Most of the experiences we have are at least partially dependent on the position we occupy, and we are seen to be. Now I am a professor and researcher who does work in Japan, I am in a totally different social position and have had very different interactions and experiences than back when I was a JET teacher. If I was a factory worker or a nighclub host or doorman, they’d be very different again. They’d all be experiences of Japan, but not remotely generalisable to the others.

All three places are wildly different to me. That’s why I enjoy traveling.

Funny man! I don’t quite get what you mean though, as I stated that I was white in my post. So you must mean…

A. My statements would only be valid if I was black.
B. If I’m black, anything that I say is beyond questioning.
C. You’re honestly asking if I’m black, even though I stated that I wasn’t.

How’s YOUR command of the language? (I’m talking about English, just so you don’t get confused.) And as I stated before, I’m just playing buddy! Don’t go all cultural warrior on me. By your own standard you shouldn’t be making any observations about Japanese culture since you aren’t Japanese. Ouch! Here’s another burning comment to crank up your righteous indignation.

The black comparison isn’t fair? Here’s some fun observations.

“Gaijin” is basically the N-word for foreigners. It’s not allowed on things like news broadcasts and is considered politically incorrect and would make anyone in a formal conversation flush with embarrassment, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t used in everyday conversation! Kids will never call you the polite “gaikokujin” upon meeting you. Usually mortified parents and teachers have to remind the children not to call us by that name to our faces.

Also, look up “reverse racism” as it applies to black people in the US and see if you find any parallels to your time in Japan. “You can speak Japanese? Wow! You’re doing so well for one of your people!” (Spoken with gracious helpings of insincerity and pride for being socially progressive.)

And of course it’s okay to hang signs in store windows that say “No foreigners allowed!” That’s just a misunderstand on our part! We should just be happy that we can use the same restrooms!

Seriously though, I’m really happy where I am and I have a good understanding of the concept of cultural relativity. I’m just responding for laughs. It’s fun to see all of this contortion being done to forgive behavior that is undeniably backward. If I really wanted to express ill will, it would be toward the weeaboos that live here and do the most damage for Japanese’ impression of foreigners.

His post on racism offers a somewhat different perspective than the typical white-guy-English-teacher, since he’s a black guy in the tech field.

This “Gaijin 12-Step Program” post is also relevant:
http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/the-gaijin-12-step-program

Personally, I’ve gotten kind of sick of reading about Japan and Japanese people on the internet, because most of it is either “alienated westerner in the Far East” type stuff, or the ridiculously numerous “look at dem wacky Japanese” articles and posts.

Are People in Japan Racist?

No. In general, intensely ignorant of certain things you might take for granted, and about as culturally sensitive as a sleep-deprived elephant with a hangover but absolutely not actually racist. It’s easy for us to forget that a lot of the cultural sensitivity that people from other parts of the world often display is entirely due to active, deliberate social training, not ethical superiority, and sometimes does not in fact extend beyond superficial behaviors.

Such training does not yet exist in Japan but it’s on its way up. Although, arguably, Japan doesn’t need it. The reason countries like the US have needed largescale, active “de-racism training” is because they had active racism on a massive, society-wide scale, enshrined in law and propped up by shady theology and even shadier “research”. Japan has never had that kind of thing. If the US is a self-righteous recovering alcholic, then Japan is just a guy that drinks sometimes. To go teetotal might be nice, but either way, the alcoholic has no moral authority to preach. My substance-abuse metaphors suck, don’t they?

Whatever. Anyway, speak nice Japanese and it all smooths out. The people of Japan mean you no harm — quite the opposite in fact. For one thing, I’d like you to try walking alone in the middle of the night in a more “cosmopolitan”, “culturally sensitive” Tokyo-size city anywhere else in the world, and compare results.

More broadly, we need to realize that there are jerks in Japan. In fact, there are jerks everywhere in the world. Or, people who act like jerks for some or much of the day. But, for us to take that out of context and say “therefore, the people of Japan are jerks” is itself an idea that smacks of racism. So we need to be careful not to take those sour encounters for more than they’re worth. I believe that best medicine is to [acquire Japanese and use it to] make more close friends who are Japanese.

Dear whoever originally thought up that quote.

I’m gonna take a bet that you are a master neither of Japanese nor Japanese etiquette, and have few to no real Japanese friends.

Yes. You will always look different, and to people who don’t know you you will be a ‘foreigner’.

And?

So… f##ing… what?

Would you rather _be_ a Japanese person? Live in a shoe box and work a sixty hour week? Constantly pay attention to what people around you are thinking about your behavior? Go to a foreign country and find it impossible to fit in/ripped off by dodgy education outfits/sleezed onto by every other loser barfly? No?

Perhaps you would rather just be treated like a Japanese person then. You know, expected to strictly follow social protocol and ostracized if you don’t. Doubt it.

So what you would really like then, is all the benefits of being a white person in Japan (the attention, the ‘its OK because he/she is a foreigner’ get out of Jail free card, the job opportunities, the free love… but also with all the social inclusion and acceptance of a native.

