You’re the one saying that, not Alex. But let’s say that he meant only “some” conditions (which ones?). How then do you say that “conditions ARE better for them,” and at the same time, that “not all conditions are better”?

That would mean that there is an overall rating of “quality of life” in countries, and some categories of conditions have greater weight than others, so that a high score in a more heavily-weighted category can outweigh a low score in a category with smaller weight, leading to a higher overall rating. But I’m sure that I would disagree with you as to which categories are more important.

Maybe conditions aren’t that much better for lower-income Filipinos in Japan. Sure, Japan has better public transport, schools and hospitals than the Philippines. But do Filipina bar girls really get to use all these schools and hospitals? As far as they are concerned, these don’t count.

I think you’re leaving out the role of family. These domestics and others go abroad to earn enough money to support their families at home. So in fact, conditions may be worse for them abroad, but they endure it in order to improve conditions for their loved ones back home.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Japan turned out to be more tolerant than the US in some aspects. To me, the US’s famous multiculturalism and tolerance is an exaggerated national image, whether of race, class, religion, gender, or others. The US has always had trouble with race, and if you ask me, it’s worsening, not improving (the rightward trend of the US as a whole, for example).

Japan is also surprisingly tolerant in many ways – just not necessarily the ways the US, for example, is. For example, homosexuality has long been more accepted, and there are several famous transvestite stars in Japan – and no, Wada Akiko is not one, despite what you might think….

Somehow, I find that hard to believe. Still, you live in Japan and I don’t, so I’ll take your word for it. But “Tolerating” compared to what? Saudi Arabia? How about the US?

“People don’t move to a foreign country to live in worse conditions than they had in their home nation.”

Living conditions are multidimensional. Foreigners who move to another country may earn more money than they would at home, but at the cost of being discriminated against in a way they would never be at home. Filipina domestic helpers know this only too well. So it’s not, as so many posters here seem to think, that the fact that so many foreigners go to Japan, sometimes illegally, is because conditions in Japan are so good for them in every way.

Don’t kid yourselves. The main reason many lower-class foreigners (most of whom are non-whites) go to Japan is that they are desperate and can earn here, not because they expect to live in a paradise of racial equality.

Or does anyone want to claim that Filipinos are treated like kings and queens in Japan?

Some scientists say that, contrary to the assertion that children are color-blind and racism has to be taught, discrimination against what’s different is a completely natural response among human children (probably a survival skill or something). Still doesn’t make it right, in these times.

Since we’re on the topic, why is Japan one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in the world, anyway? With its living standards, if conditions were as good for foreigners as so many of you seem to think (what with insightful comments such as “Sounds like your life is downright horrible…maybe you should consider moving out?”), then why isn’t the population more ethnically diverse?

Why?

He goes to some onsen, flashing his Japanese passport like its some proof from god that he’s Japanese. I think that anyone can tell you is that ethnicity is distinctly separate from nationality. And I think it’s on this issue, that he seems to remain oblivious.

So he’s got people discussing it, and what. I think any attempts he’s trying to be civil come off as just another American trying to get his way. I think if anyone has the right to cause such a rucus, are the Koreans who are born in Japan and still aren’t recognized. I don’t see him fighting for them. When he says he’s fighting for non-Japanese, it just seems like he’s still bitching about not being able to get his ass into some onsen in the middle of inaka-nowhere. He may be the only one, but he’s one I could do without.

I didn’t know we were supposed to be carrying ‘gaijin card’ all of the time, and I’d never carried it with me until recently (been here for most of the time). I’d never had a problem with this, I’m East-Asian, so..

2.Yes, this happened. I was hired as a translator/interpreter by certain company in Osaka, but a month ago, the girl who was in carge of shipment and inventory control was fired, and they made me do her job in addition to mine( resulting in solid overtime work, often “voluntary”).Besides, since the other workers were all men, I was supposed to clean the company before work too(”How would you expect the men to do women’s job?).Then, another Japanese woman was hired, but she was never asked to do shipment(packing and sending goods) and inventory control( carrying heavy packages upstairs, packing, repacking, cleaning, testing the equipment..)BTW, previous girl in inventory was Chinese.And the new ,Japanese girl was never asked to clean. I waited for a week to see how things are going , and left. Now, they are looking for another “translator”.
3. Only young guys won’t sit next, but I guess they are simply shy.
4. My teachers, married to foreigners, did complain a lot about discrimination at school.
5.Gee, I’m afraid to meet some Japanese at night. With all these pervs on the loose…
6.I was stopped only once, and the guy was really polite and cool.

