Japan's Dark Side

[Bueller_007]

I'd like to start a thread where people can talk about Japan's dirty underbelly. Things that simply won't be covered on the culture class podcast, due to self-censorship.

Some potential topics:

Japan's role in WWII & post-war sentiment
Border disputes with Korea, Russia & China
Yakuza
Ultranationalism
Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine
The dispute over Article 9
The collapse of the bubble economy
Corruption (industrial and political)
Sex industry
Drug use
Discrimination & racism (against burakumin, Ainu & foreigners)
Suicide
Violent crimes committed by children
Administration of the death penalty
Any of the other numerous scandals that have wracked the country since the end of WWII

I know quite a bit about these topics, so if anybody has any questions about the dark side of Japan, please, feel free to ask (in English or Japanese).

[Satsujin]

Gee a good place to start might be to use arudou debito san's website. He was an American who became a citizen of Japan (giving up his American citzenship as Japan does not allow duel citzenship).

His website:

http://www.debito.org/

David talks a lot about discrimination that foreigners face in Japan. He became relatively well known for taking the city of Otaru in Hokkaido to court for allowing an onsen to disallow the entry of foreigners and has lists of other such incidences across Japan.

What is sad in this case is that as a white foreigner in Japan you can be guaranteed that any discrimination David faces is only a fraction of what other Asian immigrants in Japan have to deal with.

[metablue]

In New Zealand there's a word "pakeha", that used to mean something like "gaijin". It originally meant "other". There were the Maori (the normal people, us) and the Pakeha (the other people, them). Now it has come to mean a white person specifically. Perhaps even just a white New Zealander. If you're from the US you wouldn't be called a pakeha, you'd be an American. Except perhaps by someone pretty radical who saw the difference in race as more important than the difference in nationality.

What about gaijin? Is it used for all foreigners, or just whites? Or just westerners? Or is it really used for all non-Japanese? Would a Chinese be called a gaijin?

[ali17]

What is Japan's Racial make up (besides Japanese of course) I saw once that less than 5% of Japanese Citizens are not native Japanese. How true is this? Why is there so much discrimination? I'm pretty clueless. Is it because of war and such or what?

[Charles]

None of these are unique to Japan, except Koizumi's visits the Yasukuni shrine, which is in every way a non-issue but gossip about its symbolism. He says Japan is a peaceful nation and he mourns all souls who have fallen in war. That's fine. If it irritates the Chinese - whatev!

As for Article 9, what country doesn't have debates about militarization? Even the Swiss have them.

What is Japan's Racial make up (besides Japanese of course) I saw once that less than 5% of Japanese Citizens are not native Japanese. How true is this? Why is there so much discrimination? I'm pretty clueless. Is it because of war and such or what?

From the Japan-guide forum:

Alien registration statistics in 2002
http://www.moj.go.jp/PRESS/030530-1/030530-1.html

Alien registration: 1.85 million
Ratio: 1.45% (one in 69)

Nationalities:
Korean: 33.8%
Chinese: 22.9%
Brazilian: 14.5%
Filipino: 9.1%
Peruvian: 2.8%
American: 2.6%
misc: 14.3%

There's discrimination for the same reason there's discrimination anywhere. It basically boils down to being a tribally-minded jackass. There's also, of course, sexual and ageist discrimination among Japanese, as there is among all cultures.

Actually, Bueller, now that I notice it, I wonder why you didn't mention the sexual discrimination of Japanese women? I hear that's the main culture shock to foreigners...

[gryffindor]

Gee a good place to start might be to use arudou debito san's website. He was an American who became a citizen of Japan (giving up his American citzenship as Japan does not allow duel citzenship).

His website:

http://www.debito.org/

David talks a lot about discrimination that foreigners face in Japan. He became relatively well known for taking the city of Otaru in Hokkaido to court for allowing an onsen to disallow the entry of foreigners and has lists of other such incidences across Japan.

What is sad in this case is that as a white foreigner in Japan you can be guaranteed that any discrimination David faces is only a fraction of what other Asian immigrants in Japan have to deal with.

I thought Japan does not normally grant citizenships to any gaijin and that for any foreigners (Chinese or Caucasian) getting permanent residence status is about the furthese they can get. I read somewhere that they are terribly xenophobic.

