Christina Gmiterko comments

Really odd to see the negative slant on this article from people that should know better. Tokyo is the same as Atlanta in the summer? Uhhhhh....no. That is just deeply stupid.

I actually think that this happened to my card back in fall of 2013. I was around a shady charecter at the time (didn't know it then). And my card went missing after meeting with him. I always knew where my card was and had never lost it before. I reported it to the police and got a new card, but I never heard anything about it after that. My friends all thought I was crazy that I thought this person would steal it becuase nobody could conceive of what kind of value there would be in that.

Japan is definitely racist, but it is also quite sexist as well. In fact the sexism might actually outweigh the racism. I am a white american woman and just yesterday I was told that I shouldn't have participated in lifting the mikoshi at a summer festival for two reasons: I am a foreigner and a woman. Unfortunately Japan has been homogenized for so long that people say these things without batting an eyelid and do not even realize why it would be hurtful to the other person.

I also agree with the point that others have made that those who are fluent in Japanese recognize the racism a lot more easily. So many things that would be considered racism in western nations are just casually said in normal conversation even by people who themselves admit that they like foreigners.