Job Discussion Forums

tokyo story · Joined: 07 Sep 2005 Posts: 40

I think a lot of foreigners are too self-conscious in Japan.

I couldn't care less how many people stare at me or make comments about my appearance, nor could I care whether they want to sit next to me on the train. If they don't want to sit, let them stand.

Nobody really wants to sit next to each other on the train, anyway. Think about how prized the end seat is.

My wife is Japanese and so are my best friends. So long as I have good friends, what the rest of the polace think about me doesn't really matter. If I were by myself, perhaps it would matter, but I made a concerted effort to make Japanese friends when I first got here.

In my opinion, a lot of foreigners who feel isolated in Japan have never done so. In some cases, their attitudes towards Japanese people prevent them from doing so. Let's not pretend that foreigners in Japan don't have stereotypical attitudes towards Japanese people or even prejudice/discrimination.

I'd rather get stared at, perhaps even made fun of, than hauled up at some bar having a foreigner rant to me about the Japanese.

gaijinalways · Joined: 29 Nov 2005 Posts: 2279

Rooster_2006 · Joined: 24 Sep 2007 Posts: 984

What I don't get is why foreigners in Japan (or Korea, or China, or anywhere else) choose such trivial things to complain about when there are far more valid things to complain about.

Why not complain about these things instead?
- The lack of a law preventing discrimination against foreigners or those of foreign appearance
- The lack of hate crime statutes for when someone attacks a foreigner
- The difficulty of getting permanent residency

At the end of the day, people staring at me has no effect whatsoever on my income, my ability to get a job, my personal safety, or anything else. The things I just mentioned do.

I just see a lot of bigger fish to fry.

BradS · Joined: 05 Sep 2004 Posts: 173 Location: Tokyo, Japan

To all the people who think that we're being ignorant about racism in other countries... this is the Japan forum! We're LIVING IN JAPAN!!! I'm sure if we were living in Australia, or India we would be discussing racism there, but we're LIVING IN JAPAN so racism here against ourselves and our friends and family is obviously more of an immediate issue for most of us.

I'm Australian, and would like to talk about racism in Australia but this is the Japan forum and that would be classed as off topic.

To the people who are beating the "If you don't want racism, go home" horse again... and again... and again... what if we live here now? What if we feel that racism is something worth fighting for? Not just every day weirdness but legal rights and issues as well.

There are Japanese people as well who are fighting the dated laws and hoping for a change. By some people's logic, these Japanese people shouldn't bother and just move to another country?

Come on.

markle · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 1316 Location: Out of Japan

gaijinalways · Joined: 29 Nov 2005 Posts: 2279

dove · Joined: 01 Oct 2003 Posts: 271 Location: USA/Japan

I agree. Being stared at is minor, trivial. Not being able to rent an apartment is NOT. Maybe expats who are just here for a few years shouldn't complain. But what about people who want to make a life here?