Job Discussion Forums

[gytfunke]

Hello,

I'm currently a teacher in South Korea. I've been here for about 2 years total. I have a hard time dealing with the racism I experience, especially at my workplaces (past and current).

After my current contract is finished, I'm leaving. I'd like to go to Japan and I want to know what people already living there think of the state of racism in Japan.

Tell me some stories and give me your opinions about it.

[G Cthulhu]

[rxk22]

When my wife and I went to Korea, we got starred at pretty hard. I think they all thought that she was Korean. So we did get mean mugged quite a bit.

Japan, not as bad from what I have heard about SK. They are mostly ignorant about most of the world. Though I have met many young and liberal Japanese, who hate the Chinese, really hard.

[dove]

I don't think the racism in Japan is as apparent in other countries because--in my experience--MOST (NOT all: putting flame-retardent suit on right now)Japanese people keep their feelings to themselves, especially in public. Some might stare (but is that racism?), but it's unlikely you will ever hear someone confront a stranger, a foreigner, with a racist comment. Once or twice I have heard two people on a train say something to each other like "I wish all foreigners would go home." Of course they said it in Japanese and they probably didn't think I could understand Japanese. I felt like asking that person if they had any idea how many thousands of Japanese people live in NYC or Los Angeles. But like most Japanese people, I didn't want to draw attention to myself. I just want to get on with my life.

[Kionon]

Academically, there's a difference between racial prejudice and racism. The second is institutionalised. Also racism itself comes in two flavors, the second of which is called "disparate impact" and is pretty difficult to prove. The first type is clear-cut "black people can't vote" the second appears, prima facea, as like it could apply to anyone (poll taxes, grandfather clauses, etc), but intentionally set up to have a greater impact on the discrimination target.

My own experience in Korea was terrible. I don't know if I was dealing with racism or just racial prejudice because I did not read, write, or speak Korean. I still don't. I do know I couldn't do much of anything at all without a guide or or my employers, and my employers were blatantly racist and would fly into drunken rages whenever we went out to "dinner meetings." I had experiences with people cutting in front of me in line, running straight into me and not apologising, and plenty of pointing, staring, and laughing with comments that included "waygook." And to top it off, my bosses were stealing with me, and started to threaten me. Luckily, the Korean Revenue Service shut them down, but it wasn't because they were protecting me, it was because my employers were not paying taxes.

in Japan, I run into a lot of disparate impact situations, but that's to be expected because we're such a small part of the general population. However, it is not "racism" as much as it is ethnocentricity. There is a lot more to Japanese views of superiority than race or blood, and in fact, I think in general, most Japanese I've met no longer believe that their specialness hinges on being descendants of the divinely created Yamato people. Rather, they believe that Japan has a historiographically traceable uniqueness which makes it superior in culture and national organisation, and they believe this without ever actually stopping and thinking about why they believe this to be true. Further there is this belief that this culture and national organisation is outside of the ability to people not born in Japan (and not at least somewhat ethnically related to the Japanese) to grasp, with a few rare exceptions, and those individuals are hailed as supreme examples of outside peoples because they are capable of "getting" Japan. This attitude explains why the Japanese think the Japanese language is extremely hard (when it's no harder than any other, and easier than some), or why you will be asked, "oh you can use chopsticks?" a billion times despite the fact most Western nations have Chinese take out and plenty of NJs have been using chopsticks since childhood... etc, etc.

I've only run into one person who ever said, "You're barbarians. We should throw you out. We never should have lost the war. I hope we rise up, take back all of our holdings, and send you back across the Pacific." That dude was insane. I immediately received apologies from all of the Japanese in earshot. Whatever their beliefs, one doesn't speak such things, and he shamed everyone.

[steki47]

[Kionon]

[Glenski]

As others have written, you will find far less overt racism in Japan. (See Debito Arudo's Just Because column in The Japan Times, the one on microaggressions, for the things that may annoy a person subconsciously.)

Not completely sure what experience you would actually call racism.

[nightsintodreams]

Japan is most definitely a very nationalistic country, but I've never experienced direct, aggressive style racism like someone might see in the UK.

People will freak out when you speak Japanese at times though, you will get people refusing to speak to you in Japanese (regardless of whether they can speak English or not) and you will hear ignorant comments regularly.

Only last week some of my teachers were talking about a foreign student (when i say foreign, I mean he was born in Japan, his ancestry is half Japanese, but his parents are Brazilian) and one teacher said "He has a head like a black egg.", the other teachers smiled and laughed. If that was in the UK or the USA I imagine a comment like that could very easily end up on the news, but in Japan it doesn't seem to even be seen as an inappropriate in the slightest.

[Kionon]

[Inflames]

Some friends and I were talking about the language a few years ago. My friend pointed out (something I agree with) is that, the more Japanese you know, the more apparent the ways you're being screwed become. I've never really had any problems with people speaking English with me.

On the one hand, understanding all the random comments is usually OK although when you hear someone say stuff like 「外人怖い」 it usually ruins your day (to be fair, I've had that like twice and 「外人帰れ」 twice as well). Most of the time, people just say stuff about my height.

The racism that one is likely to encounter in Japan is the kind that someone here for a year or two isn't ever likely to encounter. Employment and apartments are two of the big areas. Apparently credit cards are as well although I'm not sure about that.

[nightsintodreams]

[steki47]

[steki47]

Double post

[Kionon]

Not really a racism thing...

The only thing I hear is "顔小ちゃい" because I am pretty small. It's annoying in Japanese, but it is really annoying in broken English, "face small" or "small face." Apparently this is almost a type of compliment, but I find it completely offensive. I let my students get away with it for the first week or so, but always gently reminding them it is "悪い言葉" at least in regards to me. Mostly my Japanese coworkers understand why this is not something I want to constantly hear, but every so often I get one who says, "but it's meant as a compliment, so it's okay if they do it." No, it's not. I get to decide that, not you, and certainly not the thirteen year olds.

It's really the random Japanese adults I meet who say the same thing and then get all defensive or offended or blatantly ignore me when I say, "That's actually considered rude where I'm from, and while I appreciate the intent of the compliment, please don't do it again" who bother me a lot. Have the decency to recognise that regardless of your cultural confusion at my reaction, clearly it bothers me, so don't do it again. That's just being nice, which is above any cultural variance.