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Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - Printable Version

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Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - Zon70 - 2011-08-02

Now, I dont live in Japan so take my view of things with a grain of salt. HOWEVER. If you spend a lot of time in native japanese media(like I do) then you cant help but notice an increase in racism there.

For example recently a (japanese) actor complained on twitter about the 韓流 in japan and he ended up getting fired from his talent agency. This then started a s**t storm and people started getting really angry at fujitv, which apparently shows a lot of korean dramas, k pop coverage, etc...

For instance look at this video
posted on fujitv youtube account and the video(which has nothing to do with korea) has 2,000 plus dislikes and a ton of anti-korean comments.

And then, a couple of weeks ago a child actor mana ashida was kissed by an italian kid
on tv and while if you look now the comments have somewhat lessened, but when this first happened there were tons of anti-gaijin comments and people saying how they wanted to beat up the italian kid.

I cant help but wonder if Japan is a little of its rocker recently or is it just me? can someone who actually lives in japan tell us how it is over there?

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - bodhisamaya - 2011-08-02

There are a lot of people who have unkind views of China and Korea(the feelings are mutual I hear). As an American living in Japan off and on since 2007, I have not once had a negative racist statement said to me, about me. I get a lot of positive attention for being Caucasian, which is technically racist.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - howtwosavealif3 - 2011-08-02

but you know that actor is correct there's too much korean crap o nthe japanese tv it almost makes you think you're not watching japanese tv if it wasn't for the japanese text everywhere. I think that whoole thing was so stupid with him getting fired from his agency? . they'v ebeen trying to shove korea down ppl's throats... seriously is too much korean crap on the tv.

there's lots of hater articles/threads on 2channel on china or korea.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - bcrAn - 2011-08-02

@howtwosavealif3 Nice spelling. If you don't like what you see on T.V, change the channel.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - Zon70 - 2011-08-02

howtwosavealif3 Wrote:but you know that actor is correct there's too much korean crap o nthe japanese tv it almost makes you think you're not watching japanese tv if it wasn't for the japanese text everywhere. I think that whoole thing was so stupid with him getting fired from his agency? . they'v ebeen trying to shove korea down ppl's throats... seriously is too much korean crap on the tv.

there's lots of hater articles/threads on 2channel on china or korea.
yes it may have lots korean programming, however have you ever watched commericials while watching the tv on any channel(in japan?) almost every commercial ends with the companies name and some stupid, cheesy slogan in English. I do not see them use korean slogans(hell, you dont even see them use japanese slogans). To me i think japanese are focusing too much on what has been rushed onto them recently(korean) and too little on what has been seaping its way into mainstream japanese culture for decades(american and western society influence)

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - chair - 2011-08-02

Zon70 Wrote:And then, a couple of weeks ago a child actor mana ashida was kissed by an italian kid
on tv and while if you look now the comments have somewhat lessened, but when this first happened there were tons of anti-gaijin comments and people saying how they wanted to beat up the italian kid.
One could come to the conclusion, by studying any society's Youtube comments, that that society is completely insane.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - Angeldust - 2011-08-02

chair Wrote:One could come to the conclusion, by studying any society's Youtube comments, that that society is completely insane.
THIS!!! :lol: It's soooo true!

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - Tzadeck - 2011-08-02

I don't think there's any reason to believe that lately Japan is more racist. In fact, ultimately Korean pop culture will make Japan less racist, because the people who get into it will eventually have a fonder impression of Korea.

Japan, like any other country, has a good deal of racism. It's interesting to see how different it is from racism in America, actually.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - vix86 - 2011-08-02

Internet comments are not a reflection of the mass opinion in Japan. I say this because it is quite possible that the Italian Kid scene was posted on Youtube and then had the link posted in a 2ch VIPPER thread. There is a strong group of ultra conservative single [NEETs] on 2ch, and they have this sort of thinking when it comes to Korea, China, or any country that's not Japan. This is doubly the case when it involves "their women." They're also chauvinists.

Most of Japan doesn't think this way.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - Hashiriya - 2011-08-02

I just hate it when Japanese people think I don't do or eat certain things BECAUSE i'm a gaijin. Why can't they see that I am just a human being I don't know. Just because I like something or not doesn't mean that all Americans like or don't like something.

Another thing I find odd is how when my stomach starts hurting my mother-in-law's first reaction is to go buy me a meal from McDonald's because that is obviously what will cure me. I can't take Japanese medicine because apparently my intestines aren't long enough to handle it.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - zachandhobbes - 2011-08-02

I wouldn't take what you see on the net as face value. People say stupid stuff. If a black person kissed a white little girl like that on American game shows, you might see similar reactions, even in our current state in America. It's just that people + the internet + possibly controversial things = explosion of hateful messages.

I wouldn't take it seriously. When I was in Japan, I told people I was half Taiwanese, half Iranian, which I am. I didn't get any negative comments at all. In fact, they seemed intrigued. Not like in America, where if I tell people my ethnicity all I get are "wow, what a weird mix" and extra checking at Airport Security.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - six8ten - 2011-08-02

Hashiriya Wrote:I just hate it when Japanese people think I don't do or eat certain things BECAUSE i'm a gaijin. Just because I like something or not doesn't mean that all Americans like or don't like something.
When I was in the hospital for a shoulder surgery in Japan, the first three days my meals consisted of nothing but bread and butter or jam, because "that's what foreigners eat".