As a black man who was born and bred in London, I have to say that not one of you could survive a single day in England walking in my shoes. Not a day. The kind of things that you complain about are the kind of things that I brushed off as a eight-year-old kid.

That was my point – It’s not that Debito is the only person doing anything; it’s that Debito loves to talk about Debito and what Debito does, whether he does it right or wrong.

Talking primarily to foreigners on the issues is not very productive at all. The target audience should be native Japanese citizens. Debito’s agenda serves himself above all others. That he claims to do it for “日本人ではない人” (NJ…) is where most of us have legitimate contentions – We don’t share the opinions for which he’s fighting for “on our behalf”.

Debito doesn’t cut it as an activist because his actions are more controversial than whatever issue he was protesting. He doesn’t rally the foreign community – He divides it. The worst part of it all is that creating controversy (read: strife) is his primary goal. (He thinks he’s the catalyst for this new controversy, when it has been around for a long time. He’s just the kind to stir the mud around.)

Debito is like the Andy Kauffman of foreign-related issues in Japan. In the end, the controversy isn’t the point he’s trying to make; it’s him.

He’s got you discussing them here, hasn’t he ?

On what issue? —-the issue of his trick?

so we leave it all up to one guy and then complain when we don’t like how he is doing it.

Who is “we”?

Some foreigners do not need Debito’s type of “help” because they can handle their problem on their own.

There are people who are annoyed by his tactics because it is promoting negative image of gaijin.
And I don’t see why foreigners supporting, directly or indirectly, the tactics I specified on other comments is not promoting negative image of gaijin.

There are some other foreigners who feel the need for whatever help they can get, even if the method is not right, believing—I think, mistakenly—-that it is helping.

I am suggesting the last type of the people to set up a site for foreigners like them. I am saying I’ll help. And I am saying the problem is that people who need it just leave it to the dirty tactics I specified.

Debito hasn’t achieved anything particular about the issues in Japanese society

He’s got you discussing them here, hasn’t he ?

He’s also got them in print in a national Japanese newpaper, even if it is in English.

The problem is that foreigners who feel the need thinks somebody else should do it.

Right, so we leave it all up to one guy and then complain when we don’t like how he is doing it.

So why aren’t there any comments along the lines of ‘this has all been done before, see webpage url…’ ?

My point is, the problem is not Debito, even though I agree that he goes too far. There simply aren’t enough people out there tackling these issues. When anyone googles about these things they can only find Debito. If there were half a dozen alternatives out there then people would see that he’s at the extreme and not take notice.

Let’s face it, his HTML is scary, his blog template is dire as are his overuse of bold italics and all capitalised words. Any blog can easily look more friendly.

Your quote

“Wait until someone stares at you. ”

Seek help.

Which is just what I was saying… – but maybe not **all**.

So you agree that discrimination does occur and that it is wrong. And you don’t like Debito. Fine. What are you doing about these issues？・・・・you rarely see anyone else doing something about these acknowledged problems

Debito hasn’t achieved anything particular about the issues in Japanese society. He does not write in Japanese, he doesn’t talk with Japanese about the issues. He just provides a place for foreigners to rant about Japan, blocking a lot of comments critical of his tactics. And in the process, his blog is pissing Japanese who understand English by lying and/or insulting Japanese and Japan as in the case of gaijin convicted rapist and of the site full of lies about Japan.
My impression is that successful expats are handling their issues individually by consulting Japanese friends or an administrative office　like Jinken yougo kyoku, speaking Japanese.
http://www.moj.go.jp/JINKEN/index.html

As for the acknowledged issues, the most serious one, I think, is about the discriminations in accommodation. Education is needed and voices should heard IN JAPANESE.

Some foreigners should start the project otherwise the Japanese do not even understand there are issues. The problem is that foreigners who feel the need thinks somebody else should do it.

As for the shops with gajin only sign, I have a feeling that it is not so serious from some experiences dealing such shops. All they need to be told is that it is wrong and what they wanted to say is they only provide service in Japanese language and they will reject customers who can’t follow the rule, gaijin or not.

Is it me or does Bob has serious issues?
I guess I missed the latest opinion poll which asks

“Do you hate gaijins who wear sunglasses” Yes/No.

While googling, I’ve found an interesting blog by a Japanese wife who is married to Raten-jin. You might be interested.
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/mujer_celosa
She talks about her marriage. At first she was hiding the fact she was dating with gaikokujin because her parents seemed to want her to marry a Japanese guy just as everyone else. She does not particularly mention being a Latino was an obstruction. I think that is an average perception by Japanese. Ramos was gaikokujin、who became a naturalized Japanese citizen and a popular director among Japanese.

