biznas comments

Once again, biz as usual. This is old news about the fine; but when we read indictment, we assume jail time. No jail time for this ugly dude, just fines, and he probably can pay from the illegal funds Im guessing he still has )

sounds like biz as usaul for Japan Inc. Lying, manipulation, and final solution- payouts.

@Frungy,

Got to be kidding you? your saying that the Japanese have invented everything they export? All invention/innovation came from abroad, the Japanese only improve on it or change it. Sure their products are superior to the U.S. in some regards, but they didnt originate the idea. By the time the Japanese get the idea, the U.S. has already moved on to something else. Ive worked at so many places where they take something from abroad, change it, then sell it domestically.

"Japanese firms should make their R&D staff sign non-disclosure agreements and be prepared to enforce them vigorously"

Seems a bit hypocritical to me being that many Japanese firms copied or are using discontinued U.S. products as models for their product lines. Many people dont know that allot of products in Japan have their origin in the U.S. I have seen this done, and it seems to be the order of business in not just Japan but allot of Asia. Let the U.S. take all the risk, then Japan can copy/improve.

@cleo,

Sorry for the comments, shouldnt of said that. You been naggin on my post for awhile. I dont think Jenny Chen was bitchy, I really could empathsize with her because Asians do get allot of crap said to and about them in the U.S. but suffer quietly for it. There is no need to suffer; we should all be allowed to share our experiences and Im not a faker. I was also in the earthquake, and was trying to have a conversation with the J man. I have enjoyed reading the comments by others who have had the same experience as me. I dont want it to become tit for tat.

@mochiake,

I can appreciate your post, and unlike some others I have read here, I could relate and it kept me interested from start to finish. Yes, many Japanese are not interested in what happens outside of Japan, unless it involves Japanese. The malaysia flight? Seen very little about it on the J news. There were no J citizens on board. I was also here during the great earthquake also and I was standing on this bridge after it happened. I started a conversation, of course with the usual fake praise you must do in Japan, with a J man standing there. I mentioned how Japan can chanto tsukuru, while in NZ, all the buildings fell down. Im ashamed to say that, but this self demoting behavior is a common way to start any conversation with a pig headed Japanese. His reply was the usual, aitsu nanimo dekinai or something anit foriegner Japan superior nonsense and quickly went into the gambaru nippon mode and scooted off. I admit that the West is too preoccupied with things outside their borders and should concentrate on more domestic issues, but I really appreciated your post and could relate )

people can protest all they want, but nuclear power coming back online is crucial for Japans economic recovery? Or is the trade deficit and inflation from importing fuel a good sign of things to come? Wage increases?

@strangerland,

Ill add your points to my last post to make it seem less "foolish"

Reasons foriengers have difficulty making friends with Japanese has nothing to do with different interest, small homes, insecurites, facial expressions, language ability or any other apologist excuses. Rather, it has to do with all the points the author posted in their original discussion.

@cleo,

"If you wear on your face the feelings you express in your posts, it's not really surprising that people stare, and don't want to sit next to you, or employ you. Try forgetting you're in Japan, just go out and act normal."

Sure, Ill just get a kaze mask and hide them, and be even more antisocial.

No, actually I loved my experience in other countires. I wasnt considered or treated as an outcast. but somebody as yourself will find some way to twist that into something that apologizes for Japan.

Many of us here agreed with the author, so lets summarize. Its useless arguing with an apologist. There are loads of documentation and books that show evidence of the same experiences as the author had. They cant be disqualified Ive experienced them, others I know have had them. They have nothing to do with the following:

1) Insecurities 2) japanese language skill 3) straw men 4) expression of feelings

Good luck to you, and gambatte in Nippon!

Well good luck to you and perhaps you can pull all that over on somebody else....thats some dangerous stuff youve got yourself into )

I seek out happier places.

"Again, both of these are manifestations of your own insecurities, not based in the reality of the situation"

Oh now I get it! Its my insecurities! Thanks for the help, you just cleared everything right up ) Now lets go be secure and see if anything changes. I will still get stared at, moved away from on the train, refused jobs, barked at by "secure" Japanese who want to take out their frustrations. But you said become secure...and that changes everything...)

