An encounter with the Foreigner Crime File in Fukuoka

What are w/ these people? These people act as though they have rights in Japan. Who told them that they mattered? Sure, go back to Canada and if you see something there, do something about it….if you see it in Japan, Korea, etc….well, ignore it. Man up and quit being a lil girl.

I don’t understand why the guy would take it to the front desk. That’s about as bad as the book in the first place. Just tell the guy at the desk that you won’t be shopping there anymore.

Racism is stupid, but it shouldn’t be illegal unless it’s inciting violence.

Just as shopkeepers are allowed to sell items, there is no reason why people cannot complain about the items they sell above and beyond merely not shopping there. This shopper wasn’t exercising any “rights” as such: he was asking the shop if they would remove the problematic book, just like any other customer could – this is not a legally-defined right as such, merely the workings of the market economy in response to complaints. Just look at tales of what gets taken off the shelves or never stocked at Walmart to see how well that can work.

He certainly doesn’t have the right not be insulted. But he can always ask nicely, rather than go off on into legal threats. Junkudo is a major chain, and perhaps does not wish to be associated with low-class books. Or they may have other reasons. In the end it is of course the shop’s decision, but they thought about it and agreed.

I’m not on Amerasian’s side either: legal residents should have certain rights, since after the government has let us in and therefore to an extent “wants us” here. So when here, they should look after us to an extent (and they do, generally).

I agree, overthinker, it just seems that either the person who passed on the story over-stressed what actually happened, “I picked up about 15 copies of them and dumped them at the customer service counter and ask to speak to someone in charge,”

Then he said that he politely explained the situation. None of “picked up about 15 copies and dumped” sounds very polite to me. Sounds pretty imperious to me. Could have just said, “See that magazine? It’s really insulting to me and I won’t be shopping here any more because of it.”

That gives everyone the ability to make their own decisions, and isn’t badgering some poor manager into making promises he probably doesn’t have the seniority to make.

Maybe I just don’t care enough about idiots, but this magazine doesn’t bother me. There are plenty just like it back home, and you can buy them in many stores. You just have to ask the right guy.

Jamie – I did note the “dumped” bit, which seems a bit harsh, but decided that it was countered by the “polite” request rather than a demand, so didn’t feel the need to really get into how rough the dumping was. The request at least was polite, which seems the main thing. No idea how much authority the manager has, but a follow-up visit might show this.

David: Junkudo are allowed to sell it. If they are not then they are making a business decision, not a legal one about rights. Not every purveyor of a given sort of good stocks or wants to stock every sort of item about it. This is of course why competition is good: so Junkod don’t have the book, you can go to Kinokuniya or whoever might. But then Kinokuniya doesn’t have another book that Junkudo does.

My basic point in all this is that this isn’t really a “gaijin in Japan” thing: it’s a customer issue. People complain about what shops sell all the time. They badger people into making promises, or worse. This is why I am reluctant to call this an issue of “rights”, just one man complaining and getting taken seriously. Aside from the specific content of the mook in question, there should not be any difference between this event and doing something similar in your own hometown – or a Japanese doing the same thing, even with the same volume, in Junkudo or wherever.

My fist comment was indeed pervasive and I am sure I could have come out a better comment if I had taken my time and thought it out. I apologize about that.

The reason I feel so strongly is that a lot of people from the western part of the world (mostly the US and Canada) come here and critize everything. I am not saying everyone because there are a lot of good people coming here and taking this world for what it is and try to live w/ in the social norms of how things work in Asain countries. I just don’t appreciate the ones that come here and want things to work and act the same as it did back home. If they want that, then why come here, japan, etc??

To flip out about what your host nation does and nothing to do w/ us. If they want to sell unethical, racist material (as long as its not inciting violence : jamie) then let them and keep our western ideals/ethics out of their face.

Again, sorry for my “pervasive” comment before. Seeing this happen time and time again for the last 20 years kind of makes me go a little nuts.

I don’t see ANYTHING wrong in what the guy did. Sure, they do have the right to spew outrageous crap, and so does the store to distribute it – but asking to stop is a perfectly legitimate thing to do. Sue the guy? Take legal action? Yeah, that’s no good. But to simply ask politely? Why not. This sort of publication is garbage. It shouldn’t be outlawed, but let there be devotion to a more understanding culture in all of us.