Living in Japan as a foreigner can be very interesting, weird, annoying and sometimes also frustrating. Japanese people might be scared of you, stare or even point at you shouting “FOREIGNER!!!”
All of that happens because you are something exotic, you are the unknown, you are a phenomenon that just appears out of nowhere and then disappears just as fast as it came.
But what if you don’t?
What if you stay in the land of the rising sun and continue to be this “exotic, mystical” person called “gaijin” (外人, outsider)?
It’s okay. After a few years people will recognize you.
After all you’ve been in Japan for a very long time. You speak Japanese fluently, you know Japanese etiquette and how to use chopsticks.
You might have even married a Japanese citizen, drive a Japanese car and work in a Japanese company.
You live a normal life – not much different from any Japanese person! Right???
WRONG!!!!
Disclaimer: The following is written based on my own experience.
5 Things That Make You Feel Like The “Eternal” Outsider in Japan:
I’ve been in Japan for many years now. I speak decent Japanese.
I have no difficulties traveling through Japan all by myself. I can handle Japanese hospitals without any problem. Japan has become my (second) home.
And yet the Japanese people around me remind me every single day, that it’s NOT my home. At least not in their eyes!
First of all there’s all this staring that clearly shows me that I’m different, that I’m an outsider.
I still get compliments for how well I speak Japanese although for me it’s just normal that I can speak it – now that Japan is my home and I’ve been here for so many years.
1. “Hello I live in Japan”:
I run into random people when traveling and usually there’s some small talk involved.
Often conversations go like this:
| Japanese: | “Oh, where are you from?” |
| Me: | “XY City, XY Prefecture.” (obviously where I live in Japan) |
| Japanese: | “Uh, no, I mean, where did you live BEFORE that?” |
| Me: | “Oh, before that I lived in XY Prefecture for 4 years!” |
| Japanese: | “Uhm …. no, I mean WHERE WERE YOU BORN??? You are not Japanese, right???!!!” |
| Me: | “Originally, I’m from Germany!” |
| Japanese: | “Oh, Germany!! [insert some typical cliché blabbering]” |
Yes, conversations are not always going like that and I have to admit that I answer like that on purpose! .gif)
But if they ask me where I came from (lit.: どこから来ましたか, “Doko kara kimashita ka?”), then I naturally answer where I live in Japan and not where I was born!
If somebody asks you this question, you would usually tell them in which city you currently live and not where you were born unless they explicitly ask for it, right?
2. “I was born in Japan”
Sometimes I stretch the conversation above a bit just to see how they react:
| Japanese: | “Where were you born?” |
| Me: | “Oh, I was born here in Japan.” |
| Japanese: | “………………!??! Oh!?” |
To be honest, even after saying it, some just pretend they didn’t hear what I just said.
Or they say I don’t look like a “hafu” (ハーフ, that’s how they call people who are half Japanese and half foreign).
And when I tell them that both of my parents are foreign, it seems like their brain is about to explode. 
Of course I’m totally making this story up, BUT:
One of my previous co-workers is exactly like that! Her parents are from America, came to teach English at a university in Japan and just stayed for good.
She was born and raised here in Japan. Obviously she doesn’t look Japanese AT ALL!
However, inside she’s Japanese through and through. My former co-worker is fluent in Japanese as she went to a Japanese kindergarten, school and you name it!
How do you think people like her feel when they have a similar conversation like the one above?
3. “When are you going back home?”
This is just another question a lot of foreigners – including me – often have to face.
Japanese people don’t expect that you’ll stay in Japan forever.
They see you as a short-term visitor – even if you tell them that you’ve been in Japan for several years!
Again, imagine my previous co-worker! What do you mean by “going back home”???!!! Japan is her home!
4. “Keep the outsiders out!”
Japan is the perfect country to keep the outsiders out. After all it’s an isolated island!
Apart from its geographical feature there are some other things that “help” with the great endeavor to keep the outsiders out!
There are still some establishments with signs saying: “No foreigners!”
Foreigners are not allowed to vote. It’s almost impossible to obtain Japanese citizenship!
Japan also doesn’t allow dual citizenship, so if you’re a “hafu” you’ll have to choose eventually.
And if neither of your parents is Japanese, then you can’t be a Japanese citizen – even if you were born in Japan.
Home, sweet home!
5. How foreigners might feel about it:
When my family came to visit me in Japan, it was very interesting to see how they were happily answering questions and were glad that Japanese people approached them asking where they were from.
After a week they were so annoyed, so I asked them: “Can you imagine how annoying it must be when this happens to you almost every single day?”
Of course, they nodded.
How about you?
Have you been in a similar situation? How do you feel about it?
Can you imagine that it can be difficult to be seen as “the outsider” for almost all of your life when living in Japan?
Please share your opinion and / or experience! .gif)
Hey,
I think everyone who lived in Japan has been there, but it’s actually not that black and white.
Many people especially in their work environment feel the same way and in that case the solution is often simple. Try to find more open minded people in a different environment. Obviously first time conversations are more superficial and because of the fact that there are not many foreigners living in Japan for there whole life, they are not expecting you to treat japan as your personal home. That’s because of government regulations but not because the Japanese citizens don’t want more diversity in their country.
Cheers,
Kota
I definitely agree with that!
However, even if you surround yourself with open-minded people you’ll run into those “first time situations” almost every day. It’s inevitable.
It all depends on how one deals with it in the end.
Thanks a lot for your comment, Kota! :)
I lived in Nagoya from ages 8 to 13, in the 70s. Unlike the military or many of the missionary families, my family believed in participating in the culture where we found ourselves so I went to Japanese schools, ate Japanese food, and learned the language. My friends were Japanese kids and I too stared when I saw a gaijin. I became so acculturated that if we saw some Americans walking by when we were in some public place, I would hide from them. Partly this was because I didn’t want anyone to associate me with their rude and crude manners – hazukashii! So, although I was always aware that I was different and could never be fully accepted on every level, I came about as close as one can without being Japanese.
