Have you encountered discrimination or prejudices in Japan ?

[Taiko666]

Hello, again, Taiko666! It's nice to be able to have a rational discussion about such an emotional topic!

Hi! Thanks... it seems quite a lot's been said while I was away (motorcycling in Izu... no exclusionary problems to report...)

Creeping exclusionism? I think I know what you're referring to, but I just don't see it.

The exclusionism bug can do a lot of creeping before you notice it. That's because there are no laws to prevent it, which is the real problem. You must surely have read or heard about examples like the Brazilian-born Japanese citizen hounded out of buying some land on which to build a house? I could even throw in the story of the Japanese born, Japanese fluent daughter of an American friend who was denied employment by MacDonald's for the sole reason that 'customers would be wary of you because you're foreign'. Examples crop up very regularly. And they'll become more regular as more immigrants arrive, and the children of existing immigrants seek jobs or even
an adequate education.

Can store people not decide whom they wish to serve?

To a point. Refusing service to a person because they're drunk, abusive or dangerous is fine. But this question is so fundamental. If you believe that's it's ok to refuse to serve somebody based solely on their race, I don't think I or anyone else will persuade you otherwise.

I think that as foreigners, and by this I mostly mean non-citizens, the onus is on us and the children who have no choice but to live here to fit in as best as possible.

If you're being excluded, it's impossible to fit in. And nobody benefits.

Sometimes I can't help but wonder if you and bakaKanadajin condone racism (excluding by race = racism) in your own countries. I'm sure you don't... but then you seem to accept it as an unavoidable and acceptable part of life in Japan, and I don't know why. Saying that Japanese morals and 'western' morals are somehow different is no answer... even the Japanese (say they) don't believe that, since they signed a UN anti-racism treaty. What gives them special dispensation to renege?

I reckon the J-Gov has at least 3 choices:
1) Implement the laws it said it was going to implement, bringing it into line with most of the civilized world, enabling it to move forward and tackle more difficult aspects of immigration.
2) Deport all non-ethnic Japanese and revert to isolationism.
3) Attempt to maintain the status quo, and watch the country slide down the pan.


Ah, that's better. Downs tools and heads to his local non-exclusionary nomiya for a cheeky 純米酒.