Job Discussion Forums

[Symphany]

Shuize, I should have qualified the statement that I made. It is not necessarily racist if as an individual you prefer not to rent with the important issue of a language barrier in your way, however as a collective people there is a responsibility towards residents in that society. There should be at the least, legislation protecting those who are seeking housing, and agencies who assist in seeking housing who are not-for-profit. Each and every individual cannot be held responsible for the deficits that exist in a country, and that is understandable.

For those who say "you don't like it move", basically saying that you don't have a right to complain if you're from a developed nation, I hope that those people also don't complain about their taxes, health, safety or the air or water that they breathe, because these are issues that can affect you regardless of your tax bracket.

[southofreality]

I just spent the last month searching for a nice apartment in downtown Tokyo. I knew what to expect from my previous apartment-hunting experience and wasn't going to let the discrimination part deter me.

To be honest, I almost felt guilty for thinking the whole preliminary part was quite comical. The real estate agent would call a landlord and ask if a place was still available and then would ask if foreigners were ok. Most of the time there was a brief pause followed by an "I see" and then a conclusion to the phone call. Sometimes, instead of an "I see", there was a "His nationality is American" followed by an "It's ok, then?" and a few more questions.

I'm not sure what percentage of listed apartments that matched my criteria were actually "foreigner-ok," but it seems like it was around, maybe... 5%.

But, to give the real estate agents credit, they were all forthcoming when it came to addressing the issue of discrimination by landlords and usually were on top of which listings were foreigner-ok, which helped avoid a lot of wasted time.

Anyway, secured a place in Shibuya and am going to sign papers tomorrow.

[bluefrog]

[Rooster_2006]

I totally support what he's doing. He's a great man.

I've lived 1/3 of my life in Asia, most of which was not my choice (my parents decided to do it and since I was a kid, I had very little say in it). I've lived here a long time and think I have some entitlement to keep doing so. This is the same argument that many Asian-Americans use to argue that they belong in the United States.

When I make the argument that Asia has been a part of me since 1988 when I first lived in Asia, people, deep down inside, roll their eyes.

If a Korean-American (I have seldom heard a Japanese-American or Chinese-American do this, but I'm sure they do as well) complains, then everyone is supposed to act all sorry that that person has encountered discrimination. When I say "I wish I didn't encounter discrimination," people just roll their eyes.

Just because someone else's white great-great-grandparents instituted colonialism doesn't mean that I, a completely separate entity who does not discriminate, and whose ancestors did not either, should suffer.

People say "Rooster is white, he has no right to complain, his people have never encountered discrimination." Oh, really? My people were rounded up and put in camps and my ancestors had to flee the country they were in. Don't get all self-righteous just because you're not white and I am.

When it comes to petty things like not renting to foreigners, staring, etc. I think it's kind of dumb when people emphasize those issues. Would you really want to give money to a racist who was forced to rent to you by law? At least being turned down for an apartment means I don't unwittingly give my money to a racist.

I hope Debito continues to address the issues that really matter, like permanent residency, employment discrimination, and other things that really matter. It's too bad there's only a Debito in Japan, and not in other places that need one like Korea.

[markle]

[markle]

[Rooster_2006]

[bluefrog]

[markle]

[markle]

[gaijinalways]

Well, we have agreed to disagree. and to make the people who dislike Debito, yes I agree with you, he sometimes is annoying. But then again, my mother is too at times, but I still love her too.

[eiyosus]

How many of you complaining about discrimination with housing have actually applied for housing? I don�t mean that in a condescending sort of way; I used to think the same thing until I applied for housing with my Japanese wife.

When we found an apartment we liked, my wife (who�s Japanese and registering as the head of the household) had to stamp and fill out no less than ten documents, had to provide two vouchers who would agree to pay rent if we could not meet it, and had to have a background check. We also needed to give them proof of work.

I kind of jokingly told my student at the time (who works in real-estate) that it seems more difficult than buying a house, and she said completely straight faced �Yes, of course it is.�

I don�t know if this type of scrutiny is common practice in Japan, but judging by how �efficient� Japanese businesses like to be, I wouldn�t be surprised. That 5% that actually DO rent to foreigners probably are just the places that don�t care about all that paper work. Now I know for a fact that I wouldn�t be able to provide the things they wanted (certainly not a background check from my home country), so I�m not surprised they don�t want to deal with foreigners.

Everybody I�ve talked to has told me that Japanese landlords are extremely worried about people skipping town without paying rent. I have known a few crappy expats in my time who�ve done things similar to that. So really, can you blame them for not wanting to take a risk?

I�m not saying this as an excuse for all cases of racial discrimination in Japan. Nor am I claiming that my opinion is the correct one. I just wanted to say that my opinion on this matter has changed than what I originally thought.

[Sour Grape]

[markle]

Landlords are overly careful because tenants rights are so strong. Once your in it is very difficult to get you out.

[Sour Grape]