It was very hard to adjust once I came back to the US, particularly since it was a difficult age to be anyway, and because the culture had changed while I was gone. For a long time I couldn’t understand what people were saying aside from my family because while living in Japan we had all developed the habit of speaking slowly and enunciating clearly.
It was hard to never feel like I fit in anywhere. I didn’t feel that I really belonged here, and when I was there I was made to know I didn’t belong, even though in hindsight I felt that I had lost my American identity. Eventually as a young adult I started telling people to think of me as an Asian-American if they wanted to really understand me. It took me about 20 years and a lot of “Asian in America” classes to finally feel that I was comfortable with how I fit into society.
Rebecca, thanks so much for sharing your experience with us! :)
I can imagine how hard that must have been, especially because you were a young teenager when you returned to the US.
Maybe you can understand better than anyone how one of my former co-workers must feel. Her parents are both American, but she was born and raised in Japan.
She went to college in America and found her husband there, but she decided to live in Japan and let her kids grow up here.
All she told me was that she found it too dangerous in America. There were a lot of gunshots in the neighborhood.
However, I think she must have felt just like you – that she didn’t belong there.
I’m glad to hear that you finally feel comfortable nowadays! :D
I have lived in Kanazawa in Ishikawa-ken for over a year now and basically my experiences are similar to those of every other foreigner too I suppose.
My favourite recent experience would be a small boy of maybe 6 or 7 years racing down the stairs in the nearby Tennen-Onsen, coming to a screeching halt right in front of me and a friend whose an exchange student at the university. He was staring up at us in total awe and while I was passing him his grandmother was slowly coming down the stairs as well, prompting him to start yelling “ねえねえ、おばあちゃん！外人だよ！”, which in return made me start laughing loudly and responding with a “そうだよね？！” to his face. He turned red as a beet and ran on as his grandma started laughing, smiling in my direction.
Actually though, the same day I had a talk with a senior citizen in the onsen, about how children these days can’t behave themselves anymore, when we both complained about two boys splashing around in the rotenburo.
This is just to show how different experiences can be and it’s not that easy to say “this is how Japanese people will react to foreigners”. I actually made the experience that junior high school to university students are the ones who are most amazed and most freaked out around these parts of Japan (Hokuriku). I think it’s partly due to the fact that there are not that many foreigners who come here to begin with, so if you come here you would probably at least have some kind of “Japan-experience” in the eyes of older citizens. When I get to Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, there is a lot more “gaijin-pampering” going on. You look foreign, so you are less expected to know Japanese or anything about being in Japan basically.
Just recently I got asked by a friend to join her as a counselor on an English camp for junior high school students. When I read about the organization, I immediately felt the need to criticize. As a foreigner you are not allowed to speak anything but English…
And they wonder why Japanese people are still so afraid of foreign contact, when official events are still organized in a way that cross-cultural communication lies solely on their side, because “hell no, we can’t expect a non-Japanese person to know Japanese”.
I think a lot of these things that make foreigners frustrated in Japan is based a lot in missing cross-cultural education.
And finally (this has become to long anyway) I think that this idea of many other countries being a lot more inclusive stems from a misunderstanding of how different integration is handled in different countries.
In Germany and the US exist a lot of problems connecting to this discussion too, they are just highlighted very differently. I think a lot of Germans would react a lot more positive to an Asian speaking well but slightly broken German than to a white person doing the same.
Hello haguruma!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience.
You are absolutely right! I have a lot of good, but also a lot of bad experiences. Every Japanese person reacts in a different way to foreigners, but the negative ones are annoying and also stick in your memory for a longer time. At least in my case.
I’ve been to Kanazawa and other spots in Ishikawa Prefecture and it’s still a big city in my eyes compared to where I live in Japan.
I can’t remember if I saw any foreign tourists there, but I think Kanazawa City is quite popular even among foreign tourists, so people there should be used to seeing them.
In Tokyo it seems people aren’t so surprised when you speak Japanese. They quickly understand that you’re not one of the many tourists, but that you’re probably one of the many foreigners who live in Tokyo.
In rural areas they either freak out because they can’t speak English (expecting you to only speak English) or they just approach you in Japanese (which I prefer).
A lot of schools have the “only English” policy. Something I don’t like at all.
In my school I do speak Japanese with my kids when necessary. One elementary school girl once ask me: “Teacher, are you Japanese?”
It made me giggle. For her it was a natural question. After all I live in Japan and I speak Japanese, so I have to be Japanese, right? I wish more people would think like that little girl. *g*
Unfortunately, she’ll get brainwashed once she grows older.
I don’t know about the US, but in Germany there are certainly a lot of problems. Because of our dark past, Germany has become a very open and welcoming country. However, with the Euro crisis in recent years more and more people want to live in Germany. Since I left Germany thousands and thousands of foreigners moved there. Integration is becoming more and more of a problem.
It’s not like Germany doesn’t want to, but it’s just hard to manage, I think. And if this continues I’m also worried that there won’t be enough space in such a small country for all those people anymore.
In Germany nobody would think you are a foreigner. Even if you are black, chances are that you speak German and live there.
Pointing at someone and scream “foreigner” is probably not going to happen in Germany. Unless you run into stupid neo-nazis or something, but that’s another story …
Thank you so much for sharing your opinion. It was really interesting to read about it! ^____^
Hi there, I stumbled upon your site from Tofugu. You got some pretty interesting articles here. I’m gonna read them in my free time.
It’s interesting to know that you’re a German who lives in Japan. I mean, German and Japanese are my two most favorite languages. I studied German before, kinda rusty now though =D Still struggling with Japanese now..
