'Japanese only' and Debito Arudou
Today I stumbled accross a blog that discusses various things regarding Japan. There was an article about the word 'gaijin' (Japanese for 'foreigner') and it was asked wheather it is a racist term or not. And the author quoted David Aldwincle, who said that the Japanese word 'gaijin' is an epithet for English 'ni**er'. I couldn't disagree more with that statement. But I don't wanna talk about the word 'gaijin' here . You can check the the link to the article (above) which is excellent and has many good comments. What I actually want to talk about here is David Aldwincle. Do you know him? I heard about him few years ago. He was a white American, who married a Japanese woman and moved to Japan (he divorced later), where he applied for Japanese citizenship. And when he got it, he changed his name to Japanese Debito Arudou. Why did he become famous? He went to an onsen (Japanese hot spring and bathing facilities) in Hokkaido, but they did not allow non-Japanese to enter (they said they implemented this policy because Russian sailors scared away Japanese visitors [source: Wiki]). Arudou sued the onsen on racial discrimination and won. He was compensated with around 25.000USD. Later he became an activist and on his website he's posting info and collecting photos of these various onsens, bars and clubs in Japan, where they prefer 'Japanese only':
Photo by KD, 2006, bar in Hiroshima
Photo by Michael Cash, 2005, Hostess Bar in Toda City
Photo by Debito Arudou, 2004, Pub in Koshigaya City
Photo by Debito Arudou, 2004, Pub in Koshigaya City
Photo by Debito Arudou, 2007, Bar in Hiroshima
Photo and translation by Debito Arudou, 2004,Pub in Koshigaya City, the clearly racist writing says:
"Entry absolutely forbidden to Chinese and naturalized citizens, Chinese war orphans, and people with Chinese blood mixed in. Only pure-blooded Japanese males permitted."
Source of the photos is Rogues Gallery by Debito.org, the official website of Debito Arudou. Check out more photos on that page. There's like 50-60 cases of similar 'Japanese only' signs that Arudou and some other people found all over Japan. Some of these signs were removed due to complaints. So here's my question: What do you think about all that? Or if that's too general, let me ask some specific questions:
1 Do you think these signs are clearly racist? Or do you think some are clearly racist, but some others are just put out to reassure their main customers, the Japanese people, who don't like to mingle with foreigners and would therefore feel unwell or uncomfortable in a pub or club with foreigners, who in their eyes, don't know the Japanese language and rules of conduct so well? Or are Japanese people (in general) racist?
2 Do Japanese people have the right to have 'only Japanese' pubs, bars and clubs in their own country? If the same right would be applied in USA, Britain or Germany with 'only whites' would that be same? Would that be more racist or same racist? Does Japan, a historically secluded homogenous country, have the right to do that while Europe and USA, who have a more diverse and open societies, dont' have the right to do same? Are these two worlds comparable or do we have to draw a line?
3 Aren't in Europe or USA clubs and pubs where people are also sorted out based on their race, background, even looks? Isn't it the same when a bouncer rejects you entering a club because he judges you on your appearance or prejudice? Or is it up to the owner of a pub, bar or club to decide which or what kind of people he likes to let in his facilities?
4 Is it excusable, if a bar had problems with a certain group of people like drunk Russian sailors, rude American soldiers or a noisy group of Filipinos to bar those groups from entering? Can a German club bar Turks from entering, because they behave in a way that Germans don't like? Can a club owned by a black American refuse White people entering, because they want to be an exclusive club for blacks only?
5 Is it ok for a foreign person going to another country and demand to be treated the same way as the natives? Or do you have to accept that as a foreigner, if you're trying to be part of a very homogenous secluded society, that you may never be fully accepted as one of them, no matter how hard you try? Is it worth to fight for these 'Japanese only' signs to be removed, while it's clear that (wheather there's a sign or not), you're as a non-native not always everywhere welcome. Isn't it better to accept that some will places will never welcome you and you therefore just go to a different place where you are welcome as a guest?
6 Does that mean that Japan is a racist country? Or does it prove nothing, because 60 signs (or even if there was 1000 or more) in a country with around 130 million inhabitants is insignificant? How do you know if a society in general is racist and ignorant towards foreigners? When does it pose a real problem and when is it just a small thing blown out of proportion? Are we in the West really that better? Or are we even worse with our phony political correctness, because in real we are racist, but we pretend not to be?