Even then I dare say you would complain about the place… Perhaps you would like it better in another foreign country. But then again, Japan is probably the only foreign country you have spent some significant time attempting to live in/adjust to.

I am the anonymous poster from #1 above– sorry for not giving my ID earlier. Please let me clarify some points:
1. I completely agree with the emotional detachment one can get from being a Westerner in East Asia. I’ve actually noticed that it gets worse with increased fluency in the language/culture.
2. I was never a JET, but I hung out with plenty of them– it’s Ia lonely life in the styx for them.
3. I can completely relate with what is described in the book.

Having said all that, please understand my critique was toward this as a literary theme, not the actual experience. I just think we’ve seen this story so many times before, that I’m not getting anything out of it. I know the story all too well– that’s the point.

I’m a white American and my wife and I have lived and taught in Japan for over a year. In that time I’ve come to believe that Japan is 30-40 years behind the west in it’s views of racial diversity and sexual equality, and that’s probably being generous. In Japan…

If you’re white, you get to feel what it’s like to be black in America today.
If you’re not white and not black, you get to feel what it was like to be black 20 years ago.
If you’re black, you get to feel what it was like to be black 40 years ago.
If you’re a woman, you get to feel what it was like to be a woman 60 years ago.

I work with children and see the progress being made, but it’s a generational thing and takes time. Feel free to disagree or give your own breakdown, as I don’t hold these views too seriously. Thanks for all of the thoughtful response everyone else!

For someone who disparages the pissing contests amongst foreigners in Japan, this is a particularly nasty and unnecessary comment. First of all, most English teachers are well aware that in Tokyo there are many more sexier jobs than English teacher, no need to rub it in. Since you connect JET with this, you should know that the closest JET to Shibuya is VERY far away – like far outside the Tokyo metro area, where people see foreigners less commonly (which is really the point of JET). Finally, believe it or not people can be interesting regardless of whatever job they do.

that is barely 3-4 generations. Not at all enough time for attitudes and social norms to water down and adapt. Sure, there may be lip service done when in public. But behind closed doors?

I grabbed this book from the public library the afternoon this item posted. It is a flop IMHO. The protagonist is a total nerd loser, and not worth reading about. I’ve forced myself through half of the book, and will not be finishing it. Part II, oh hell no.

I can relate to a lot that I have read, but my experience was a bit off-base compared to the JET/NOVA types. I had a host family, was unpaid and was quite young at the time.

Never the less, some of the experiences described really rang home with my memory of the entire chaotic endeavor. Especially the alienation, the loneliness and the obscure on-the-surface xenophonia of the older generation. The attempt to immerse myself in the culture was equal to collective pursuit of constant inebriation to cope with it all.

There are so many situations that I wish I could describe visually. The Gaijin that completely detach themselves from you because it interferes with their immersion, the old man that would sneak outside my bedroom window to “Investigate” my presence there, the grandmother that told my Japanese Girlfriend to only date her kind, strangers fondling my long blond hair in the train. It really got to you after a while and a year in I was ready to leave.

The local Gaijin watering hole was really responsible for my decision that Teaching English in Japan was perhaps not rewarding in the long term. There were several stationed foreigners (Many of them JET) on the brink of madness slumped over their drinks. I think the real turning point was one evening escorting a post-grad British Friend I had met there back to his home that ended in an outburst of screamed racial and hateful slurs on the last train out of Kyoto towards everyone on the platform. That was it for me.

There is this frustration that is hard to describe, but a friend there did so well with this statement:

“You can become a master in the Japanese Language, you can become a master in Japanese Etiquette, but despite that effort, you can never look Japanese.”

I am sure it is a lot different there now, but when I was there being 1 of 2 foreigners in a small farming town was definitely a mixed blessing.

I totally enjoy reading the accounts of people who have been there.

Another good book on this subject is “My Mother is A Tractor” by Nicholas Klar.

- “Those signs don’t mean “We hate foreigners,” they mean “We don’t want to deal with things that weren’t in our job description.’”

- “Do you even realize how SHORT the amount of time has been since there where only a few foreigners fluent in Japanese (especially reading/writing)?”

- “But when you put this in context of other actually racist societies(where you might be in actual danger), this really is simply one of the characteristics of a homogeneous society.”

- “The way black people are stereotyped in western media as criminals, thugs, and gang members definitely makes it easy for a Japanese person to internalize racist stereotypes without meaning to.”

This all seems pretty apologist to me. Like, laughably so. I wanted you to know that I read your post and appreciated the feedback though. That being said, I think I’ve posted enough on this topic. Peace out!

On the one hand it’s nice to see someone finally debunk the myth of “Teach English in the Mysterious Far East!” down to what it is: boring low-level work just like any other boring low-level job.

On the other hand, I am wary of the motifs that look like they still continue here: standoffish Japanese, language barriers, trysts with native women, etc.