One thing I’m actually curious is, foreigners with ‘Asian’ features tend to be overlooked and thought as Chinese or Korean. But, in reality, Asia isn’t always about East Asia.. I think the appropriate word here is oriental features. I’m Indonesian, and when I went there for travelling, people looked at me in some kind of weird way. And they’re even more surprised when I spoke to them in Japanese haha..
Hi Jerfareza! :D
I’m glad you find some of my articles interesting!
I’m surprised that German and Japanese are your two favorite languages as they’re not alike at all. *g*
Very true! But in the end it doesn’t matter. You’ll have weird experiences no matter what race you are.
I once had a Japanese-American co-worker. His parents were both Japanese, but he grew up in America. He couldn’t speak Japanese well at all.
When we were out together Japanese people always turned towards him and spoke Japanese to him. Desperately he looked at me and when I started to speak Japanese, it was too much for some Japanese people. *g*
It’s gotten a lot better and especially in big cities like Tokyo, people might not be that surprised anymore when somebody speaks Japanese who obviously is a foreigner.
The fact that somebody who looks “Japanese” can’t speak the language still seems to confuse them. Their conclusion is that the other person must be Chinese or Korean after all or just simply stupid. (T__T)
Yeah they’re totally not alike. I was planning to study in Germany before. The plan failed, but I’ve come to love the language; it’s hilarious with a lot of ‘sch’ and ‘pf’ that people may find difficult.
Oh we have a term for that: banana. It’s a term for i.e. a Chinese who doesn’t know how to speak or write Chinese. Do Japanese have a term similar like that?
For sure people are expected to be able to speak their own languages, given their obvious features. I mean people spoke Thai to me in Thailand just because I share the same features. They’ll laugh after they know I’m not Thai though =P
I’m amused that you find the German language hilarious. I’ve heard a lot of adjectives when people try to express how they find the German language, but I’m quite sure I never heard “hilarious”! :hihi:
I actually always thought that the “ch” sound might be the most difficult, but maybe that’s because I’m surrounded by native speakers of English and Japanese every day and both can’t pronounce it well.
They might have a word for it, but if they do I have never heard it before. After all it’s not something they would use on me.
Lol.. I was pretty good back then, if I say so myself, so it’s been a fun time for me. I’d be glad to pick up German again, but learning Japanese is already killing me at the moment.
Try to ask them about it please. ;P
Ok, I asked them today.
After thinking really hard for a while, they said they have no word for people like that! ^_^;
Hahaha.. while Japanese has very wide of vocabulary sometimes, I think they haven’t come across this situation very often before, hence no word. =D
A Japanese friend of mine told me about her travels to Canada and the US, and how she was so surprised when shopkeepers would speak to her in English. Couldn’t they tell she was a foreigner? I explained to her that there was no way they could know she was a foreigner by her appearance and that there are a lot of “Asian”-Americans. She had never thought of it from that perspective. Of course, I also mentioned that most people here (US) only speak English and don’t encounter foreigners very often, and when they do, they expect them to speak good English (unfair, but true).
It’s like that in many Western countries.
I heard that visitors to my home country, Germany, were also not recognized as foreigners / tourists.
However, MOST German people will switch to English once they notice you are a tourist.
I guess, it’s just normal that we expect most people can speak English rather than any other language.
It’s sad that a lot of Japanese people have no clue at all what it’s REALLY like in other countries.
Yeah, now thats sounds exactly like my Experience after 5 Years in Switzerland, hehe what a coincidence, its nice for them if you just there on Vacation, but if you want to work and Live there, woha ! a Big No-Go for them, that is just SAD ! So Sad…
Btw: I enjoy Reading your Blog, Thank you :rainy:
I’m really surprised that so many people say that about Switzerland.
One of my friends works there and she also mentioned something similar.
And with their recent decision to cut down the number of foreigners who can immigrate, it’ll probably become even worse. :/
Thanks. I’m glad you like my blog! ^__^
Die Unterschiede zu Deutschland kommen mir jetzt gar nicht so krass vor. Ich meine, in Deutschland haben wir auch eine (Gott sei Dank kleine) Gruppe von ewig gestrigen Nationalisten, die es halt nie lernen werden. Unsere politische Landschaft ist angesichts der Wahlerfolge von CDU/CSU aktuell wieder eher konservativ gelagert. Hier kann ein Migrant zwar die Staatsbürgerschaft erlangen, aber wir wissen wie schwer, unangenehm und langwierig der Prozess dahin in der Regel für die erste Migranten-Generation ist.
Dafür ist – ähnlich wie du und andere Kommentatoren hier es in Japan beschreiben – die breite Bevölkerung meines Erachtens offen und liberal gegenüber Ausländern, vielleicht aber etwas reservierter und diskreter im Umgang mit ihnen. Trotzdem gibt es auch hier immer noch Leute, die Menschen mit anderer Optik nicht als Deutsche betrachten. Das wird dann nicht so subtil im direkten Gespräch wie in deinen Beispielen kommuniziert, sondern eher hinter vorgehaltener Hand (Beispiel jetzt bei der WM: “Der Boateng / Khedira / Özil ist doch gar kein richtiger Deutscher!”; als ob es so etwas wie einen “richtigen Deutschen” gäbe).
Alles in allem finde ich deinen Text doch positiver, als ich es von Japan erwartet hätte. Wenn ich in westlichen Medien ganz oberflächlich etwas über die japanische Politik lese (Stichwort: Restoration Party), kommt mir die immer sehr konservativ und rechts-gerichtet vor. Und die Politik ist ja auch ein Spiegel der Bevölkerung. Auf der Straße scheinen die Leute dann aber doch – ähnlich wie in Deutschland – offen und hilfsbereit zu sein und die Unterschiede wirken gar nicht so extrem.
