Job Discussion Forums

[Xanthos]

Hi,

I am wondering whether anyone has come across skin tone of English teachers as being an issue in Japan, like it can be in China. I am talking about Brown (Indian) or Black (African descent) skin here really.

Since Japan is developed and Obama is now the US President, I am hoping the Japanese live in the modern world regarding this kind of thing.

Any experience or stories you have heard?

[seklarwia]

A huge problem like in China? Not on the same scale as China as foreigners are not such rareity in Japan and since many more have travelled abroad on holiday, they realise that in other countries the populations are not as homogenous as is common in many Asian countries.

There are a few ignorant people and employers around here that still believe that native English speakers from English speaking countries must look a certain way i.e. white, but it doesn't seem to be a huge problem.

I've had people assume that I was from many countries because of the way I look (non-descript, non-white... I'm a proper little mongrel) but when I've corrected them they have been only generally surprised and even more surprised when they hear about Asian looking Brits.

Honestly, I experienced far more unpleasant treatment in European countries than I have in Japan because of my skin colour or features.

[Glenski]

You will find some employers who are narrow-minded in Japan in that regard, but I think overall the response will be positive. As for Indian teachers, it may depend more on their accent.

[baki]

I definitely saw more tan skinned foreigners in Japan than in China, I don't think I saw any in South Korea, not surprising as I've seen Koreans mock all kinds of people on TV.

I didn't think China would be so bad, there are many chinese speaking Africans living in China and loving it. This brother is amazing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIJrqFeb4qM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E0coF5iR-s&feature=related

[gwynnie86]

I teach in Japan and I know teachers of all skin colours, including a lot who "look Japanese" (they have a hard time because Japanese people often bust out full Japanese on them, and are shocked when they discover that they are actually a foreigner!), ie of Asian descent. I saw a job advert in China once that said "Caucasian necessary" and I was shocked! I haven't found it to be an issue in Japan, not from ALT hiring agencies anyway... although you never know what decision-making processes go on behind the scenes!

[kokujin]

I'll give you my experience. I did a year teaching English in Korea. There are alot teachers that are Indian or of African descent. That included myself. Especially in the big cities like Seoul, Daegu and Busan. There are aslo many American soldiers there too of all ethnicities. I never had any negative experiences where my ethnicity was a cause. However, Korea hasn't had a strong presence of foreigners living there besides those from other Asian countries up untill the last few decades. Japan's the opposite.

Currently, I live and teach English here in Japan. I've only been here a couple though, however, I have had no problems from anybody here about my ethnicity and there are a couple Indian English teachers here in my small city. I wouldn't worry about your ethnicity being a factor in terms of you getting hired here. There are some small-mined employers out there but they are few and far.

As for China, one of my good friends who was just hired for an English teaching job in China and she's Jamaican-American. So, I don't really know how discriminatory employers in China could be.

P.S. Indians and those of the African diaspora are all "brown" whether it be brown, light brown, or dark brown. Sorry just a little pet peeve of mine.