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| photo credits: https://www.pinterest.com/morisue/life-inspiration/ |
I haven't been blogging lately because my right wrist is not well. It's hard to type with one hand. I want to write a lot of things, my head's already bursting with ideas but they have to wait. In the meantime, I'll just post something I've started last week before my wrist got painful. I'll write a conclusion once I can type with both hands.
Is there racism in Japan?
My answer: There's racism everywhere, in any country- rich or poor, developed or developing, communist or democratic. That's the reality of life simply because all people have certain assumptions about other people from different culture. Before you call me a liar and claim that you don't have assumptions and you don't have stereotypes, try to do this activity:
Think of the first word that comes to your mind about citizens of any country - Chinese. Australian, Brazilian, German, etc. etc. The words you associate with them are most probably personal assumptions. (I'd like to explain this from a philosophical standpoint but you might get bored so let's leave it at that.)
So, is there racism in Japan? Yes, there is.
However, it's not as probably as overt as in other countries. You can find numerous articles on the net of how Japan is racist towards foreigners. It's actually from browsing those articles that compelled me to write this post.
Some foreigners' complaints on Japanese racism are truly valid. For example, a Belgian student in Kyoto who wasn't allowed to rent an apartment because he's a gaijin. There's also a Pakistani who was stopped and questioned by the police for 7 consecutive days. I've been turned down by Mizuho Bank just because I can't speak Japanese. Cases of bullying of half-Japanese students in schools are also common. I find these worthy to complain about because the situations are highly discriminating.
However, some of the common complaints I read in various fora stem from misunderstanding of Japan and of Asia in general.
East Asia- North and South, are highly homogenous compared to the USA and Europe. Simply put, we're not used to seeing and dealing with foreigners. Japan's foreign population is around 1.98 million, a mere 1% of the country's total population. On the other hand Korea has less than 1% foreigners of their country's population. In the USA, there are about 19.3 registered foreigners accounting to 6% of the population. The foreign population in the UK and it's neighboring countries comprises more than 4% to 8%. What I'm saying is compared to the West, Asia has less exposure to foreign culture.
Therefore, I find the following common complaints of gaijins to be a case of misunderstanding, not only of Japan, but of this side of Asia.
Complaint No. 1: Japanese people are staring at me.
People stare at two things- the beautiful and the strange. When Japanese and Asians stare at foreigners, it's either we find you both beautiful and strange or just one of the two. I know staring is rude but imagine seeing something you only see on the movies or on the books, won't you stare too? It's comparable when tourists visit Japan and stare at the cherry blossoms, at the temples and shrines, or even at the toilet seats. I know it's uncomfortable to be stared at but the sooner as you accept that you're a "sight to behold," the sooner you'll less mind the staring. Or...you can always stare back.
Complaint No.2: The Japanese are not talking to me in Japanese or they're talking to me in Japanese.
I've read several foreigners complaining that Japanese restaurant servers automatically assume that they can't understand Japanese. So, they are either handed an English menu or the server will try to talk in English. Then, there's a handful of cases where some Asian-looking foreigners complain that the Japanese are talking to them in Japanese just because they look Asian.
I don't know what's the big deal but these instances are situations that call for common sense. Try to put yourself in this situation: Two people come up to you. One looks Japanese and one looks Western. To whom will you speak first in English? Be honest. Even in the Philippines, we'll automatically switch to English when we see someone foreign-looking because it's very rare to find a foreigner who can speak Filipino fluently. The point is this, if you can speak Japanese and you want to be spoken to in Japanese, then just say so. Don't simmer there and think you're being discriminated on. Same if you don't know how to speak in Japanese.
English speakers tend to speak English more slowly and more clearly when they're talking to Japanese people. This can be a form of racism, too when we apply the complaint, "The Japanese think I can't understand/ can understand Japanese." The Japanese can say, "How dare these foreigners think I can't understand normal English just because I'm Japanese?"
Complaint No. 3: The Japanese think I'm an English teacher.
English speaker is equal to English teacher. This is the most common equation in Japan simply because most American/ English looking people who are in Japan are English teachers. And honestly, I don't see the problem with assuming you're an English teacher.
Do you know what's worse? Being a Filipina in Japan. Seriously. There's a stigma in Japan that a Filipina is either a former entertainer or married to a Japanese man (an old man usually). At first, I find it insulting. I eventually don't care anymore because both assumptions are not true anyway. Also, there's nothing wrong with being an entertainer or being married to an old Japanese man. Whatever the reasons of women in these cases, they're not hurting anyone. And I don't have to prove anything to mere strangers so I don't waste my efforts "feeling discriminated."
To be continued: Complaint No 4: The Japanese are amazed with how I use the chopsticks.