Hallo Max! :)
Was du über Deutschland sagst, stimmt sicher alles, aber der entscheidende Unterschied ist eben, dass man in Deutschland NIEMALS auf den ersten Blick entscheiden kann, ob es sich beim Gegenüber um einen Ausländer handelt. Und die meisten Leute urteilen auch nicht mehr danach. Gut, wenn sie hören, dass jemand einen ausländischen Namen hat oder ein andere Sprache spricht, dann ist das vielleicht was anderes.
Aber wie du schon sagst, was ist ein “richtiger Deutscher” überhaupt? In Europa hat sich das ja immer schon vermischt und in den letzten Jahren ist das noch viel extremer geworden. Wenn ich einen Afro-Amerikaner sehe, der perfektes Deutsch spricht, dann kommt mir keine Sekunde lang der Gedanke, dass diese Person nicht Deutsch sein könnte.
In Japan ist das viel extremer, weil es ein sehr homogenes Land ist. Nur 1% der Bevölkerung sind Ausländer und davon der Großteil Asiaten!
Du wirst gleich nach dem 1. Blick als Ausländer abgestempelt. Es wird nicht mal abgewartet, was denn dein Name ist oder welche Sprache du sprichst. Darunter leiden dann natürlich v.a. die “weißen Japaner”. Also Leute, die “ausländische” Eltern haben, aber in Japan geboren und aufgewachsen sind.
Du fällst halt als “Außenseiter” in Japan sofort auf.
Ich hoffe, das klingt jetzt nicht “rassistisch”, denn so ist es gar nicht gemeint, aber immer wenn ich in Deutschland zu Besuch bin, merke ich eben den krassen Unterschied:
Ich gehe einkaufen, sitze in einem Bus – und bin umgeben von so vielen verschiedenen Kulturen und Sprachen, dass ich mich manchmal frage, ob ich tatsächlich gerade in Deutschland bin. Denn ich verstehe die Sprache nicht, die um mich herum gesprochen wird. Auf einmal sitzt du in einer Straßenbahn und bist wieder ein “Außenseiter”, weil du der einzige Deutsche bist und das obwohl du in Deutschland bist. Sowas kann dir in Japan als Japaner nicht passieren. Das sehe ich auch in 100 Jahren nicht kommen.
Japan war jahrtausende lang ein relativ isolierter Inselstaat und selbst nach der Öffnung für den Westen hat sich das nur extrem langsam geändert.
Es wird jedoch sehr interessant sein, wie sich das sowohl in Deutschland als auch in Japan in Zukunft noch verändern wird.
Vielen Dank für den tollen Kommentar. Der regt sicher nicht nur mich zum Nachdenken und zur Diskussion an. :)
Wow, heute schon eine Antwort und das trotz der anderen Zeitzone. Danke dafür! :D Mit dem Punkt, dass in Deutschland Multikulturalität gewöhnlicher ist hast du natürlich recht. Aber man darf nicht vergessen: die ersten türkischen Gastarbeiter wurden auch nicht gerade mit offenen Armen empfangen! Vielleicht braucht Japan einfach noch ein bisschen Zeit. :)
Dann will ich gleich noch die Gelegenheit nutzen und schreiben: mach’ weiter mit dem Blog! Ich habe ihn heute erst entdeckt und direkt alles über deinen Weg nach Japan gelesen. Vor allen Dingen der Abschnitt über die Visa-Bedingungen und wie du deinen Job als Englisch-Lehrerin bekommen hast machen Mut. Ich lese garantiert noch weiter und ich hoffe, dass dich ein weiterer Leser motiviert. :)
Das freut mich wirklich sehr. Kommentare wie deiner motivieren mich zum weitermachen obwohl ich durch meinen Vollzeitjob oft (leider) nicht viel Zeit für den Blog habe.
Vielen Dank! :D
Hi Jasmine,
thank you for your nice blog. Let me please make two comments.
1. You say:
“If somebody asks you this question, you would usually tell them in which city you currently live and not where you were born unless they explicitly ask for it, right?”
I disagree with your opinion! In particular, I miss kindness in your attitude.
First of all, the question is asked only because you are apparently a foreginer. Secondly, the formulation “Where are you from?” is a standard one for asking about either the origin or the city, depending on the context. In this case the Japanese obviously asks about your origin. The question is formulated correctly. So, if the person is polite and serious towards you, you should react in the same way, saying right away e.g. “I come from Germany, but I live in Japan, in XY Prefecture.” Being a word-splitter, forcing the Japanese to ask three question before finally revealing the desired information, is not kind. If I was the Japanese, I would interpret your replies in the way that you are either unfriendly for some reason, or joking, depending on the nonverbal component of your reply.
2. If someone is born in Japan to non-Japanese parents, I don’t see any reason why he or she should be granted Japanese citizenship. Although some countries have different laws, it is my honest opinion that the initial citizenship of a newborn has much much more to do with the citizenship of the parents that with the place of birth.
This is a really broad topic and my blog is a small platform, certainly too small to discuss this at full scale.
I really doubt I ever came off as rude. :)
I’m only reacting in the same way to people that they react towards me.
It depends how they’re asking as well. ;)
And if somebody was born in Japan, raised in Japan, ate Japanese food, went to a Japanese school and probably only knows one language and that is Japanese – they are Japanese. Not with a Japanese ethnic background maybe, but they’re definitely more Japanese than a person with Japanese parents who was born and raised in e.g. the US.
And then those people are supposed to be thrown out of that country they grew up in at some point because they’re not granted the citizenship of that country?
Personally I cannot agree with that.
Thank you for your reply. As for “Where are you from?” question, I wanted to point out that you do not treat the question in a usual way, although you are trying to convince the reader you do. The other person asks correctly about the country you originally come from. Therefore, this is the information he or she should receive at first, unless you intend to make the conversation entertaining by quizzing the person for a moment. :-)
In general, I rather like the immigration policies of Japan. The strict immigration control allows to preserve the spirit of the country. At the same time Japan is always welcoming and nice to visitors. One can easily come for some time and enjoy the cleanliness, tidiness, politeness of people, orderliness, healthy food etc.
