In a way, this kind of racism is actually preferable--if one must deal with racism, is it not better to have racism that (a) does not threaten violence, and (b) can be easily identified? I would almost rather have racism be overt, rather than always be unsure whether I was being discriminated against or just unlucky, and always wondering who was the one discriminating against me.

Then again, we probably should not forget about the results of Japanese racism from the first half of the 20th century, in particular in 1923 when about 6,000 Koreans and Chinese were killed by "vigilantes and military forces apparently acting on the rumor that Koreans poisoned wells, started fires and planned to stage an uprising in the chaotic aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake which flattened the Tokyo metropolitan area."

Certainly the situation is different--no forced labor to foment an uprising--but it does point out that a flash point can be reached in a crisis where violence can be unleashed against a minority identified as dangerous.