Lets apply my "straw man" argument to this. Lets say the Asian woman interviewed by Kong complained about being compared to a brothel worker. She complained about it. Oh, shut up already, its her insecurities!!!

It has nothing to do with being secure or insecure. Its a cultural phenomenon that cant be changed.

Apologist always seem to contridict themselves or miss the mark completely;

I did listen to the soundbite. Thats where i got the material from my post from. We can learn allot from her experiences. All the author of the posted article was trying to do is eactly what the Asian lady was trying to do, its just coming from opposite experiences.

you seem dim....are you the wife of a rich japanese man?

thanks for the advice Cleo, it was deep. But process this Cleo and other apologist- lets say a Japanese woman living in the U.S. "complains" to you that white people constantly ask her if she is from Thailand and many white men approach her because of an "experience" they had while in Asia. Should I inform her that she was probably a loser in her own country (Japan), stop her complaining, if she dont like here then leave....thus disqualify everything she said? Of course not. Something obvisouly made her feel uncomfortable. Unnatural. Less human. Why is it when gaijin in Japan "complain" we are given the hate?

Seems to be a one way cake and eat it too attitude. We can see this everywhere in Japan. The kaze mask. Its mendokusai to show ones emotions, lets just hide behind our kaze mask, then we can be ourselves, just like we act when abroad. Lets stare at our cell phone, no need to interact with others, its mendokusai. Gaijin, you dont like it, your mendokusai so leave!

Actually I have made plenty of friends in Japan, mostly forienger. I would like to thank japan for that, because the Japan experience forced me to interact with others I usually would of never done. I have had Japanese who lived abroad tell me the same thing, and they can appreciate foriengers who live in Japan.

I admit, if I were Japanese, I would be very proud of my country and I try to keep this in mind when discussing anything international with Japanese. I know the minute I point out anything negative, I am scolded or asked to leave. I approach the topic with caution, always buffering any comment with praise, then I might get something like, "yes, but we Japanese dont like others..etc.

many stations like shinjuku have implemented this. They have actually done a pretty good job, you might feel your in singapore or NYC with their style of announcement. Once the Olympics are over, expect it all to be gone.

There has been much talk about how Japan will deal with its need for immigration, and we can read all sorts of wonderful feel good solutions by pro immi Japanese. None, at least from what I have read, require that the Japanese people themselves change. There will be wonderful programs put in place to get gaijin accustomed to the Japanese language and customs. Nihongo benkyo etc. Been there done that. Its not the solution. I personally dont think Japan can accomodate and assimilate a large number of foriengers. They would rather slowly fade away with their unique culture. There are too many unique characteristics of Japan culture (soto/uchi) etc that cannot be changed. The foriegner themselves must adapt or endure it, usually resulting in what the action was designed to do in the first place; expel the otherness. Repeat cycle.

The apologiest defense/denial stratedgy is a tired tune, like a cult member defending their faith at all cost. They all pretty much say the same thing when confronted with anything that challenges their existance in Japan. They surely experience the same issues that other gaijin do, but they have come enjoy the taste of the bitter Koolaid. I hope I never reach that point. I will agree with cleo however, that Japanese will open themselves up to a point with their significant other moreso than with any other Japanese. This can become a difficult situation for the forienger, because youve commmited yourself to a relationship but your expected to play the soto/uchi game as well. You become ultra soto as soon as you step outside into the world, no matter how hard you try to act or speak Japanese, but uchi in your home and its all shoganai. The bizarre soto/uchi concept keeps us all "safe" in Japan but its dated from fuedal times. I prefer not to interact with Japanese unless I have to. This would go directly against what apologist advice, but I have found that all the advice I have read or listen to when it comes to Japan has been wrong or unrealistic. The more Japanese I speak, the less I am accepted. The more foriegner I act, the less discomfort I have. Its not too difficult to understand. As the author stated, I am a perpetual outsider. Why change what I cant?

got plenty of J skills, but because most Japanese approach me wanting to use their English as I am a gaijin. if I reply in Nihongo, Im a henna gaijin, I must hide my skills in order to keep what little sanity I have left.