[Bueller_007]

None of these are unique to Japan, except Koizumi's visits the Yasukuni shrine, which is in every way a non-issue but gossip about its symbolism. He says Japan is a peaceful nation and he mourns all souls who have fallen in war. That's fine. If it irritates the Chinese - whatev!

Actually, Bueller, now that I notice it, I wonder why you didn't mention the sexual discrimination of Japanese women? I hear that's the main culture shock to foreigners...

Never said it was a comprehensive list (in fact, I stated that it wasn't), and I never said these problems were unique to Japan.

[Bueller_007]

In New Zealand there's a word "pakeha", that used to mean something like "gaijin". It originally meant "other". There were the Maori (the normal people, us) and the Pakeha (the other people, them). Now it has come to mean a white person specifically. Perhaps even just a white New Zealander. If you're from the US you wouldn't be called a pakeha, you'd be an American. Except perhaps by someone pretty radical who saw the difference in race as more important than the difference in nationality.

What about gaijin? Is it used for all foreigners, or just whites? Or just westerners? Or is it really used for all non-Japanese? Would a Chinese be called a gaijin?

"Gaikokujin" is the "polite" term that applies to all non-Japanese.
"Gaijin" literally means "outsider". It has come to mean "foreigner", but it generally only applies to non-Asian foreigners. Chinese get called "chuugokujin" and Koreans get called "kankokujin". Blacks sometimes get "kokujin" instead of "gaijin", but whites are rarely called "hakujin".

[Charles]

Never said it was a comprehensive list (in fact, I stated that it wasn't), and I never said these problems were unique to Japan.

I know, but I think it's the largest and most significant "dark side" feature there. Most Western nations have blown open the doors of women's liberation, but Japan, while highly futuristic, is lagging behind.

Then, I suppose that's just my opinion.

[Bueller_007]

Never said it was a comprehensive list (in fact, I stated that it wasn't), and I never said these problems were unique to Japan.

I know, but I think it's the largest and most significant "dark side" feature there. Most Western nations have blown open the doors of women's liberation, but Japan, while highly futuristic, is lagging behind.

Then, I suppose that's just my opinion.

There's definitely discrimination towards women (especially in the workplace, and viewing them as mere sex objects) but in general, Japanese women don't have the same drive to succeed as Western women. Cause or effect, I don't know.

They don't have widespread use of the pill though. That's a big women's lib issue. But I don't buy the "it's the profitable abortion business keeping the pill out of women's hands" rationale. I feel safe in saying that Japanese women are totally irresponsible about birth control in general. (And the men just don't give a crap.) The country is an AIDS bomb waiting to explode. So no pill (hopefully) means increased condom usage.

I wouldn't call Japan "highly futuristic". I'd say it's "America circa 1950 meets 'Blade Runner'".

[Satsujin]

I thought Japan does not normally grant citizenships to any gaijin and that for any foreigners (Chinese or Caucasian) getting permanent residence status is about the furthese they can get. I read somewhere that they are terribly xenophobic.

It is not impossible to get Japanese citizenship just very hard. Like I said you have to give up your own country's citzenship for starters and you have to change your name so that it can be written in standardized Kanji. There is actually a list of Kanji that are allowed for a persons name.

As the process is so difficult very few people bother. I also imagine if you were a second generation Korean it might be pretty much impossible to get citizenship because you would be too well adapted. You would look Japanese, speak Japanese and if you got citizenship there would be no way for the "real" Japanese to know that you were actually Korean. At least if you are white like David, even if you get your citizenship people will know you are a "gaijin" by how you look.

Complete silliness but a lot of people in Japan think this way and it is an accepted way of thinking.

[metablue]

The racism/xenophobia issue really intrigues me. On the one hand, people who have been to Japan say that the Japanese are incredibly friendly and helpful, and the few native Japanese people I've met have been.

On the other, my experience with Japanese players in FFXI (an online multiplayer game that started in Japan - many people play it every day for years) is that they're sometimes quite snobby. You'll surprisingly often find "JP only" or "English No Thanks" in their search comment, meaning that they don't want to form a party with a North American (the two main groups of players are JP and NA). You never see this from any other group. More often though, NA players just don't get invited to JP parties except as a last resort.

People get upset about this. I guess for most white Americans it's their first time experiencing racial discrimination, and they feel really shocked and hurt. There are long forum discussions about how it might just be that people don't want to have to deal with the communication barrier, or that the JP players were there first for a year or two and then had to deal with all these NA newbies who didn't know how to play invading their game, so they got a bad impression. Others say it's just racism.

