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We hope that many foreigners take part in the sporting festivities during the Rugby World Cup this year and the Olympics next year, but for us the most important thing is to ensure their safety. We understand that they are excited and they want to show it, but they need to know how to control themselves.

22 Comments

Mineo Matsui, director for community safety at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, referring to some boisterous behavior on trains by foreign visitors during the Rugby World Cup.

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I'm sorry, and I know I will get down voted for saying this, but that is a quintessential Japanese way of thinking!

17 ( +20 / -3 )

Unfortunatley, Japanese citezens will witness alot of "appauling behaviour" during these events. Most foriegn cultures do not have an understanding of self disicpline that I sense in Japanese people.

Most of the visitors will be great but there will be many others that have predetermined to "behave as they want to" with no regard to Japanese people or their nations laws. In Europe riots and anti social behaviour is considered "the norm" at many sporting events and in particular with soccer and rugby games.

For the sake of Japanese people I hope I am wrong about the above, but in my experience its very likely if countries like England, Ireland or France make it to the finals and lose, look out Japan.

-20 ( +0 / -20 )

In Europe riots and anti social behaviour is considered "the norm" at many sporting events and in particular with soccer and rugby games.

Except it isn't. What a ludicrous comment; whoever heard of a rugby riot?

in my experience its very likely if countries like England, Ireland or France make it to the finals and lose, look out Japan.

Ridiculous fear-mongering. The poster's brief history, nonsensical comments and deliberate misspellings lead one to believe it's yet another comedy account, here attempting to distract from the implications of the quote.

17 ( +17 / -0 )

they need to know how to control themselves.

How patronising.

20 ( +20 / -0 )

Yes. I've never seen drunk, out of control salarimen with ties on heads swimming in public fountains, passed out on floors of trains or picking fights.

18 ( +19 / -1 )

Ridiculous fear-mongering.

Agreed. It's as ridiculous as fearing that Japanese tourists to London are going to eat all the local pet dogs.

I remember in the 2002 Soccer World Cup there were stories of families near the stadiums sending their kids away to relatives in the countryside. I think Tokyo mayor Ishihara warned of rampaging fans raping & looting.

As it happens the worst behaviour was by a bunch of local fans going bonkers in Dotombori.

13 ( +13 / -0 )

Ridiculous fear-mongering. The poster's brief history, nonsensical comments and deliberate misspellings lead one to believe it's yet another comedy account, here attempting to distract from the implications of the quote.

exactly.

Yes. I've never seen drunk, out of control salarimen with ties on heads swimming in public fountains, passed out on floors of trains or picking fights.

Or puking all over the floor on the trains... the list goes on. The idea that the Japanese are somehow better behaved than foreigners is ridiculous and racist at best. Nihonjin ron all over again?

Look if you can't respect your foreign visitors, don't have them in the first place. But to campaign hard to host sporting events and then start patronizing the foreigners who come and terrify the local population which is most likely going to manifest itself as hatred and hostility towards any and all non japanese is dumb and defeats the purpose of these international sporting events which are all about bringing people together, not tearing them apart.

10 ( +12 / -2 )

What's wrong with a bit of aggro after a sporting event?

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

There were Japanese drunks on my train at only 10:30 p.m., singing and standing, arms linked, after clearly having watched the rugby game. They were shouldering each other, slightly pushing each other around, knocking into other people, red-faced as you can get, and one guy looked the whole time like he was about to puke. Maybe the Japanese should take a page from their own book if they're going to complain about boisterous behaviour. I wish I had recorded it, but I was TRYING to do some work via my phone. Reminds me of my sports gym, where they old men just go straight from the change room and get in the bath, without showering first -- then I get asked occasionally if I know the "proper way to bathe" in a Japanese bath.

13 ( +15 / -2 )

There were Japanese drunks on my train at only 10:30 p.m., singing and standing, arms linked, after clearly having watched the rugby game. They were shouldering each other, slightly pushing each other around, knocking into other people, red-faced as you can get, and one guy looked the whole time like he was about to puke. Maybe the Japanese should take a page from their own book if they're going to complain about boisterous behaviour. I wish I had recorded it, but I was TRYING to do some work via my phone. Reminds me of my sports gym, where they old men just go straight from the change room and get in the bath, without showering first -- then I get asked occasionally if I know the "proper way to bathe" in a Japanese bath.

Smith- Exactly brother! You said it!

7 ( +9 / -2 )

What a joke. In general I find the Japanese men's behaviour to be worse than that of foreigners.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

This must be one of those massive irony quotes.

The drunken salarymen must be cringing.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

I'm absolutely sure there was no "boisterous" behavior by Japanese people.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

WobotOct. 7  03:51 pm JST Don't forget it was Japanese people who went crazy after a Hanshin Tigers and threw a statue of Colonel Sanders in the Dotomobori river (which has never been recovered as far as I'm aware)!

If they were serious about this, they should have set it on fire first.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

director for community safety at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government

If you have a job title like that, it must be hard to make sensible comments in any context. What is community safety? How is it different from personal safety?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Most foriegn cultures do not have an understanding of self discipline that I sense in Japanese people.

I think your confusing self discipline with cultural conformity, two very different things

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Most foriegn cultures do not have an understanding of self disicpline that I sense in Japanese people.

yeah like I dont think ive ever seen drunk Japanese lose self control or peeing on the side of the rd....much,,,ooops hold on

4 ( +4 / -0 )

The drunken salarymen must be cringing.

why would they cringe, being drunk is the national pastime excuse, because being drunk give you a free pass for not being able to moderate how much you should drink, you know self discipline and all

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Don't forget it was Japanese people who went crazy after a Hanshin Tigers and threw a statue of Colonel Sanders in the Dotomobori river (which has never been recovered as far as I'm aware)!

no sorry most of those people were Korean, all the Japanese involved were drunk at them time.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Those noisy drunken guys in public places are just disgusting, whether Japanese or foreigners, residents or visitors. Tokyo should become like Vancouver. Prohibit drinking alcohol in public outside and designate

the places for that purpose. Then you can chose not to come near. If you chose to join drinking and getting drunk there, then don't even think about complaining unless they are committing some crimes.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

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