The discrimination is never direct when it's regulated. They just try to repress you the legal way. Of course Japan has better regulation than the third world countries (or countries that pretend they are first world but are equally shitty - US, ex Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, etc.).

Due to their propaganda machine they have alot of soft power (and mainly cause of the "Cool Japan" thing like the post title references)

I thinks it's source comes more from the behavior of western tourists than anything else.

Generally I think it's because the Japanese have had continuous cultural interacting with the West for centuries at this point. Everything from Dutch and Portuguese trade during the sengoku jidai, to pirate ronin in the Philippines during isolation, to Japanese communities from Baja Sur to the cascades, and then finally stable connections being made post commodore Perry. In contrast the Chinese have had less than stable connections due to massive cultural changes every couple hundred years including periods of isolation, the collapse of the Ming fucking up trade routes for a time, the Qing being notably more isolationist, the warlord and Republican period being a shitshow, followed by the isolation of the communist period shattering a lot of western interst, it makes for less than stable connections.

Also there's the whole great firewall of China thing going on which further seperates things in the modern age of the internet, it's not total separation but it's enough to be notable. In contrast I have been cussed out by a Japanese person, a Ruskie, an Aussie, and a fucken Peruvian simultaneously while playing games.

I see my self like both China and Japan ngl.

You found that the Chinese weren't racist or sexist? I agree with you about Japan, but China was hardly enlightened. They were mostly just louder and more obnoxious, where the Japanese were overly formal and quiet.

Both cultures also had a lot of superstitions, like words or phrases you shouldn't say, or lucky or unlucky numbers.

One word: "propaganda."

Are you American and embarrassed about it?

Your entire post screams so

American tourists speak Chinese?

It's really nothing you did. The people there just randomly decide to stand up in crowded trains if you are a foreigner and sit beside them. Or this time I was just walking down the street and the lady who was walking towards me just randomly crosses the street and walks past.

It probably wasn't anything wrong you had done wrong. From what I've been hearing from some family who do business in asia. As they explain it, Japan has had an economic whiplash from the 80s and a lot of those cultural and economic policies that gave them initial success were not sustainable long term. And since Japan is a VERY proud culture, they've found it easier to blame outsiders than their own miscalculations.

The inside of the bus was as silent as a church for the entire drive even though it was full.

Is that not the case where you're from? Genuinely almost never heard anyone having a conversation on an intercity bus

Its called Xenophobia.

Xenophobia and racism are distinct forms of prejudice: xenophobia is the fear or hatred of foreigners, while racism is the belief in racial superiority and systemic oppression based on race. Though they overlap, they target people for different reasons.

The odds of a Texas BBQ joint not having any Spanish speaking employees is exceedingly small.

I mean, it's also racism. Those people are just stupid.

It doesn't say "if you are of that race we are open". It says you must understand the language. So learn it - you'll need it anyway to live there - or go elsewhere, where staff can serve you on your language, provide a menu on your language etc.

A hate system where you can upgrade your status by learning is not racism. Also not necessarily a hate system in the first place.

It literally isn't racism though. You can disagree with it and think it should be banned, but there is no interpretation that it can realistically be called racism

I lived in Japan for a while. I've seen a couple places with a sign like this. In my experience every place like this is perfectly willing to have foreigners that speak Japanese. They simply don't want to deal with the hassle of a language barrier

I should also note these places were always in touristy areas. If they don't have a sign like that, they'll end up with majority English speaking customers, because Japanese customers prefer places without rowdy tourists that can't speak the local language. I did too. Going out for an after work beer, you want an entirely different atmosphere from tourists getting hammered

If an American moves to Europe and doesn't attempt to learn the local language, then by a few months to a year in with zero effort people will say they're in the wrong for not making an effort to integrate and expecting everyone to speak English for them.

Clearly "Americans expecting foreigners to speak English" is different from "Other countries expecting Americans to speak the local language" from a moral point of view. So why is Japan then lumped in with America as the "Local people must accept and accommodate foreigners who can't communicate in the local language" bucket, when anywhere else it's "If you're traveling there and you didn't even try learning the language, then you're ignorant and entitled."?

