorry that you’re going through this, but it is racism and you are more than valid in your feelings.
People who don’t think Japan has a racism problem probably haven’t heard their views about other Asian people either.
I know the feeling living in Japan as long as I have, my kids(son and Daughter’s) have been subjected to this BS, my wife went to the school and tried talking to the teachers and Principle who were of the mind set, they are kids. My wife came home on fire, as one of the teachers said well if you were not a single mother with a black child u wouldn’t have these problems..my wife told her she was married and I was here in Japan..I told my wife fk it don’t worry about it, until my son came home dirty and bruised by his class mate( this was Kindergarten) So we went to the school had a very simple meeting and I said it as clearly as I could..next time my son comes home with even lint on him and he tells me one of his classmate touched him..I’m not going to talk..I’m going to beat the fk out of the dad of that student. From that moment on it stopped. Japanese people are weak in the sense that they go with the crowd, and even though they may not want to be involved peer pressure is a huge part of how these people grow up. Now that my kids are grown especially my son Japanese girls are all over him and he just doesn’t like them..he really doesn’t and I have said it’s his choice but he won’t deal with them. I remind him his mom is Japanese and all aren’t like that, but he says true pop, but I might meet a girl who may like me, but don’t want to deal with her family because more than likely somebody will say something stupid.