Thread: Are Japanese people racist?

My stepmom is japanese so i've been dealing with their customes and culture for around 18 years. I wouldn't say they are anymore racist than any other culture but as someone else stated they are very proud. They're proud to the point that i guess you could consider it ethnocentrism. I assume alot of this would have to do with their technological advances and what not. In any case its not a good idea to even consider a whole culture racist just do it on a case to case basis.

The Japanese are just as racist as anyone else in the world of any nationality, dont single them out on this making it look like that they are more of a racist than others. Otherwise this makes it look like that YOU are the racist here...which I hope you are not. (-_-)

As for what happened to your friend: Yes, it seems rather wrong to deny entrance to the club...ASSUMING that it was really based on his race. Still, they hold the right to deny entrance and/or service to ANY of their customers and the case being that this was a gentlemen's club...well than the business itself is fairly controversial so you have to consider the precautions they have to take.

The reason why many like to talk about "the Japanese" as one group wherein everyone thinks the same is because a lot of books and works deal with the Japanese in this way. It is of course very wrong.

So why are all those books written that way? It's because the Japanese just LOVE to speak about themselves that way. Their whole culture is based on it. The group, not the individual.
The interesting thing about this is that the rest of the world thought like that for a long time as well. The West changed its focus to the individual not so long ago.

Japan is an interesting case. It is an ethnically and culturally homogenous nation that prides itself on it's singular identity as "Japanese". Believe it or not, this creates a much more closed atmosphere and distrust/misunderstanding of "outsiders". I would argue that Japan is far more openly racist (at least by the standards of ethnically mixed societies) than most of us would first suspect or be willing to accept.

Blackface is acceptable, racial charicatures are common, gay stereotypes are played on prime-time for jokes, there are magazines and books devoted entirely to thinly-veiled hatred for foreigners living in Japan and other nations as a whole, foreigners are openly barred from certain establishments, foreign workers are often treated more poorly than their Japanese counterparts, urban legends about foreigners are common and consequently, so are misconceptions/rude questions/assumptions. etc. etc.

On the other hand: foreign men (Korean, black and caucasian) are often built up as idols over Japanese men by women put off by their hard schedules and stoic upbringings, foreign celebrities are worshipped with zeal, foreign brands and images are more desireable than Japanese ones (often fetching at least twice their actual worth simply by virtue of being foreign), ethnic foods are popular, overseas vacations are in high demand, 1 in 7 Japanese adults is currently taking an English conversation class at least once a month. I'm told I'm beautiful and have a "small face" an average of ten times a day and am often discussed by admiring young women in full earshot... positively. Small children and high school students regularly shout out "HELLO!" at me and are delighted to recieve answers.

That's also racism... but it's good racism (for us anyway).

Much of this is born from genuine naevite... most Japanese learn about the rest of the world from television, movies, fashion magazines, edited textbooks and comic books. It's hard to blame them for thinking Americans sue microwave companies for not putting "don't microwave your cat" labels on their appliances or that we all carry guns and shoot each other when we get pissed off.

More damaging (and depressing in the long-term) is a nationwide superiority complex that has been brewing for hundreds of years. "National Learning" never really stopped... it just became far more innocuous ("writings on being Japanese", neo-nationalism, "Dignity of the Nation", questionable textbook editing, etc). Unfortunately most Japanese people still remain wholly convinced that Japan is the center of the meaningful universe, the pinnacle of culture, the epitome of progress and that the Japanese are the most peaceful and gentile race on the planet. One of the most hilarious government sponsored "studies" involves Japanese and Western honeybees... with the conclusion being that Japanese honeybees are more peaceful, gentle and cooperative than their savage foreign counterparts; something that is then implied carries over directly to humans. Japan, as a nation, has absorbed nothing of guilt from World War II or the Sino-Japanese war... but have wholly embraced victimhood (which they emphasize on an almost daily basis). They remain unconcerned with their own role in world politics but are quick to condemn the actions of "warlike" nations and have candlelight vigils for other "victims" before forgetting about the matter altogether.

I've studied Japanese culture, literature, history and sociology under Westerners (at an American university), under Japanese (at a Tokyo university), and have lived here for four years now: I love this country deeply and I firmly believe they have no more or less problems than any other nation. But they do have UNIQUE problems. And one of them most CERTAINLY is tied to Japan's view of itself in the world... and it's view of everyone else who threatens to usurp their unique "oneness".

Then again, to put things in perspective: I think ethnocentrism is an even larger problem in the United States... most Americans have no awareness, interest or empathy in the outside world and harbor all sorts of ridiculous notions and stereotypes about everyone else under the sun. While far more accepting of differences WITHIN it's society: the USA is a total joke when it comes to "worldliness."

For every time I have been asked whether I own a gun in Japan, I have been asked if "my eyes are slanty yet?" or "do Japanese women have sideways vaginas?" in the US. What does that say about us?

um... thats a good question, but i think that all races have a sort of rascicum left in them. so not just japanese, and maybe there was something else wrong with him like he was mean or something! lol

Originally Posted by tsurara

Anyone who isn't Japanese is a "foreigner".

Other asians actually have WORSE reputations and stereotypes than most other ethnicities (think "Mexicans" in the US) precisely because of how easy it is for them to adapt to life in Japan and how many have (or are merely suspected to have) entered the country illegally.

LOL, that's funny. I've always assumed that Japanese would look at Asians from other countries as their equivalent to our Mexicans. The same can be applied with Chinese people and Koreans, Koreans and Thai, so on and so forth.