It is regrettable when one has to leave the country he or she considers as his/her only home, but one cannot be born in Japan “out of nowhere”. The baby has a mother and a father who are citizens of XY country, and presumably the child has the XY citizenship as well. The parents should be aware of Japanese system and take it into account. If they come to Japan for a temporary stay, have a child there, and don’t teach the child their language, it is their fault that the child speaks only Japanese, and so on. Carelessness of parents cannot be used as a supportive argument for the right of their child to obtain Japanese citizenship.
Actually I think that Japan wouldn’t be as welcoming if they had different immigration laws.
If Japan had to deal with all the refugees like Europe, maybe their mindset would change. And I agree that it would destroy completely what makes Japan so unique right now.
But as it’s right now the few foreigners living in Japan (plus the people who are ethnically not Japanese but were born in Japan) won’t “destroy” Japanese culture at all. I’m also quite sure that this won’t change a lot in the next few decades. But I think the very few people (e.g. “white foreigners who were born in Japan“) there should be treated as equals.
Your first sentence sounds reasonable. Then this is just another reason why I am against pushing the Japanese in any way to change their immigration policies. The welcoming attitude is maybe something fragile, and I wouldn’t like to see it broken.
As for “refugees” coming to Europe, these are very special immigrants, and I wanted rather avoid discussing it here, but well… First of all, a refugee leaving e.g. Greece and coming e.g. to Sweden is no more a true refugee. Indeed, the person doesn’t migrate to north for finding a refuge, but rather for economic wealth. Such people should be thus treated as economical migrants, which means in particular that they should be allowed to settle only if the country really likes that and benefits from that, which is usually not the case.
I can tell you what will happen in Europe. The immigrants will have more children than “native” Europeans, in their next generation it will be the same, and so on. Eventually the nations who came as “refugees” will outnumber Europeans and take it over.
So, now I am almost ready to reply to your argument “the few foreigners living in Japan (plus the people who are ethnically not Japanese but were born in Japan) won’t “destroy” Japanese culture at all”. Note that a few decades ago you could say the same about “the few foreigners living in Germany” or “the few foreigners living in France”. Nowadays there is no more just “a few” of them, and finally they will form a majority. Something similar would probably happen in Japan as well, if the Japanese loosened their immigration policies. Therefore, I hope they will maintain the policies.
I grew up with foreigners in Germany all around me. It has just gotten more and more over the past few decades.
And Germany is not an isolated island.
I think it’s impossible to compare the two and that’s also why I’m sure that even in 50 years from now Japan won’t have changed THAT much in that regard.
But neither you nor I can predict the future for real, so we gotta wait and see what’ll happen eventually.
And just so you don’t get me wrong, I like Japan the way it is for the most part.
I’m actually quite sure I wouldn’t like it as much if there were a lot less Japanese people and the culture would be a lot more ethnically mixed. Not sure if that makes any sense, but I have the feeling that you think that way as well?
Yes, I think the same way. That’s why I am trying to advocate Japanese rules. ;-)
I do understand the reasons why foreigners like Japan and why they wish to stay forever… Nevertheless, welcoming foreigners and granting them a Japanese citizenship is not a true solution, I am afraid. I guess that such approach would finally rather harm Japan. It would be generally more beneficial if those who are lucky to have experienced the life in Japan attempted to change the lifestyle in their home countries for better. It is a difficult task, but maybe worth trying. Imagine the life in Europe (or anywhere else) without thefts, violence, frauds or excessive bureaucracy.
(I keep in mind your example of people who were born in Japan and have no other home country, but that problem is primarily a matter of responsibility of the parents.)
It is surely easier for foreigners to enter a country like Germany than to come to an isolated island. However, it seems to me quite obvious that the number of immigrants still depends much more on the politics than on the geography. Even an isolated island, if it is an attractive country, can quickly begin to suffer from crowds of immigrants, when strict policies are changed into a welcoming approach.
I understand what you’re saying.
However, I think the reason why so many people choose to live in another country is because they cannot change how life is in their own country.
Like you said it’s often a political problem and how can one individual change that? And sometimes it’s just YOU who doesn’t like the life and politics in your home country while everyone else is quite content, then it is better to leave and move to a country where you’d feel more comfortable, no? ;)
In principle I agree. In every nation there are individuals who have a Japanese mindset, but since they form a small minority that cannot change the life in their countries to Japanese standards, the best way for all would be if those people could move to Japan and were accepted by Japanese society. And vice versa, Japanese with foreign mentalities could settle elsewhere. It seems ideal, right?
So, Americans who feel having Japanese mentality would move to Japan, and Japanese feeling having American mentality would move to USA. The same with United Kingdom, Thailand, India and China. Every Chinese with Japanese mindset would come to Japan and become Japanese. :-)
Do you notice the point? There are two problems, and they are related. At first, once such a freedom was allowed, Japan would collapse. The country would be unable to manage the influx of people, which would greatly surpass the outward population movement. Secondly (which is the reason of the first problem), many of those who wish to live in Japan, thinking or saying to have Japanese mindset, have actually mindsets more or less typical for their nationalities and are attracted rather by current Japanese living standards. They might even sincerely feel more home in Japan than in their own countries, but I guess that in many cases this is an illusion caused by the overall comfort and safety they experience in Japan.
There are also people who are well aware their true home is in their home countries, but they wish to settle in Japan because they like Japanese salaries. Should they be given Japanese citizenship? By the way, if you had a power to take decisions, how would you distinguish between those who will be granted Japanese citizenship and those who will be rejected?
Welcome to our world!
Do you have any idea what’s going on in Europe, especially in Germany at the moment?
