Is japan really a racist country ?

Question

I love japan for some reason i just always found them to be really friendly people, now i'm from the UK but lately I've been looking all over the internet and have been hearing about the racist behaviour towards foreigners in japan but what i want to know is this true do they really treat foreigners like that in japan or are people just trying to give japan a bad name.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

i think people say this about Japan because of all the hype Japan has for having polite citizens. Every country will treat foreigners differently. Personally i don't think Japan is that racist yes there are some people who wish foreigners would leave but have you ever seen Them attack foreigners physically. no just verbally and not that much. in other countries like UK or America you might be killed well not everywhere in America or the UK

I hope to go to Japan sometime 2

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thanks for the answer, and thanks to everybody else for answering even though some of the answers were just flipping stupid.

Answer 2

Racism are everywhere, its an individual personality. No, not the whole country are racist.

Answer 3

It is normal where ever u go to other people country u will be considered foreigner. So u could not get special attention from the locals. Unless if u married to a local maybe yr wife and her family will look after u.

Answer 4

Been there 3 times and never experienced it. But I have heard the rumours also. I know they treat females as inferiors. My GF there, used to share a bath with her Dad, and that was regarded normal behaviour.

Answer 5

No more than the UK.

Answer 6

japan is one of the most racist countries on the planet (sssssh don't tell anyone) but their politeness socially means they rarely express it to a 外国人(foreigner)

Answer 7

I'm Japanese , grew up in Kobe,
Kobe lives in a lot of foreigner a long time ago,
Chinese has own Chinatown and temple and school in Kobe
Jainist,muslim.Jewish has own temple in Kobe, korean, Norwegian,German
Canadian has own school in Kobe etc,,.many foreigner and religion exist together

International festival ,difference relision gather in Japanese traditonal shrine,
http://kobe-mari.maxs.jp/photo/kobe/ijinkan/tenman/matsuri_002_s2.jpg
http://kanko.gnavi.co.jp/spot/img/31/28002331_1.jpg
http://mari.cocolog-nifty.com/photos/uncategorized/2009/08/09/001.jpg

I've heard that Island country tend to be closed community than continental
country, most Japanese people share the same language .culture, mind set
and standard. and people tend to be shy.
but I feel if foreigner can speak Japanese, and share the same standard with
Japanese, friendliness get more shrink.

I feel Japanese people tend to be shy at foreigers, due to language .cultual barrier
but some person are curious about care of foreinger,

Answer 8

i was there last year and i saw no evidence of racism at all. in fact, coming from a country that was formerly brutalized by japan in ww2, i was prepared to dislike the japanese, but i was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and accomodating the people are. i think most of the misunderstanding is rooted in their not being able to express themselves in english.

Answer 9

You won't see the problem staying for a short time.

The vast majority of foreigners that come to Japan to work from the west stay for their year and never, ever return. There is a reason for that.

Nobody is trying to give Japan a black eye for the fun of it. There is no fun in it. We all came because of the exotic quality of the culture, the history, the technology, the politeness etc etc. I held on to my fantasies about Japan well into my stay here.

Still, as a resident foreigner you will be largely ignored (knowing you doesn't help them). Otherwise you will be an opportunity for short term entertainment or a cheap source of labor. Completely replaceable, forgettable, unfathomable and most importantly not Japanese.

I laugh at Famichan's rationalization about Japan being an island country. Every (every single) Japanese person rolls out this same explanation whenever this subject comes up. I have been hearing that in English and then in Japanese for over twenty years.

Sorry Famichan. Japan has been open to the world for 150 years. Every single Japanese alive today has had the opportunity to get to know foreigners in their neighborhoods. Yet you ostracize, alienate and ignore them.

Island nations around the world are the most friendly and hospitable of all countries. All but Japan.

Answer 10

If you can answer a question like "Is the UK really a racist country?"
then you know the answer to this question.