I can see your a lifer gaijin, comfie in your zone, so its useless to argue my point with such an individual. Good luck to you and your gambare nippon adventures!

No, no kidding here.

A few years ago there was a Chinese language boom, then a Korean one, now back to English. Chinese and Korean are out of fashion as they are troublemakers. So we see allot of Adult English lessons on TV, more of the repeat of the crap you saw in the 90s. No real application English like composition or speech- that requires individualism and it gets squashed in that good ole need for conformity.

I dont have high hopes for Japan. Its a country with great capacity but allot is holding it back. They rely on saviours like Koizumi or the lattest Abe, but we see the 3rd arrow, as was to be expected, a failure, just like the English boom will be.

I think the "Japanese only" was directed towards Koreans and Chinese; part of the ongoing rift between the two. Its more nationalism than racism. As for me, I never go to those matches anyhow.

I dont think japanese are capable of close friendships with any foriegner. The foriegner represents something gai (outside) and is just an object of interest.

The first and foremost priority for most Japanese is to become a member of a group, enter the best university, get the best husband or job.

The forienger is just a distraction to this compulsory behavior; a relief of sorts.

Any interaction with a forienger is just a means to an end; a way to promote ones ranking or social status within a group, or to be more competitive, like having a high Toeic score.

Communicating in English in Japan isnt really communicating at all. Its showing off ones skills.

Allot of experiences in Japan are influenced by gender and nationality. I highly suspect your answers to 2, 3, 4, and 5 are a result of this.

The strays are can be women or men, but many are men. If you never have met a stray, me wonders what kind of existance you have had in Japan.

If you have never met a Japanese with a gaijin fetish in any fashion, me also wonders what you have been doing in Japan.

People from the U.S. might/might not get the WW2 rant. I suspect that since your from England, you wont get it, but some Japanese are quite proud that they gave the British a spanking in Singapore and you lost the island to them. But I agree, this is a rare topic.

5 you missed the point, or perhaps I didnt make mine clear enough. What I meant was that many Japanese marry the forienger because they represent something they cant find in their own culture.

@cleo...thanks for the laugh.

Anyway, I have found that Japanese who "like" foriengers usuall fall into the following catagories. No hate intended, as many of us once had a Japanese fetish also and I think this can be applied all over the world

1) They want to practice their English. A most annoying experience 2) They have a Gaijin fetish. All gaijin are interesting. Whats in their trash? What are they saying when talking to each other? 3) They have a superiorty complex and want to use it to school the gaijin on how WW2 should of really turned out 4) They are "strays" They dont really fit into Japanese society, and harbor feelings of resentment about that. They seek out the gaijins companionship, usually trying to change the gaijin to fit their bizarre expectations of how things should be 5) They want the romance (male or female) or a gaijin mate. Inspired by a visit abroad, gossips, etc. 6)They lived abroad, and want to revisit that feeling of letting go, its ok to be "myself" Its quickly extinguished as soon as another Japanese arrives on scene 7) Anybody want to add?

Geez, sucks when it happens to you doesnt it ) Honestly though, there are many sterotypes of Asians in the U.S. that suck, but allot of what she said goes on everyday in Japan to foriengers; I know I have experienced it.

@strangerland,

I think all foriengers in Japan experience the percieved preferential treatment that you describe. I would not mistake that as being liked, its just hard to enforce the norms on gaijin and the gaijin is seen as an escape from the straightjacket rules and conformity. I have found Japanese to be moody; if the economy is crap, they then turn on the forienger. I dont for one second think Japanese like me for who I am; they like me because I represent something different than them. Ive had Japanese "friends" turn on me in a heartbeat when surrounded by other Japanese and tease me etc. The need to belong to a group and conform in Japan is enormous. As a forienger your the perpetual outsider.

xrc is right. We always come back to the issue of our gaijiness. Honestly, I dont think there is no such thing as a Japanese friend, unless that person is a japanese of other country origin. For most Japanese, the gaijin is an outsider of interest. Personal relationships are mendokusai, and as soon as the interest has worn off, the gaijin becomes mendokusai. Its a zero sum game for the gaijin resident (not visitor) in Japan who wants to become close to the Japanese in my opinion.