Millions of peole have flooded into Germany in the past few years. Way too many to handle. It’s completely insane.
And most of them don’t have the mindset to care about Germany’s or Europe’s mindset and rules AT ALL!
I don’t know if you’ve heard about what happened in Cologne around New Year’s?
If millions of people suddenly intrude a different culture and completely refuse to integrate, that is what’s happening.
Not in a million years can I see that happening in Japan.
There certainly are a few people who prefer to live in Japan, but the majority of them is satisfied with just living there for a few years and then they go back home anyways.
The very, very few people who actually want to make Japan their home country, are usually ready to adapt to Japanese culture (learn the language, accept the law and the rules) – and that’s something that should be obvious, be as the recent incidents in Germany have shown, it’s unfortunately not.
I think Germany is a pretty good example of what could happen if Japan wasn’t the small, isolated island it is.
But even if Japan is becoming more accepting, I doubt anything like in Europe will ever happen there.
On the other hand, I wish that Europe would be a bit more like Japan, only letting “qualified” people in. At least there should be SOME kind of filter.
But they don’t even check people’s IDs anymore. Just anybody can enter.
That’s the other extreme of what you’re suggesting for Japan, I suppose.
In my eyes, that’s not the way to go.
I’m not saying that Japan should make it easier for people to stay long-term. I think the “filter” is good the way it is now.
But those who have adjusted and have lived in Japan for a very long time, should be given the right to be treated as someone who finally belongs there. Personally I don’t think most foreigners wish to be seen as Japanese, but they don’t want to be treated as the eternal outsider.
Sorry for the long rant. ^^;
Thank you for your reply.
Yes, I am aware what is going on in Europe, especially in Germany at the moment, and I have heard what happened in Cologne and not only there. But I reduced mentioning those troubles in my comments because I wouldn’t like to spoil your really nice blog about Japan.
I do agree with you when you say that it is unpleasant for foreigners in Japan to be treated as foreigners all the time. But I don’t agree with certain things you suggested. For example, I don’t agree with the opinion that a child born and raised in Japan should have the right to get Japanese citizenship. I even don’t know whether Japan should change its current attitude to foreigners. If it was possible to distinguish and accept only those foreigners who really have Japanese mentality (considerateness, reliability etc.), then it would be nice and very beneficial for Japan. But in reality one cannot sift people like that, deal with humans in this way. Then I don’t know – perhaps it is better to maintain the status quo. Better safe than sorry.
I wonder whether your opinion “the majority of people is satisfied with just living in Japan for a few years” is true. This is actually an interesting question. How many people among those who lived there for some time would decide to stay in Japan, if the country became – ceteris paribus – as accepting as Germany? I don’t know the answer, to tell you the truth (but I am very curious about it).
The fact that Japan is isolated by a sea is one of the main reasons why the country currently doesn’t suffer from immigrants. I agree with you, but at the same time the geography is also the main reason why the Japanese approach foreigners in a very different way. If you expect a country that is isolated from immigrants to be accepting to foreigners, your requirements are to some degree contradictory. At least I feel so.
When speaking about “only letting qualified people in Europe”, let’s distinguish refugees from economic migrants. People coming to Europe are mostly economic migrants (which is quite obvious from their effort to settle in the richest countries), and should be treated as you say. Refugees should be treated regardless of their qualification, but according to Dublin Regulation. As you shall know, Germany suspended the regulation last summer, which unfortunately (but expectably) attracted even more economic migrants to Europe. This increased troubles not only to Germany.
Those who have just come to Europe will probably have a better life there than in their home countries thanks to European high living standards and generous social benefits. Probably they will feel grateful. But the next generation will have no personal experience with the hard life somewhere in the Middle East or Africa; instead, for various reasons, many of them will fail in the job market in Europe. They will be frustrated, not feeling grateful at all, and some of them will begin to hate the countries they live in and European culture in general. I worry that a small number of those people will be once very dangerous. This is already observed e.g. in France.
It seems that Japan isn’t such an attractive country to live in. Not at the moment. Not compared to Germany, Australia, Canada or America, for example.
And the strict immigration rules do the rest.
Japan has become a lot more popular in the recent years, but more as a tourist spot and not as a place to live in.
That’s only my personal impression.
And I unfortunately don’t know any statistics, but I think the majority of people who’re living in Japan intend to go back to their home country sooner or later.
Of course, that’s a completely different story for those who were born in Japan – which is why I mentioned the Japense citizenship issue.
I’m currently quite worried about Europe’s future.
I’m not saying that there’s nothing to worry about in Asia. There are a few things going on (e.g. North Korea) and there are also a lot more natural disasters.
Nobody knows what will happen, but let’s hope for the best. :/
When you say “Japan isn’t such an attractive country to live in”, I wonder whether you only verbalize what you observe, or whether you also think about the reasons why it is like that. I believe that the lack of attractivity of the country and the criticized aspects of Japanese attitude towards foreigners are very closely related in the way that one implicates the other. Indeed, if the Japanese were as broad-minded as Germans or Canadians, Japan would be definitely a very attractive place to live. On the other hand, for becoming attractive, it would be necessary that the attitude of Japanese changes from the current one to welcoming.
Therefore, I think that the two wishes you have (less xenophobia and easier way to citizenship), when satisfied, would lead to a large immigration, probably at first mostly from China and later from all the world.
The situation in Europe changed a lot since you wrote your article, that’s why it is very easy for me to argue with you now. I admit that if I read it three years ago, I would maybe share your view on to some extent. However, those things that I focused on in my first post here in October last year would be the same even when I wrote them in 2013. In particular, I would insist that the place of birth shouldn’t play a role in the decision procedure about the citizenship. Why should a foreigner enjoy a privilege to get a Japanese citizenship because of being born in some of Tokyo’s maternity wards? The other discussed case, someone who was born and also raised in Japan, is somewhat different, but if the parents did not teach him or her their own language, hoping he/she would finally get Japanese citizenship (although knowing how things are going on in Japan), it sounds to me like a lack of responsibility. This is also not good. And besides, you should not use “probably only knows one language and that is Japanese” as a pro. Or do you think that someone speaking only Japanese shall be given preferential treatment over someone who speaks two languages? I am not sure.