It would still not be racism

Xenophobia at worst, only hatred of tourists at best

Japan cast cat girl, it was super effective. All knowledge of atrocities was erased from western nations.

They're hateful, but they're cute.

Japan is too far away and too aligned with the west to receive criticism for racism

That is because they have soft power.

They get an easier pass because their products are top-notch. Toyota basically invented Six Sigma/a globally used process for manufacturer defect elimination. A Japanese automaker invented QR codes. They have Nintendo, anime, etc. They changed and continue to impact the world in highly recognizable ways, not by merely cheap products (China), cheap labor (India), etc.

I'll never prejudge an individual from Japan or any other nation.

I will however judge the polity as a whole.

Mfs still pretending like they never did any warcrimes.

Despite having population crisis and financial loses, they are still committed to xenophobia. They are master of that.

Sure would be a shame if they also had an abysmally low birth rate which will result in their societal collapse.

Probably on my list of reasons why I don't want to visit Japan

Literally every country on the planet is xenophobic, people only make a big deal out of it when it's a western or western-aligned country.

The entire idea of inclusivity, tolerance, and multiculturalism is primarily a western idea sprung from western humanist values and honestly only even taken seriously in secular democracies which tend to be aligned with the west.

And then people act like the west and west-aligned countries are so depraved for not perfectly living up to those values, when hardly any other nation even tries or has any desire to.

It's honestly kind of amusing once you stop giving a shit.

Although even if revealed with a translation app, I still wouldn't want to eat there, because why reward xenophobia.

I lived in Japan for 2 years. I had several expat friends with stories of going to the hospital, being told they were full, their Japanese wife showing up, and suddenly they have space. Other stories of legal disputes between a Japanese person and a foreign immigrant will always go to the Japanese person. Japanese culture is very non-confrontational, but don't think their brand of racism is safer. If we're comparing racism and deciding one is less bad than the other, we've already partially accepted that it has a place in society.

As someone in a similar situation, there are differences in the racism are stark.

They treat you differently but far more often than not, it is just curiosity or looking for entertainment from a zoo animal. They are not hostile or aggressive.

I love their trains, the food is good, it's a beautiful country.

But also, holy shit, Japan has just never reckoned with its imperial past in the slightest.

If you ever see those tourism promotion photos of mt. Fuji with a pagoda in the foreground, that pagoda was built in the 50s, around the end of the US occupation, to commemorate soldiers who fought in essentially every war that imperial Japan got itself into. It's very clear political statement.

And I learned this, upon climbing that damn mountain, and reading the plaque in front of the pagoda, only to learn that it was a monument to imperialism the whole time

Police aren't likely to kill you over there. Just harass you if you're clubbing with their women.

I went there recently. The organization and efficiency are truly astounding. I felt like the best parts of Japan and the best parts of the US fused together could make a utopia. But it's never gonna happen because those best parts are direct results of the cultural mindset that leads to each one's dark ends as well. They're both sides of their respective coins, unfortunately...

Not despite.

“Lmao” your ability to use software to translate for you doesn’t change the intent behind this sign. Japan is racist AF despite their polite society, and there are a growing number of restaurants and other establishments with signage that outright says some version of “no foreigners/no white people.” You will probably get a frosty reception in this establishment if you enter it because you decide you were too clever to be deterred.

I mean, if the Japanese text says "if you can read this, you're welcome", it does suggest that English or Chinese people who speak and read Japanese are welcome. It's a real weird thing to pull, like they think they're being cute.

Your phone will be allowed in, but you have to stay outside.

I know a handful of white Americans who at a glance you'd never guess they're highly educated polyglots and would meet the requirements for entering this restaurant. The way the sign is worded, I think you're right, only fluent Japanese people allowed here because we only speak Japanese here.

Can people really no longer differentiate between xenophobia and racism?