I would say that Japan ranks among the top.

I would say some Latinos who hold stereotypes about Japan rank among the top.

the worst thing is that feeling of powerlessness in that there is nothing I can do to change or avoid that, short of me leaving this place.

Have you tried Jinken yougo kyoku、a bureau for human right?
http://www.moj.go.jp/JINKEN/index.html

And this is different from anywhere else on the planet HOW, exactly? Not that doing it elsewhere makes it right, mind you, but what you describe is not “Japanese” behavior, it us human behavior.

Interesting – if a landlord refused to rent to foreigners because he previously rented to, say, Indians who splattered curry all over the walls and floor and left a smell that couldn’t be removed even with judicious use of napalm, folks would be up in arms saying “how dare you lump all foreigners in together or make such biased, sweeping statements!”

However, saying “Japanese are all blame-shifters based on these examples” is OK I guess.

*sniff sniff* Ah, I love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning…

It’s not a sin to stare in Japan – It’s only a sin to get caught staring at someone. If you get caught by a ’slow-witted gaigin’ then it’s potentially very embarrassing.

Sometimes I have a bit of fun – it’s a bit like tennis. Wait until someone stares at you. Then all you do is act like you’re trying to catch them staring at you. Try looking out the window for a while just to one side of the starer – then suddenly, just turn your head a little towards the starer, but keep your eyes pointing at the thing you were originally looking at. You’ll notice (using your super-gaigin peripheral vision) that they turn their head away from you, thinking that you were about to catch them staring at you. Try this a few times and they eventually give up staring at you for fear of getting caught. If they don’t give up staring that easily, try narrowing your eyes – so the starer can’t tell where you’re looking – they will give up staring, because after all, they don’t want to get caught staring by a ’slow-witted gaigin’. If all else fails, break out the sunglasses.

Why do you think Japanese people hate gaigin who wear sunglasses? It’s because there’s a greater chance of you catching them staring at you.

Actually, it seems that a prevalent rule in Japan is: It’s not a sin to do something, it’s only a sin to get caught doing it because it makes you look inferior. You’ll receive denial after denial that ‘I didn’t do it, no, not me.’ Even when they’re holding a smoking gun… ‘not my gun…’ Selling bad rice, hit-and-run, political corruption, Livedoor, embezzlement… the list just goes on… It’s easier to find someone else to take the fall and divert attention from the guilty party.

You rarely see anyone else shouting at the high heavens from a soapbox, at least. How do you know what everyone else is doing? Not everyone is narcissistic.

J-probe often has many comments from people ranting about Debito “going about things the wrong way” but you rarely see anyone else doing something about these acknowledged problems. Why don’t you people (you know who you are) drown him out with doing things the “right” way ?

He needs to shut up and just deal with it, because every non-white non-Euro American has has to put up with far worse in the land of the free.

Is it accepted in the land of the free ? No.

Yeah, it happens and far too much but most people know it is wrong. So why should it be accepted here ?

By your reasoning, if a Japanese person is discriminated while in another country then it is OK because discrimination exists in Japan. If you are discriminated against while you are in Japan it does not somehow balance out foreigners being discriminated against in your home country.

I came across this thread while doing a Google search for discrimination in Japan to see if there was more to it.

But that’s just small-town stuff – Tokyo is a great place to visit; I would still recommend it!

And in Japan, I am still stopped by cops several times, particularly am I ride my bicycle, either in the early mornings or evenings. My ex-cop girlfriend once told me, that cops try to “improve their performance” usually at the end of each fiscal quarter, which are March, June, September, and December. Foreigners or people appearing to be foreign become easy targets because cops would always have the official excuse of asking for an ID. One night I came home drunk, and had trouble finding my keys in front of my door. As I was trying to pull out my keys from my bag, a cop came up to me and asked for my ID. I asked why I would need to show him an ID and he said that I need to prove that I live here because I looked “suspicious.” Later that week I went to the Koban to file an official complaint, because nobody should be required to show one’s ID in order to get inside one’s own residence.

About the train seating thing, I would say some people are too shy and afraid that the person sitting next to him/her would suddenly start asking questions in a foreign language. In some cases, frankly, people put on too much perfume. This is especially true when you ride the Tokyo subways on Friday and
Saturday evenings.

I just wish more Japanese men would, for they too often stink of cigarettes
…and then I have to move my seat.

So there are many reasons someone move his/her seat. I wonder why some foreigners automatically assume someone avoid sitting next to a foreigner because he/she is a foreigner.

I’d wager many of them do not live in Japan but voted anyway.