I would maybe agree with you, if you dropped the argument “the person was born in Japan” as well as “speaks only Japanese”, and replaced those (in my opinion irrelevant) arguments with something about working in Japan and sharing Japanese values.
But even if foreigners obtain Japanese citizenship, there is still the problem with the attitude of ordinary Japanese people, who would always treat them as foreigners, as well as their children, no matter what citizenship they have.
When looking from outside, it seems like the German politicians who were clever for many years suddenly went mad. A reasonable explanation is that the people who take decisions are from the postwar generation that was raised in the feeling of guilt, and they are thus overly afraid of doing anything that could be sensed as nationalistic. But they should already recognize for what a catastrophe they are heading… It is urgent to take measures so that Germany is no more so much attractive and accepting for economic migrants coming from an incompatible cultural enviroment (and broadly advertize those measures in the Middle East), but the politicians don’t hurry at all. This actually applies not only to Germany. It is very sad to see Germany and whole Europe going to be ruined…
I really like Lina_Ch’s attitude. As long as the majority of japanese folks treat you mostly fair, and you are not massively discriminated, you should take it easy. You don’t look like a japanese? So why want so desperately to be seen as one? From your ethnic pool you are not, as simple as that. That has nothing to do with racism, though I’m shure there are real japanese racists, too. Like in every country there are some, and in a lot of countries even all people are at danger, that do not have the “correct” religion. Who points out the finger at these countries? Nobody does or dares, because it is considered not “pc”. Beeing to much pc but leads to what you see happening in Germany and Sweden right now. Every non white person has to be seen as “good”, nomatter what, and every german is called a racist and ruined, if he or she dares to critize non assimilating foreigners. International media is full of daily incidents of how ungrateful and criminal persons from a completely different culture are making Germany a mess. It is getting worse every day, and ethnic germans, but also assimilated foreigners from all over the world have to live in raising fear since a few month ago. Nationality is given away like sweets and even to people who do not speak more than one sentence in german. Germans and Swedes are at threat to be replaced by folks, that are heavy nationalists and religious hardliners themselves, but no one is allowed to critizise that fact. So I do say, japanese people do it right. I would love to live there, in peace, though i know it might be hard sometimes not to be accepted so easily. But they at least is are a united nation, that are grooming their culture and traditions, and wouldn’t just throw these values at foreigners feet. And I found out, there are ways to get japanese nationality for foreigners. It’s hard, but possible. I sincerely hope my post is not censored and deleted, since this is the usual way nowadays how oppinions that are not welcome are treated with in Germany and Sweden.
What? What???
Why do you think your comment would be deleted? Any why can you now state your mind openly in Germany or Sweden? I don’t quite get it, please elaborate. O_O; ….
Of course, the “whining” here and on other blogs is “high luxury level” whining. We’re all aware of that.
I’ve written that many times already, but I’m well aware how good foreigners have it in Japan compare to “active racist” countries.
However, for all foreigners who have lived in Japan for a very long time it just does get VERY tiring to always be treated in a certain way on a daily basis, so I think it’s ok to write about it and to let other foreigners know about it. After all, I always say to take my blogs with a grain of salt. ;)
Thanks for stating your opinion.
I totally agree with you.
And I still don’t get why you assume that your comment would get deleted and what that has to do with Germany or Sweden. o__O; …
Greetings!
Am I late to share my opinion? (I will do so anyway)
First things first: Acknowledgement!
@Andy: I agree with the latter of your posts. VERY well noted! I concur, even if this might render me somewhat ‘disliked’. I see it the very same way and the facts outlined b you are indeed what (if preserved) will keep Japan the way it is…
I would not want it any other way. I am not planning on getting a citizenship, but if I wanted, it IS possible. Just a lot of prerequisites MORE than the usual countries we know. (I inquired at the local municipal office already)
@Lina_Ch: I agree on almost all of what you state. Especially the bad light shed upon Caucasians and blacks by the US troops (which ARE OCCUPANTS AND INVADERS in a country where they DO NOT BELONG. But that is material for a different blog on it’s own I guess).
@Anika: There is a lot of truth in what you post, IMHO. Especially the second half of the last paragraph… so true from my experience.
@Rina: え?マジかよ？どこ？Immermanstrasseのどっか？ っていうか、本当にあるならドイツの法律には違反だと思わない？
@haguruma: If you are ever called with “外人だ！”, just respond with: “日本人だ！”. This one’s guaranteed to freeze the ‘assailant’ in mid air.
Many of the posters here on this blog complain about how they are not welcomed into the Japanese society as one of their own (as an equal Japanese), even after years of struggle and attaining Japanese citizenship. Funny thing is, that most (if not all) of the posters are Caucasian. And as far as I was able to deduct from the posters handle,… female. This combination does not seem to go well in Japan… see below.
If someone is looking for equality, you will need to move to the U.S. There at least you can ENFORCE your rights (no matter what your ethnicity is) for it and you will surely win the lawsuit. In most (if not all) other countries on this planet, the ‘indigenous’ culture will see foreigners as intruders, be it culturally or otherwise. My wife was treated very badly in Europe just because she is Japanese with almost no English skills or local language experience. Getting on a bus the kids shouted “Nihao, Nihao”… Sure, all Asians must look the same to the untrained western eye. (Meanwhile I learned howto distinguish Japanese from Korean and Chinese, (… even more so for south-east Asians…) by their facial structure, general attitude (no spoken language involved) and sometimes fashion.)