Not being pedantic, but misnaming thins only adds to the woes of the world, to (mis)quote Camus.

Japan has a very homogeneous population, so xenophobia and racism are quasi indistinguishable.

Both are bad though.

Just on a different level

Expecting internet people to know this word is too much

It wasn't saying it wasn't tho

~~I mean, genuinely, how? It's not saying you need to be Japanese to enter, just that you need to be able to read Japanese. IMO, learning the local language of a country you plan to visit is a basic courtesy that too many people don't bother with.~~

Okay, I take it back. I was thinking too much from the perspective of an American who's been scolded for not spending enough time learning the language of places I visited. Thank you to the people who pointed out that what I said was ignorant without just piling on insults, I'll try to be more thoughtful in the future.

why no dogs...?

"heh you must be good at math because you're Chinese" (they're Filipino)

Nope. Racial against Asians is an US thing.

Congratulations! Your curse has gone away 🎉🎉

Yeah thanks for filtering yourself out of places I would like to give my business to.

Japan will put signs out saying they're full and to queue from x position. Some will list an approximate time. If they take reservations and are full for the day, it will usually say that. Especially in urban areas, we can have some quite small restaurants.

Yeah that's more of a hotel thing. I'm guessing this is that influencer trick of intentionally lying about a detail so people will make comments to correct you, giving you free engagement.

I don't see signs like this where I live either. But when I went to Japan I did see this a couple times. Not a racist sign like this one, but signs saying "we're full" in Japanese, at restaurants. Different cultures do things differently, I guess.

Is it inconvenient? Yes. Is it really that difficult, especially today with smart phones, to provide basic service at a restaurant? Absolutely not.

I spent my early life in the service industry, and I've served people who spoke zero English more times than I can count. Even before translation apps and services were so common, it truly wasn't difficult enough that I'd feel comfortable as a human denying them service. We all worked together to get through it, and they enjoyed their experience from what I could tell.

I've also been on the other end and visited restaurants where our server didn't speak English. We had a great time every time. It truly isn't the big deal you're making it, so it feels like you're looking for reasons to excuse what we can plainly see is racism.

Yeah but then I can't be racist by generalising an entire country could I now.

They are master of polite racism. They do it because they are xenophobic af.

Lol right, well go in there and see if that works.

In Japan many stores don't let in foreigners / tourists. This is an instance of it.

Its also discrimination against those who can read all 3 languages but have poor eyesight so they can only actually read the larger text English.

the replies didnt surprise me..

That's what I was thinking. If I saw a sign like this, with some mysterious text with no translation, I would definitely want to know what it says.

Holy shit screw off. You're straight up justifying racism and not even batting an eye.

I used to live in Japan. When I would go to a rural or off-the-beaten-parh izakaya, it was a coin flip. Either I would be told they are full (a lie, like this sign). Or the owner would be super excited to show a foreigner their culture and would personally serve me.

I’ll be real - Atlanta, New Orleans, Nashville, Charleston, etc are all flooded with tourists and immigrants. Now this isn’t me being racist, I’m not even from the South- but there’s a huge difference between these cities that LARP as Southern to tourists and cities in the countryside that genuinely don’t have to. It’s a real shame how the culture has changed in the South, and it’s sad that most foreigners don’t realize that. So I don’t blame residents for recognizing that.

Weird how that sounds super racist now huh?

Discrimination due to...? You're almost there!

"I'm not racist. I just can't stand all these fucking foreigners."

That's what you sound like.

• said John in the beach town that survives because of tourism

That's maybe not japan case but usually that's the case for most places

The assumption here is that if you can speak Japanese fluently then you are native Japanese.

if a non native speaker walks in I'd put money on at least getting some stinkeye if not just outright told to leave.

Ethnocentrism is still a problem bent on bigotry. "Spayk Anglush" in much of the US is the same thing.

And the literacy tests of the Jim Crowe era were just making sure people could read well enough to vote. It was educationalist, not racist. The purpose of this sign is to exclude non-native Japanese people.

ableism?