I’m still waiting for the book about a Westerner in Japan or Korea where cultural differences never even come up. To me, Tokyo is no different than Chicago or Seattle (maybe better food, but anyway). I’d like to see a story that revolves around interesting characters, some of whom happen to speak one language, others speak another.

That never happened to me. I guess a willfully ignorant ass would “move on” after learning someone is an English teacher without knowing anything else about them.

I wonder how common this is.

Gaijin means the same fucking thing, except it usually has the added implication of non-Asian. Foreigner = outsider/alien, so you guys should stop whining that gaijin = outside person.

The ‘no foreigners allowed’ signs are perfectly understandable. Not every establishment has staff members who speak English (or Russian or whatever) and there are plenty of foreigners who can show up expecting everyone to understand them as long as they speak loud and slowly, and who are generally a pain in the ass. Those signs don’t mean “We hate foreigners,” they mean “We don’t want to deal with things that weren’t in our job description.”

Japanese attitudes toward race can look “undeniably backward” to someone who is used to living in a PC country where everyone is more careful about how their speech might be interpreted. It’s not a moral failing to be born in a homogeneous society, where your main exposure to people outside your race is movies and tourists. The way black people are stereotyped in western media as criminals, thugs, and gang members definitely makes it easy for a Japanese person to internalize racist stereotypes without meaning to.

“Also, look up “reverse racism” as it applies to black people in the US and see if you find any parallels to your time in Japan. “You can speak Japanese? Wow! You’re doing so well for one of your people!” (Spoken with gracious helpings of insincerity and pride for being socially progressive.)”

Do you even realize how SHORT the amount of time has been since there where only a few foreigners fluent in Japanese (especially reading/writing)? Of course it’s still a novelty. Also, the majority of Japanese people have a bad experience with a foreign language (English) being taught in a really bad way and with focus on the wrong things, (even those who major in it at college aren’t usually fluent), so they have a hard time understanding how someone could get to that level in Japanese.

I’m going to refer you to post #29, especially the part “I’d like you to try walking alone in the middle of the night in a more “cosmopolitan”, “culturally sensitive” Tokyo-size city anywhere else in the world, and compare results. More broadly, we need to realize that there are jerks in Japan. In fact, there are jerks everywhere in the world. Or, people who act like jerks for some or much of the day. But, for us to take that out of context and say “therefore, the people of Japan are jerks” is itself an idea that smacks of racism. So we need to be careful not to take those sour encounters for more than they’re worth. I believe that best medicine is to [acquire Japanese and use it to] make more close friends who are Japanese.”

Anyways, people like Spoon sound very bitter and have obviously been interpreting every interaction through their own cultural values. I can’t change his opinion (and I’m not trying to), and I’m not being an apologist either. But when you put this in context of other actually racist societies(where you might be in actual danger), this really is simply one of the characteristics of a homogeneous society. Even so, people in my age group (20) don’t seem to have any of the hangups that bother other people posting here, and they usually take my language ability for granted. So I definitely see things changing over the next few generations.

Foreigners really shouldn’t be coming to Japan with the idea that their own countries are morally superior for being “cultural melting pots” and that anybody who doesn’t understand the value of that is backwards and a racist.

You’ve only been there a year, which is usually around the time that people get over the initial euphoria and begin to take a very negative view of things, heavily filtered through their own culture-specific values/biases. You interpret every negative interaction as racism or sexism and then attribute that to a failing of an entire society, rather than just accepting that you’ve encountered someone who is probably not a good person to humans in general.

Saying you’re “in it for the lulz” does not make it okay to label everyone making explanations as crazy apologists. You might just be sick of weeaboos and people who are so enamored with Japanese culture that they think everything is perfect there, so you assume that anyone who doesn’t agree with you is either like that, or being an apologist. I suppose in a similar way, I’m sick of reading about English teachers having a sucky time in Japan, and then whining about it all over the place.

Anyway, I honestly do not understand why someone like you would ever set foot in Japan. If you consider it culturally backward and find the experience of being a minority distasteful, then you shouldn’t have gone. I could understand if it was some poor developing country and you were there trying to make a difference, and thus willing to overlook the downsides, but that’s not the case at all.

You would probably enjoy your time there more (and get a better experience out of it) if you could drop the moral superiority and try to assimilate a little. I know, I know, they won’t let you because you’re a foreigner. :(

As soon as I could, I switched over to the “CIR” (city hall translator) position. It was still tinged with the absurd, but at least I could get some real work done.

Never had an affair with any of my teachers, but that’s only because of my own reluctance–it’s not like I didn’t have opportunities. It really was an odd little world of ennui in miniature.

The frustrations of ALTS (JETs and non alike) have been laid bare before the net ad nauseum over the years, but I like the fresh approach of this graphic novel. It’s something I think/wish I could/should have written myself. Especially being so far out in the country side.

Still, for all the whining you hear about JET, I had a great 2 years on that program. I had a great salary, vacation, learned tons of Japanese, transitioned myself to a better occupation, and made a lot of wonderful memories and a home in the countryside. The situation is what you make of it.