Now, back to Japan. (I will not bother stating rhetorical questions such as “why don’t you…” and the likes here during my post.)
Let me explain my situation and how I feel:
I loved Japan and everything about it since when I was a child, and this prevailed for more than twenty years.
Now I am living in Japan, and before you ask: I am not to be put into any Japan-lovers stereotype. I see the goods and the bads altogether, and try to maximize the good experience and minimize the … not so good ones.
The following is written from a 40y old MALE’s perspective, who really likes Asians (especially part of the opposite gender of the population :-)
1) I work for a native Japanese company on the Japanese countryside. My co-workers start running away if they are confronted with ENGLISH.
2) As to how many people live here… well, I’m sure I can rather more easily count the people I see around than rice fields. If you employ google maps and lookup the place ‘Nowhere, Japan’ then it will promptly point to my place. But also I visited BIG Japanese cities as well and therefore can tell about the VAST differences about the countryside and the city.
E.g. I noticed that people from Tokio are generally ultra-busy with working and doing late overtime (the latter is also true for the countryside though) leaving less time to socialize. But the Tokioties also tend to be much colder and less inclined to jump into a conversation. Especially women mostly think that you are going to try some picking up (Nampa)…
Not so on the coutryside. When the only LIVE foreigner the folks around ever saw was you… they will be interested!!! This is a fact rooting in the Japanese being humans and not aliens or the likes. So entangle the country folks in a nice conversation and … What was the problem again? I seem to have missed the point … sorry…
Q: Now, how did I get the job?
A1: (This is something that goes WITHOUT SAYING) Naturally fluent Japanese is a must. You would never get a job in an 100-percent Japanese company if you do not speak (and at least READ) Japanese with a very high grade of fluency, to start with.
To all the super-proficient Japanese-masters and teachers out there,… this is NOT enough. Obviously.
The language skill ONLY UNLOCK the door to more conversational options and alleviate the language barrier. I.e. if you can speak fluent Japanese with a DECENT pronunciation, that is.
E.g. I always have difficulties understanding Indians if they come to our company, for they speak a really strange curry-japanese… (naturally, their English is just as spicy)… My co-workers then want me to take the initiative and speak with the Indians in English and then translate or summarize… I finally realized why… believe a very unwell formed pronunciation is an attention-crushing ear-f*ck.
However, as was already stated by some posters (and by Jasmine on different posts too), the language barrier is not the only problem. Everybody can learn Japanese, really. I might take time but that’s just it.
It is much more complicated with the culture thing though. The Japanese will ALWAYS see non-Asians (and, finally, non-Japanese if they find out that you are Chinese) as foreigner. (Well noted everyone!)
But that’s it. Get used to it or leave the country.
It converted the situation into a very beneficial way of living in Japan by HARVESTING this property. That means: YES, I am asked often where I came from… BUT, I was only asked twice (I guess) WHEN I will be going back. Telling the inquirer that I actually MOVED to Japan and are not thinking about going back to a country that I never liked to start with (see RBFCS-syndrome on Jasmines reverse culture shock blog)… the conversation suddenly makes a turn an the speaker is happy because some Gaijin (usually they think I am American, which is the typical nationality the Japanese broadly assume) said he likes Japan more than his home country. Continuing the small talk towards how much I like the hot weather (really, I mean it!) and the food (for which I would even sell my mothers cats just to get a tasty Tonkotsu-Ramen), and so on and so forth. Slowly converting that common countryside Japanese to a person with a different opinion about foreigners (at least for the time of the talk :-)
Anyhow, JAPAN is full of RULES. You either accept that and fit into the society or do the American boss style and go against all what the Japanese define as correct behaviour. Obviously, what some posters state as Honna / Tatemae… This is the way the language and their culture works. You CANNOT speak up straight. My wife (being Japanese herself) hates Japan for that and says how she always liked that the western cultures (and the Chinese too) speak up straight what they think.
Me on the other hand, I never liked my fellow country men or the US citizen or other EU citizen to be that invasive and even rude sometimes.
Working in a PURELY Japanese company I was able to refine the knowledge I already had acquired (about the cultural etiquette and required manners) BEFORE I entered the company in the first place. Bowing, speaking to your superiors in 丁寧語 (or even 敬語 if a customer or a high executive is present, etc.) is a necessity and if you can throw away a bit of your pride (yes I know, not that easy for most Westerners), than you WILL actually be accepted into at least the working society. Make no mistake, that does not mean that one would be accepted as one of their own. The topic of this blog puts it very well again.
Good thing is: Being a male in Japan is BENEFICIAL. Sorry Jasmine! I am sure you know that already. The Japanese culture is still 男尊女卑 (DanSon-JoHi, which means literally “guys respected, females … not so much”) no matter what the law says and what one would like to believe. Also, Japan is an society of WORK… meaning, as long as you work, the country WILL protect you, will serve you, will try to make everything so that you continue working!!!!
Now putting all the four facts (from above) together: MALE + SALARY MAN + BEING OBEDIENT TO RULES + SPEAKING JAPANESE FLUENTLY…
And this is your receipt for you need to be accepted (at least on the lowest base). Also, keep in mind that the Japanese are also JUST HUMANS.
Their strict education (starting from day care and kindergarten) is tough (in order to program them into social obedience) but they still ARE just women and men inside.
So when I suggest to my co-workers to go drinking or eating, guess how the evening will end? In a nice and VERY OPEN party-like atmosphere, very loud, talking an babbling unconstrained, and drinking more than most of the Europeans I know.
Wait… did I say unconstrained???? YES. For the duration of the “Nomikai” (drinking…er… socialization… err… meet… more or less) they WILL forget that they are talking to a foreigner. (This applies to western females too, of course. Obviously alcohol and language skills here do the trick).
During this short time you are also one of them, a Japanese!
Cheers.
Eddy