Stop Thinking that Japanese People Have Never Seen Anyone From a Different Country
December 10th, 2008 | 
Author: 
People Visiting Japan
There’s a lot of bad articles and misleading information out there in the blogosphere about Japan that makes me cringe when I read it. One of my top annoyances is reading about the way people describe the Japanese as a close-minded society and culture. The articles always use the word always and make generalizations based on unproven examples and situations they have not experienced themselves.
Let’s take for example some of the articles written about how people should expect to be treated when visiting Japan. The article posted on Matadora Abroad recently states that, “If you’re dining [using chopsticks] with a Japanese [person], don’t be surprised if you receive a look of amazement at your ability to eat like a Japanese”. What the author fails to mention is that this most likely happens on only a few occasions, it is not something to be expected every time you pick up a pair of chopsticks like the article may try to insinuate. This may have been a common occurance twenty or more years ago, but with the relatively recent advances in cheap travel and communication it is less likely that it happens as often today.
I would like to emphasize this crucial fact : The Japanese are not a closed-off and secluded society. Japan is not some third-world country that has no access to television and the Internet. The Japanese people do not have their head buried in the ground, and they do not ignore news and events that happen elsewhere around the globe. Japan is a world superpower that has a heavy influence in international affairs, and attracts many different originalities of people to work and visit there. Contrary to the majority of what the Japanese blogosphere would lead you to believe, you will not be the first foreign person a Japanese person meets, and you will not be treated that way. If you’re a person with no crazy hairstyle, outfit, or wacky behavior, it is likely that the average Japanese person won’t even acknowledge your presence.
Bloggers like to play on the idea that if you go to Japan then you’ll be treated like as a king or some kind of wonderous gift from the gods because you’re a rarity. The fact is that many people go there to experience this and are surprised to find twenty other North Americans or Europeans standing next to them at the same crosswalk. So, please, for the sake of your own travels and for the image of Japan itself, stop thinking that Japanese people have never seen anyone from a different country!
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Very true.
But consider that Japan is more than just Tokyo.
And I do want to reiterate that your most important point, that of absolutivity, goes both ways. Not every Japanese person you meet will have met a foreigner and (given the right social situation) will lack genuine curiosity about you… nor will they always be unimpressed or unsurprised with, say, your ability to use chopsticks.
Sorry, but as someone who has lived here for 19 years, the degree of insularity and clannishness of Japanese society compared to other countries is still quite noticeable.
Japan really has no influential role in world affairs. They need the Americans to help them talk to their neighbors. Yes, they sell products overseas but their difficulty communicating with others holds them back. Last year someone commented on my use of chopsticks and when I assured them that most foreigners can use them they did not believe me. Many Japanese cling to stereotypes of foreigners, cliches whose main purpose is to reassure Japanese of their own superiority. When making new friends you will inevitably be forced to listen to predictable comparisons of Japanese vs. foreigners which come close to political dogma in that they are identically memorized and believed without question. News programs constantly subconsciously portray the world outside Japan as a dangerous and scary place. Xenophobia is one of the glues used to hold Japanese society together.
“The articles always use the word always”
I really want to know if Japanese are racist like other Asian Countries especially Singapore and Malaysia. They hate Black to the extent that they can share a bus with a black person. I think the world should do something about this because a black person never polished him self black but he was born black, so it is not his fault. I wonder why Singapore and Malaysia is like that
Very interesting article and comments. I agree with Don Edwards that Japan is not just Tokyo. Many of Japanese may not have interacted with foreigners before. It is true that people would stare at you if you go to county side of Japan. In my opinion, it’s the same everywhere where tourists do not often visit. Wouldn’t it be weird if a minority family moved into an upper middle class White neighborhood? It’s all prejudice. Don Edwards also said “Japan really has no influential role in world affairs.” I must disagree with that. Yes, Japan sells products all over the world. That is not it. They built companies, factories, and jobs for native residents. Japan is contributing to the economy of the world. What if they pull all factories out of America? Japan does need America to talk to foreign nations. Japanese Constitution prohibits wars. They cannot fight even if they wanted to. It is also what America does the best; getting involved in foreign affairs. Look back to the WW II, Vietnam, Israel and Iraq. America likes doing it. I am not complaining though. We need somebody like that. I don’t think lack of communication skill is holding Japan back from doing business with foreign nations. If that’s true, Japan’s economy wouldn’t be better than the U.S.
Er… Something nobody is mentioning is that Japanese people often overstate things.
When you talk and they tell you your Japanese is excellent, it almost certainly isn’t. But by attempting to speak the language at all, you’re doing something that the average Westerner doesn’t even try, and so they’re being nice.
Similarly, as the previous commenter pointed out, they may be impressed that you can use chopsticks. And, honestly, if you believe that *most* Westerners can use chopsticks, you’re probably wrong. A Caucasian using them proficiently is, most likely, a reasonably rare occurrence. Either way, they’re happy to see you being culturally open, so they’ll say they’re impressed.