So there are these two completely different experiences of how Japanese interact with foreigners, and I don't really know how to reconcile the two.

[Charles]

So there are these two completely different experiences of how Japanese interact with foreigners, and I don't really know how to reconcile the two.

I think the kindness offered to foreigners can be misinterpreted by us as "friendliness." Westerners tend to be more accepting of a very open view of friendship. Anyone can be anybody's friend at any time and any place. It's likely because of Christianity and the "brotherhood of man" idea. Treat everyone how Jesus would treat them, and that sort.

Japan evolved in a different direction. Instead of having a goal to remove social barriers, their goal was to make those barriers in harmony with nature.

I don't think either culture has come close to achieving its ideals, but each has done remarkably well...

Anyway, they perceive a "natural barrier" between us. Certainly, some barriers do exist, even if they are not perceived by anyone. However, we find this insistence unsettling because we all know that it's possible to mistakenly perceive a social barrier, and in doing so accidentally create a barrier where there naturally wasn't one.

Depending on the person, the natural barrier can be largely circumvented through time, gift-giving, trust, and continuous loyalty to each another. But the barrier was created by nature. Trying to erode it down is like moving a small mountain in the mind of a Japanese person. So, instead of fighting against natural barriers, they seek to be in harmony with them.

This means they can be very diplomatic and genial in social circumstances where it restores harmony with the natural order of things, like helping someone who is lost with some directions.

But it also means that, in order to maintain that state of natural order, they will help the foreigner in advance by putting up a sign outside their restaurant that says, "no foreigners allowed." In a way, you can probably see how it's still very much like giving directions!

Why wouldn't foreigners be allowed? Because if it's a restaurant that specializes in distinctly Japanese food and entertainment, foreigners will always be asking questions, not knowing what to do, needing help, not understanding things, and always needing extra attention. It's no one's fault. That's just the way nature is. It's difficult and many times frustrating, and the Japanese need places where, from time to time, they can get away from all that.

So, their perception of barriers created by nature does not mean that they automatically think they are superior (or inferior, for that matter). But, like we learned with segregation, it does set up fertile ground for people of weak character to think one or the other.

Our racial problems were rooted in a dominant master/slave relationship, so we tend to think that segregation is caused by people thinking they are superior, and react to this Japanese behavior with suspiscion. That's a mistake, though. Our relationship with the Japanese is not rooted in that kind of lop-sided dominance. We may have occupied them in WWII, but now Toyota, Sony, and Nintendo occupy our economy, so over time it's been give and take.

I am convinced that there are about as many ways for the Japanese to think they are superior as there are to think they are inferior. That should not cause anyone to think one way or the other. We're different, but we're all human, you know?

I think I'll finish here. But this sentiment about natural barriers exists everywhere in Japanese culture to varying degrees. And, because it's not a straight up "black and white" issue like it was with us and Jim Crow, it can become complicated. For example, two families are separated by nature. Two prefectures are naturally separated. Two Asian countries are naturally separated. And Asian countries as a group are naturally separated from Western countries. But that is not, in their minds, direct cause for antagonization.

We have to remember that we actually are naturally separated and find ways to deal with that - as long as we are willing to admit that some (possibly many) of our conceptions of the nature of that separation are mistaken, in order to have a truer, more realistic, and more fruitful harmony. 8)

[metablue]

Wow, that's fascinating. I hadn't thought of it that way before. Where did you learn this?

[Bueller_007]

But it also means that, in order to maintain that state of natural order, they will help the foreigner in advance by putting up a sign outside their restaurant that says, "no foreigners allowed." In a way, you can probably see how it's still very much like giving directions!

I don't think that's why at all.

There are simply a lot of d*ck-head foreigners in Japan. They go to karaoke and they break glasses. They run away from taxis without paying. It's not their country and they know they're not going to be fully welcomed into Japanese society anyway, so they act like complete tools. For example, there's a massive Halloween party in Osaka where foreigners dress up in costumes, get a bag full of beer and ride the JR Loop Line all night. They get pissed drunk and harass the Japanese people who are just trying to get from point A to point B.

So maybe those restaurants have had bad experiences with foreigners. It's an action based on a stereotype, but it's somewhat understandable.

To be honest, I wouldn't want most of the foreigners in Japan in my restaurant either.