The Japanese ecosystem: Does discrimination exist? Just because you don’t see it, doesnt mean its not there.
Contents
Discrimination :Where it all started
Tourism and the employment gap in Japan
Japan has been considered one of the most popular tourist destinations in the 21st century. In 2018 alone, Japan welcomed its beautiful ornate doors to 31 million people, compared to the year prior with 27 million people. This was a huge goal met by Japan’s tourism board who wanted to raise tourism in Japan in preparation for the 2020 olympics. Japan is not only opening its doors for tourists, but for foreign workers as well to fill the gap in employment caused by Japan’s declining population. This has caused Japan to increase their efforts to persuade a further half a million workers by the year 2025.
As a non-Japanese person, you would immediately feel the difference in culture from the moment you step into the airport. Everything is done in a very systematic and orderly way by very polite, friendly locals. Tourists who come to Japan will never experience customer service similar to that of Japans. Omotenashi has always been a concept Japan prides itself with and tourists always feel very welcome, welcome enough to come back to Japan multiple times. Foreigners fall in love with the blur of tradition and technology in Japan, but that also involves falling in love with the locals who made this possible. Japan is seen as paradise for MOST foreigners, but is discrimination present in this so called, “paradise”?
日本人 versus 外国人(gaikokujin) facts
Currently, Japan has 126 million people residing in it, an all time record low where the death rate is higher than the birth rate. As of January 2018, the highest ever recorded number of foreigners have been recorded to be living in Japan. At a record of 2.22 million with a 7 percent increase compared to the year prior, based on a survey of population dynamics done by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. 5.8% of these people are young people in their 20’s which are foreigners in their prime for working and learning Japanese. This number is significantly high compared to that of earlier years but this not nearly enough to cover the labor gap present in Japan. The majority of foreigners in Japan consists of Chinese, Koreans, Latin Americans(mostly Bazilians), and Filipinos, most of whom are filling in the huge gap in labor and employment. For local ethnic groups, it mainly consists of the Yamato (mainland Japanese people), Ryukyuan (Ryuku Islands chain people), and the minority being the Ainus(indigenous people of Hokkaido, Kuril Islands and the Russian island of Sakhalin).
差別(sabetsu): Foreigners experiencing discrimination
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With these numbers and the growing number of foreign people being persuaded to reside in Japan, patriotism and the idea of exclusivity for Japanese people rise.
Caucasian supremacy
Kazuo Mori of Matsumoto University conducted a research that suggests that Japanese people have an implicit bias against black people and a preference of white people, which he links to the effects of media portrayal. Caucasian people are usually portrayed in a different light in Hollywood, causing a few starstruck reactions from Japanese locals who are not used to seeing white people. Comedy in Japan is quite old school and slapstick, and has been known to use outdated jokes, sometimes even using blackface. Although not necessarily racist and aggressive against black people,but are just very uneducated, ignorant per se, about racial issues around the world.
Housing and employment
Nearly a third of foreigners included in the Justice Minitrys 2017 survey has confirmed that third of the foreigners involved in the survey has experienced racist remarks because of their background, while 40% suffered discrimination when it comes to acquiring housing. There is this way of thinking that foreign tenants are problematic, leading other Japanese tenants to not want to live beside them. This has caused landlords to be cautious about taking in foreign tenants, leading some places to be a “Japanese only” establishment or an establishment that requires Japanese “sponsors” for their foreign tenants. Thankfully, not all places are like this and there are MANY foreign friendly apartments and sharehouses, catered specifically for foreigners.
For the workplace however, it’s not necessarily derogatory remarks, but equality in treatment and payment compared to their Japanese counterparts. In 2017, the Justice ministry sent surveys pertaining to racism to thousands of foreign residents to gain a better glimpse into their experiences in Japan. This survey was mailed to 18,500 foreigners, receiving responses from 4,252 of them. 1 in 4 people involved in this research said they were denied employment because they were a foreigner, and 1 in 5 believed they were paid less. Again, although this is the case, some Japanese people have found a way to find a niche for foreigners to be able to thrive in Japan. One of the biggest employer of foreigners that are actually catered to foreigners are language schools, where foreigners are treated great and actually appreciated.
Social discrimination
The biggest give away of a foreigner in Japan, is the use of a different language when speaking to each other. The Anti Racism Information Center conducted a survey on a group of foreigners and 167 of 340 respondents confirmed that they have been the recipient of discriminatory treatment like being told to stop speaking in their native language, and to speak Japanese instead, since they are in Japan. As a foreigner who has lived in Japan, people who usually have these backward comments and opinions are the older population. This however, is not about being racist for the sake of being racist, but part of what they have experienced in history. History has not been kind to anyone who has lived before the 21st century(or even now) but it has affected how the older generation perceives foreigners.
Pros: Yes, there are some benefits to this
One of the perks about being a foreigner is the idea that you cannot speak Japanese AT ALL. This makes you quite “innocently” immune to rules and regulations. Rather than being reprimanded or fined for common blunders, a lot of (maybe most) foreigners are just given a warning or a “stern” scolding, and mostly blamed on the misunderstanding or miscommunication of rules that are in Japanese. This is where a lot of Japanese people call foul for special treatment. As a foreigner, you actually are quite immune to most rules compared to actual Japanese people, which is great! This might seem like a small thing to most readers, but for people who have been to Japan, it is well known that Japan has SO MANY strict rules, and being exempted from a few is a great feeling, and of course, convenient at most times.
The other end of the stick: The Japanese side
Honestly speaking, it’s not just foreigners who experience discrimination in Japan. Japanese people experience discrimination from foreigners as well. From a personal perspective, this is actually horrible! Being discriminated against in your own land by people who arent is a huge blow as well. A lot of foreigners discriminate against Japanese people mostly in social situations. There is the alienation of not speaking English, of not being of a bigger stature compared to foreigners, of not being as outgoing and outspoken as foreigners, even racial discrimination.. Discrimination because they’re ASIANS, which is of course a given since it’s in Japan. Bottom line is, discrimination is present in Japan. Foreigners in Japan experience it and Japanese people experience it… Discrimination is present EVERYWHERE and does not choose a specific type of person to discriminate on.