Assumptions that gaijin cannot speak Japanese (at all)

[Maciamo]

Btw, I was checking Google to see if somebody else had also come up with the term "naijin" and I have found an article in the Japan Times about this : You've earned it: lifetime 'gaijin' status!

After an extended stay in Japan, does one ever cease to regard oneself as a "gaijin" (foreigner)?
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When I first came to Japan, I was not happy with the status of "gaikokujin" and, like many naive foreigners before me, wanted only one thing: to become Japanese! I wanted to become what I call a "naikokujin." I shunned the bed for a futon, chose a tatami-style apartment over one with chairs and furniture, and vowed to sit in the "seiza" position no matter how blue my face turned. I would live only Japanese style!

I think that summarises well how many (most of the ?) Westerners who come and live in Japan for the country itself (not for their job) think and behave when they first come.

Although I was still a gaijin, my Japanese "naijin" friends seemed more than happy to help me make my miraculous transformation. I envisioned before and after photos: Before -- rude gaijin; after -- polite, cultured, self-effacing naijin with blonde hair.

This may be true for some people, but in my case, I found the Japanese to be only superficially polite, rather selfish, lacking "kangaeyari" and often bad mannered (pushing in trains, bad street manners...). Of course, that is based on my experience in Tokyo (but that's still where 28% of the Japanese live or commute to).

Making my "inkan" in Japanese. While most foreigners have their personal stamps made in katakana, reflecting their gaijinness, my naijin coworkers were eager to translate my name into kanji characters.

Most foreigners ? Those who come on business maybe, but I and many other Westerners have met have their hanko in kanji. It's part of the cultural experience.

To this day, when Japanese see my stamp, they are completely baffled and cannot even begin to read it. After so many embarrassing encounters with my uniquely stamped legal documents at the bank and post office, I changed my inkan to a gaijin-friendly katakana one.

Haha, never had any problem with mine. Fortunately, my(first) name is pretty easy to render in kanji.

Speaking like Japanese royalty. A naijin friend of mine, while teaching me Japanese, taught me to say "go-kigen yo" instead of "konnichi wa" for "hello." This, she said, was the Japanese used by the royal family, and if I used it I would be highly regarded among regular naijin and that this would prove that I was upper class.

I also used such expressions (e.g. "go shimpai naku") in my first year in Japan, but some Japanese just laughed when they heared me speak like that. kashii"