Photos of places in Japan which exclude or restrict non-Japanese Customers

[AngryAmish]

via boing boing


Just what it sounds like.

[sweetheart]

1. Yes, japan is very racist

...accepted racial segregation indeed!

[NNN0LHI]

2. In America any Arab "looking" person taking photos of buildings goes straight to Gitmo n/t

[patricia92243]

3. Can't imagine any place turning down tourist $$$$$

[Hobarticus]

4. The Japanese being...well, Japanese...

We wouldn't dream of doing that here, but this is how the Japanese roll. It's an inherently racist culture.

Not endorsing or excusing it, it's just a fact of life.

[speedoo]

5. gotta be more than that.

I was there for a few weeks, and it seemed like lots of places refused me. And that was just in Tokyo.

[zanne]

6. That's kind of shocking

I wonder if there is alot of racism in Japan.

[Bandit]

7. They also have virtually no gun violence either...

Iraqis have a gun in every home. We promised them we would not confiscate their guns because we believe if everyone owns a gun there would be no gun violence. :shrug:

[Hobarticus]

10. Thanks to the strictest gun control in the world...interesting story

To many Japanese, and to many Americans, it is simply incomprehensible that the United States has not implemented strict gun controls or prohibitions along the Japanese model. Gun control in Japan is the most stringent in the democratic world. The weapons law begins by stating 'No-one shall possess a fire-arm or fire-arms or a sword or swords', and very few exceptions are allowed. Gun ownership is minuscule, and so is gun crime. As gun crime in other nations increases, many advocates of gun control urge that Japan's gun control policy be imitated.

(snip)

The only type of firearm which a Japanese citizen may even contemplate acquiring is a shotgun. Sportsmen are permitted to possess shotguns for hunting and for skeet and trap shooting, but only after submitting to a lengthy licensing procedure. Without a license, a person may not even hold a gun in his or her hands.

(snip)

Civilians can never own handguns. Small calibre rifles were once legal, but in 1971, the Government forbade all transfers of rifles. Current rifle license holders may continue to own them, but their heirs must turn them into the police when the license-holder dies. Total remaining rifle licenses are 27,000. Even shotguns and air rifles, the two legal types of firearm, are becoming rarer and rarer, as few people find it worthwhile to pass through a burdensome gun licensing process.

http://www.guncite.com/journals/dkjgc.html

[crim son]

8. I've read before that the society is racist

but I assumed that there was a desire to "keep up appearences" so to speak. I suppose if racism is not considered unattractive there would be no reason to hide it. Hmmm.

[Karenina]

13. Several decades ago. I was afforded entry

to a "Japanese Only" establishment in the company of a Buddhist priest I'd met in California. The very fact that he'd "brought me along" was a signal that my OBVIOUS non-Japanese status should be overlooked. I did my VERY BEST to conform, providing quite some laughs along the way. My sincere efforts were noted and appreciated. It was quite an experience.

[crim son]

14. It sounds fascinating and you were no doubt

not the only one who found it to be "quite an experience."

[Karenina]

15. Na Du, Crim son

You are quite right!!! :rofl:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

9. Chalk This Up To Something I Previously Had Been Completely Ignorant Of.

Shit, learn somethin new every day here!

That's fucked up though. Had no idea they had prejudice issues like that there.

[senseandsensibility]

11. What if they are one hundred percent Japanese

ethnically, but are second or third generation Americans and don't speak a word of Japanese? I have a friend who is Japanese, as is her husband, but they only speak English. They've traveled to Japan several times. I wonder if they're excluded?

[VADem11]

16. I think they might be

I'm Korean and can't speak a word of Korean but there is some feeling of exclusion when I go there. Some people could tell I was American and were resentful while others couldn't care less. It all depends from person to person and place to place. I suspect it would be the same in Japan.

[senseandsensibility]

17. Could they tell you were American just by the fact

that you couldn't speak Korean, or was it something else? I always think I can spot European tourists before they even open their mouths. There's just something subtly different about them that has nothing to do with race. It must be a strange feeling though, not being totally accepted in the country that your ancestors came from.

[AngryAmish]

18. In general, Japanese and Korean folks loath each other

[LeftyMom]

21. The attitude is normally that they're Americans who happen to look Japanese.

That's how it is with my best friend and her family. Even her father, who was born in Japan, is of 100% Japanese ancestry, who raised in Japan for most of his childhood and is married to a Japanese woman, is considered an American in Japan because he's lived a significant portion of his life in the US and has family here as well.

[Hardrada]

12. Well, I usually avoid karaoke bars, bathhouses

and whorehouses anyway!! LOL. Another reason to save bucks and go to someplace like Russia or Latvia instead. Oh, I almost forgot Poland!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

19. In 30 years of visiting Japan, I've run into ONE incident of discrimination

I was trying to find a hotel for an acquaintance who was about to visit, and the hotel nearest where I was living said that they didn't accept foreigners, not unless they were married to a Japanese.

Everywhere else, I've been welcomed warmly and given superb customer service.

Japanese tend to overreact to problems with an enthusiasm that would strike the TSA as extreme. For example, when a young woman student was murdered in her apartment, her school decreed that all women students would be required to live in dorms or with their parents. When a child was murdered (a rare occurrence compared to the U.S.), parents all over Japan began giving their children cell phones with GPS devices.

These signs are most common in areas that have military bases, sailors, or illegal immigrants. One local shop has a problem with a foreigner, and all the local merchants decide that they'd rather avoid future encounters with foreigners.

It's definitely racist, but it's not as if you as a visitor might go to Japan and find no place to sleep, eat, or drink. Most places WILL serve you, and graciously.

[Hardrada]

20. Well if you stick to five star hotels and restaurants and

Buddhist temples in Kyoto, you're probably going to be just fine!! Those places aformentioned sound like tougher joints.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. Five star hotels? Hardly!

:rofl:

I tend to stay in the Toyoko Inns, which are the Japanese equivalent of a Motel 6, eat in mom and pop restaurants, and get around on public transportation!

Most of the places shown on that website are obvious dives.

[Hardrada]

23. Ha ha!! That's exactly what I thought too!

I wouldn't be caught dead in 'em and now it looks like I won't have the opportunity!