Then the Japanese national requested for him to be transferred to another seat apparently because I was chinese.

Why do you suppose it was apparently because you were Chinese? Were you wearing Chinese traditional clothes?
I personally can’t tell Japanese from Chinese.
When they speak that is another story, but a Chinese kid whose mother has heavy accent speak perfect Chinese, so if he didn’t tell me he was Chinese, I wouldn’t know.

they always call “look out for the gaijin monster”.

What was Japanese words for “gaijin monster”?

Japan was never an open country to begin with. I really have no plans on staying there permanently

Please tell it to your compatriots. Though there are a lot of respectable Chinese scholars and writers and workers in Japan, at the same time we have a lot of illegal immigrants from China.

I don’t know what goes on in schools but if the behavior of their parents is any indication, I’m sure Japanese children are not exactly welcoming their foreign classmates with open arms.

I don’t know if your anecdotes are true just as I don’t know if the fucked gaijin behave so badly as some Japanese tell. But I think it might be true that there are some sweatshops.
As for the school, a Chinese woman in my neighborhood who has a kid in an elementary school said there were no discrimination. But there might be in other schools. I don’t know.
Here is a nice video of the life of a Chinese students for your reference.
http://www.oniazuma.com/2008/01/angel-from-china-to-japan-one-little.html

Now, if we’re talking about malicious discrimination, that’s a different story. It depends on how you, as an individual, interpret “malicious discrimination”. Historically, I’ve read about a lot worse than what’s in Japan. Hell, I moved to Japan because it’s a tolerating society. That’s my perception of it, at least. People don’t move to a foreign country to live in worse conditions than they had in their home nation.

Japan is cool

My cousin was stopped a couple of times every week while riding his bike home from work. He always went the same way home, past a koban, and always it would be the same police officers stopping him, asking for identification, asking where he was coming from and where he was going, and checking if the bike was stolen.

We are both caucasian.

Other than that being an exchange student in Japan and later studying at a language school was just wonderful. Can’t say that my Chinese, Korean, or Middle-East/Latin-American friends had quite the same experience though.

About the discrimination supposed in the article:
1. Never had to get an apartment, but 3 of my American friends had no problems in finding apartments to rent in Tokyo.

2. I didn’t know having the other teachers in my schools asking me to help carry stuff or to fix a sliding glass door because I’m bigger than them could be considered discrimination. /sarcasm

3. I’ve had it happen to me and I can understand why they’d want to move away if there were open seats, I do the same thing on the train. If this bugs you or you think it’s racist, grow a pair and stop being such a little girl about it.

4.Already explained it.

5. Never had this happen to me.

6.I’ve been stopped by the police here once asking me what I do for a living, didn’t ask for my gaijin card, and just continued walking on his beat, so I don’t consider that racist or discriminatory.

I was on a Japan Airlines flight to Osaka when it just so happened that my seatmate was Japanese. Then the Japanese national requested for him to be transferred to another seat apparently because I was chinese. My first trip to japan and my first taste of discrimination.

Regarding school bullying, I have a half japanese friend who told me school life in Japan is extremely hard especially if you dont look japanese. It’s very hard to make friends and they always call “look out for the gaijin monster”.

Japan was never an open country to begin with. I really have no plans on staying there permanently because even the government itself discriminates! Even my seniors who worked in Japan before in the IT industry, they went to the US soon after. Their comment “I do not belong here”

What about the pregnant woman last year who was turned away from 9 hospitals before finally miscarrying? The hospital problems in Japan are deeper than just some “No English” doctor.

“I’d also wager that all the people who voted “No” are white.”

You’d lose money on that wager.

Where he went wrong is his claim that the shops like that are rampant and his method of trying to get the benefits for foreigners by lying and insulting Japanese and Japan as in the rape case and the case of his approval of the site that says “don’t visit japan” because “Japan is a fascist police state, intent on ethnic cleansing & racial purity.”

Someone gave Debito a credit for highlighting the issue of the landlords rejecting foreigners. He is wrong. Debito has little to do with it.
Saitama established a system to help foreigners looking for accommodation in the prefecture.　Debito had nothing to do with it.
Kawasaki enacted a regulation forbidding discriminations against foreigners in renting. Tony László　picked it up and praised it and appealed to the Japanese not to the Japanese landlords not to reject foreigners. Debito bashes Tony.

I think it might be better for foreigners to focus on one thing at one time. The most serious problem as I understand is the issue of the landlords rejecting foreigners, Education is needed. Setting a site in Japanese for it might be of help. Let me know if someone started it;I’ll help.