Originally Posted by tsurara

You fail at fuzoku.
Japan is not Thailand. It's a developed nation that's incredibly uptight about sex on the surface and quite discreet about even it's sex industry. Women don't NEED money to live. They want it for designer bags. And they generally don't need to actually do the deed to get that money.

It's funny because I've been to Thailand. Never been to Japan, so I won't make comparisons, but Thailand is ALL ABOUT SEX! Not all of the people there are perverts or anything, but sex sells better there than it does here in the US! I went to a night club during my trip there and when my friends and I were walking out (Streetwalkers prowl 24/7 in Thailand), a prostitute rushes up to me, grabs my arm and yells, "Ooh! Chocolate man, chocolate man!! You come with me to bathroom! Make you *** in five minutes! 300 Baht!!" LMAO! It's been about eight years, and it doesn't get any less funny to me. Before people go saying anything: NO! I did not accept her offer!

Originally Posted by tsurara

Japan is an interesting case. It is an ethnically and culturally homogenous nation that prides itself on it's singular identity as "Japanese". Believe it or not, this creates a much more closed atmosphere and distrust/misunderstanding of "outsiders". I would argue that Japan is far more openly racist (at least by the standards of ethnically mixed societies) than most of us would first suspect or be willing to accept.

Blackface is acceptable, racial charicatures are common, gay stereotypes are played on prime-time for jokes, there are magazines and books devoted entirely to thinly-veiled hatred for foreigners living in Japan and other nations as a whole, foreigners are openly barred from certain establishments, foreign workers are often treated more poorly than their Japanese counterparts, urban legends about foreigners are common and consequently, so are misconceptions/rude questions/assumptions. etc. etc.

On the other hand: foreign men (Korean, black and caucasian) are often built up as idols over Japanese men by women put off by their hard schedules and stoic upbringings, foreign celebrities are worshipped with zeal, foreign brands and images are more desireable than Japanese ones (often fetching at least twice their actual worth simply by virtue of being foreign), ethnic foods are popular, overseas vacations are in high demand, 1 in 7 Japanese adults is currently taking an English conversation class at least once a month. I'm told I'm beautiful and have a "small face" an average of ten times a day and am often discussed by admiring young women in full earshot... positively. Small children and high school students regularly shout out "HELLO!" at me and are delighted to recieve answers.

That's also racism... but it's good racism (for us anyway).

Much of this is born from genuine naevite... most Japanese learn about the rest of the world from television, movies, fashion magazines, edited textbooks and comic books. It's hard to blame them for thinking Americans sue microwave companies for not putting "don't microwave your cat" labels on their appliances or that we all carry guns and shoot each other when we get pissed off.

More damaging (and depressing in the long-term) is a nationwide superiority complex that has been brewing for hundreds of years. "National Learning" never really stopped... it just became far more innocuous ("writings on being Japanese", neo-nationalism, "Dignity of the Nation", questionable textbook editing, etc). Unfortunately most Japanese people still remain wholly convinced that Japan is the center of the meaningful universe, the pinnacle of culture, the epitome of progress and that the Japanese are the most peaceful and gentile race on the planet. One of the most hilarious government sponsored "studies" involves Japanese and Western honeybees... with the conclusion being that Japanese honeybees are more peaceful, gentle and cooperative than their savage foreign counterparts; something that is then implied carries over directly to humans. Japan, as a nation, has absorbed nothing of guilt from World War II or the Sino-Japanese war... but have wholly embraced victimhood (which they emphasize on an almost daily basis). They remain unconcerned with their own role in world politics but are quick to condemn the actions of "warlike" nations and have candlelight vigils for other "victims" before forgetting about the matter altogether.

I've studied Japanese culture, literature, history and sociology under Westerners (at an American university), under Japanese (at a Tokyo university), and have lived here for four years now: I love this country deeply and I firmly believe they have no more or less problems than any other nation. But they do have UNIQUE problems. And one of them most CERTAINLY is tied to Japan's view of itself in the world... and it's view of everyone else who threatens to usurp their unique "oneness".

Then again, to put things in perspective: I think ethnocentrism is an even larger problem in the United States... most Americans have no awareness, interest or empathy in the outside world and harbor all sorts of ridiculous notions and stereotypes about everyone else under the sun. While far more accepting of differences WITHIN it's society: the USA is a total joke when it comes to "worldliness."

For every time I have been asked whether I own a gun in Japan, I have been asked if "my eyes are slanty yet?" or "do Japanese women have sideways vaginas?" in the US. What does that say about us?

Tsurara beat me to the point. Kudos! As a homogeneous society, the Japanese don't usually see too much diversity; like here in the US. So, they look at every foreigner the same way pretty much. A friend of mine went and he was called "Gaijin" more times than he could remember (Gaijin = foreigner). Most often than not, it's not because they hate foreigners, but because they don't particularly know how else to deal with them.

Their racism really isn't a form of hate, like our KKK and Neo-Nazis, but more of a safeguard, if you will.

Originally Posted by atomik_sprout

Tsurara beat me to the point. Kudos! As a homogeneous society, the Japanese don't usually see too much diversity; like here in the US. So, they look at every foreigner the same way pretty much. A friend of mine went and he was called "Gaijin" more times than he could remember (Gaijin = foreigner). Most often than not, it's not because they hate foreigners, but because they don't particularly know how else to deal with them.

Their racism really isn't a form of hate, like our KKK and Neo-Nazis, but more of a safeguard, if you will.

Calling it a safeguard does not excuse it. I have a friend who is half Japanese who refuses to visit there because he was treated so badly before. He is treated better/accepted far more readily by Chinese immigrants to his own country then his own relatives in Japan.