I have been living in Tokyo with my cat Salem for 7 months. I am studying Japanese in a Japanese language school in Shinjuku. My Japanese is still pretty basic (JLPT n4) and I can’t really speak 🙊 outside my class. As I am a foreigner living alone with my cat 😺 without working and with a student visa I couldn’t be picky so I’m living in a Leopalace21 in Nerima. I didn’t have any problems with my neighbours or to be honest any interactions at all with them (I don’t even know them) but tonight I found a pretty aggressive message in the building door
“To whoever stole my package, it’s a bed for my cat you monster!! Please return it or there will be consequences. Room 104”
I am the only foreigner living in the building so I think it’s pretty clear that I am the principal suspect because I am a gaijin. The note also has something in Japanese but I don’t what it said.
I’m really angry right now assuming I stole their package just because I’m a foreigner it’s disgusting and the most racist that have happened to me. Either way should I be worried about it? I have heard really bad things about the Japanese police from others classmates so I kinda worried about it. Should I complain to Leopalace? Should I complain to the racist neighbour? I think I’m going to tell my school about the incident tomorrow before my class.
I have pictures of the note and I would like to post it because I would be really helpful if someone can translate it for me, but it doesn’t allow me it.
13 comments
https://preview.redd.it/pu8yaxwtj8ob1.jpeg?width=2336&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6ec18cd493c450893cac5c8566d0e82373575dc0
The note
The Japanese has sloppy handwriting and word choices (ツ instead of シ, アタシ instead of 私, ス instead of 入, comma instead of 、). Ironically, the author is probably also a foreigner, contrary to your claim that you’re the only one.
OP, I’m failing to see how this is remotely racist. The person has simply left the note about a stolen package in both English and Japanese. If anything the Japanese complaint is far more detailed (but more or less says the same thing, can the thief please return the package, it is a terrible act etc.) so I really don’t think this is some targeted attack on English speakers, they simply wrote it so that anyone could understand it. You can relax
Leopalace allows pet animals?
Why would you immediately assume it’s racism?
IDK you or your classmates but if you’re living in Shinjuku or any other major city with thousands of tourists and foreigners, Japanese police aren’t going to bother even looking at you unless you’re actually doing something wrong. Sounds like they’re just telling you things they read on the internet
You can interpret that way if just reading the above message. If you read the below local message, you’d understand it is directed to all the residents within the building.
Translation-
“The delivery man has proof of the product being delivered to my doorstep. If you are the one who has taken it into your own room, return the product to me by 5pm tomorrow. It will likely be a really bad fit for you as it is for my kitten. If not, I will report this incident to the police/administration of building.”
-Yours truly, room 104
Edit: typo
Edit: as comment below pointed out
So who do these foreigners think they are living in a Leopalace one-room mansion with cats? Prohibited AFAIK.
You should steal their bills until they get their lights cut off so their cat is bedless in the dark
It’s not racism you monster, stop living life thinking your the main character and give them back the bed. It’s obviously another foreigner.
Piece of advice – if every time something remotely upsetting registers as racism for you, you’ll hate your time here and get a very skewed perception of what Japan actually is like.
If you’re able to give the benefit of the doubt and you choose to interpret things with generosity, you’ll have a much better life.
Thinking that people have strong feelings about you is definitely not accurate. Most of them just don’t care.
Just looking at the writing in latin alphabet, it is obvious this is not written by a Japanese person. The Japanese part was written by someone who probably learnt how to write kanji later in their life. (Probably doesn’t hail from a Kanji using country)
I am like 70% sure this was written by a Filipino or Indonesian or Mongolian lady lol.
The way the 0 curves, indicates the writer is left handed as well.