I've occassionally not been allowed in a bar or restaurant, possibly they thought I was military rather than just foreign, but I couldn't say for sure.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - aphasiac - 2011-08-02

bodhisamaya Wrote:As an American living in Japan off and on since 2007, I have not once had a negative racist statement said to me, about me.
zachandhobbes Wrote:I wouldn't take it seriously. When I was in Japan, I told people I was half Taiwanese, half Iranian, which I am. I didn't get any negative comments at all. In fact, they seemed intrigued.
Surely in any country people wouldn't be openly racist to your face? That's just normality.

Now combine that with Japan being the land of social politeness and non-confrontation; I'm not saying they are racist, but these anecdotes really don't prove anything. There's a world of difference between people disliking foreigners in Japan, and openly challenging strangers.

zachandhobbes Wrote:Not like in America, where if I tell people my ethnicity all I get are "wow, what a weird mix" and extra checking at Airport Security
I wouldn't consider this racist - although "weird" usually has negative undertones, in this context it's being used to mean "unusual"; the speaker is likely suprised / intrigued, same as the Japanese you've met. The airport thing, hmm maybe..

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - vix86 - 2011-08-02

Hashiriya Wrote:I can't take Japanese medicine because apparently my intestines aren't long enough to handle it.
God, that's one thing I hate about Japan. "Japanese exceptionalism," the belief that there are particular things about the Japanese that make them different from the rest of the world. No one ever bothers to want to even check if the shit is actually real either, its basically superstition within the populace at large.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - visualsense - 2011-08-02

Youtube comments are one of the Top 10 More Useless Things In The Universe.

I hide them using Stylish in Firefox.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - Tzadeck - 2011-08-02

Yeah, Japanese racism works very much like Japanese crime--it's done on the down low.

People say there's not so much crime in Japan, and indeed you can walk around on the streets and get no trouble. You can leave your bag almost anywhere and nobody will take it. And if you look at crime statistics you'll see they're quite low.

But, actually, Japan has a huge mafia that has more power than any mafia in America ever had. They disappear people, trade women as sex slaves, scare people out of their apartments for real estate money, blackmail businesses into giving a certain amount of their funds to them, and commit a whole lot of other awful crimes as well. But these things aren't immediately apparent went you're in Japan, even if you go into organizations that are owned by the mafia. And, since it's done silently, there's no real way to determine the extent of it (though, it's obviously very big, just from the number of people who are employeed off of it full time). The cops don't have the power to deal with the mafia, so those crimes often don't get reported, and of course the mafia has ties with the police.

To show racism would be confrontational, which is unacceptable in Japan, so the extent that racism exists is very hard to determine. It's quite hidden, though it's definitely there.

(In certain situations it does show itself. My friends and I had a drunk guy in his twenties shouting 帰れ to us over and over again when he suddenly got mad at us. And he meant to our own country, not our homes. His friends came over and apologized to us later, haha.)

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - six8ten - 2011-08-03

vix86 Wrote:God, that's one thing I hate about Japan. "Japanese exceptionalism," the belief that there are particular things about the Japanese that make them different from the rest of the world. No one ever bothers to want to even check if the shit is actually real either, its basically superstition within the populace at large.
But... they are special, because Japan has four seasons which gives the Japanese people a unique world view... unlike everywhere else in the world where there are no seasons of any sort, apparently.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - Tzadeck - 2011-08-03

six8ten Wrote:But... they are special, because Japan has four seasons which gives the Japanese people a unique world view... unlike everywhere else in the world where there are no seasons of any sort, apparently.
My school does a speech contest every year, and I usually have to read at least 100 of them and correct them. There's always a few about how Japan has four seasons and how that's great.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - bodhisamaya - 2011-08-03

I am proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - Tzadeck - 2011-08-03

America is the most freedom-loving place on the planet, you know. Wink

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - vonPeterhof - 2011-08-03

Умом Россию не понять,
Аршином общим не измерить:
У ней особенная стать -
В Россию можно только верить.

Or, if you aren't fortunate enough to be near-fluent in the Great and Mighty Language (and of course a non-native speaker can never be truly fluent in it, because it is so damn unique):

You will not grasp her with your mind
Or cover with a common label,
For Russia is one of a kind –
Believe in her, if you are able...

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - dizmox - 2011-08-03

I think there's too much American crap on UK TV myself.

Other than Neighbours (is that still going?), It's the only foreign media we get, blargh.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - bcrAn - 2011-08-03

Labels are disgusting.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - JimmySeal - 2011-08-03

Zon70 Wrote:Now, I dont live in Japan so take my view of things with a grain of salt. HOWEVER. If you spend a lot of time in native japanese media(like I do) then you cant help but notice an increase in racism there.
I spend almost all of my time in Japan, and I haven't noticed an increase in racism here.

Is it just me or has japan become more racist recently? - bcrAn - 2011-08-03

Like referring to the United States as America.