Have you encountered discrimination or prejudices in Japan ?

[Maciamo]

On the other hand, how many European or American companies would hire for instance a Japanese national even if he/she were as qualified as competing local job applicants?

I suppose it depends a lot on the type of job and importance of language skills (if the foreigner in question is not as fluent as a native...). But I don't see why a Western company wouldn't recruit a Japanese, say as shop attendant, clerk, office worker, accountant, designer, etc., at equal qualification, if their language skills were sufficient.

I have heard a lot about the infamous "black lists" Japanese companies employ during recruitment, listing people or families of Korean or buraku origin. Are they still "in use"?

I heard and read some companies still used them, but cannot certify if that is true (they obviously keep discreet about it, as it is illegal).