This topic is very complex, that's why I hid my opinion in questions, which I hope some of you are willing to answer for me. I don't have straight or simple answers on this topic and I guess it's because there are none. Or are there?
1 Do you think these signs are clearly racist? Or do you think some are clearly racist, but some others are just put out to reassure their main customers, the Japanese people, who don't like to mingle with foreigners and would therefore feel unwell or uncomfortable in a pub or club with foreigners, who in their eyes, don't know the Japanese language and rules of conduct so well? Or are Japanese people (in general) racist?
2 Do Japanese people have the right to have 'only Japanese' pubs, bars and clubs in their own country? If the same right would be applied in USA, Britain or Germany with 'only whites' would that be same? Would that be more racist or same racist? Does Japan, a historically secluded homogenous country, have the right to do that while Europe and USA, who have a more diverse and open societies, dont' have the right to do same? Are these two worlds comparable or do we have to draw a line?
3 Aren't in Europe or USA clubs and pubs where people are also sorted out based on their race, background, even looks? Isn't it the same when a bouncer rejects you entering a club because he judges you on your appearance or prejudice? Or is it up to the owner of a pub, bar or club to decide which or what kind of people he likes to let in his facilities?
4 Is it excusable, if a bar had problems with a certain group of people like drunk Russian sailors, rude American soldiers or a noisy group of Filipinos to bar those groups from entering? Can a German club bar Turks from entering, because they behave in a way that Germans don't like? Can a club owned by a black American refuse White people entering, because they want to be an exclusive club for blacks only?
5 Is it ok for a foreign person going to another country and demand to be treated the same way as the natives? Or do you have to accept that as a foreigner, if you're trying to be part of a very homogenous secluded society, that you may never be fully accepted as one of them, no matter how hard you try? Is it worth to fight for these 'Japanese only' signs to be removed, while it's clear that (wheather there's a sign or not), you're as a non-native not always everywhere welcome. Isn't it better to accept that some will places will never welcome you and you therefore just go to a different place where you are welcome as a guest?
6 Does that mean that Japan is a racist country? Or does it prove nothing, because 60 signs (or even if there was 1000 or more) in a country with around 130 million inhabitants is insignificant? How do you know if a society in general is racist and ignorant towards foreigners? When does it pose a real problem and when is it just a small thing blown out of proportion? Are we in the West really that better? Or are we even worse with our phony political correctness, because in real we are racist, but we pretend not to be?
This topic is very complex, that's why I hid my opinion in questions, which I hope some of you are willing to answer for me. I don't have straight or simple answers on this topic and I guess it's because there are none. Or are there?
[Photos: Source]
6 KAFKAESQUE COMMENTS:
I think the signs are blatantly racist, but they're there for a reason. I imagine the sign about no US military is because of incidents were US military personnel have done not so nice things to Japanese girls. Also, the majority of Filipinas in Japan are there as "entertainers", so I can understand that one too. They want to maintain an image of being an upscale club. The rest (of the ones you have here anyways) of these signs are just ridiculous. I always thought Japan was a much more progressive country than this.
On the other hand, when I had a layover in Japan I saw some American Air Force personnel that were being loud and obnoxious and acting like douche-bags. I can sort of understand why they don't want them around.
This raises a bigger issue. Why is it that so many foreigners go abroad and embarrass not only themselves but their home countries as well? Don't people understand that they're a representative of where they're from?
None of these signs would be up in the first place if there wasn't an action or event to cause it. Well, in most cases anyways. Some of it might be blatant racism.
One I can say with near certainty is racism, and that's the one about China. There's a long history between China and Japan and Japanese have long seen Chinese as inferior.
Anyhow, just my 2 cents...
June 21, 2009 12:22 AM
@Brad, you made some excellent points! I just think we have to distinguish between those who bar foreigners because they had bad experiences with them and those who are flat out racist (like the last one barring Chinese). But some of those pubs are run by Yakuza, tha Japanese mob (I read). I wouldn't wanna go there anyway. Would you?
June 21, 2009 2:57 AM
Gosh...and I thought Australians are discriminative.
June 22, 2009 4:34 AM
@Jerine, well, we can't generalize that Japanese are racist, but we can't deny that they have some issues in that regard. At least some of them.
June 22, 2009 4:56 AM
Sorry for the late reply. I dont even know what I feel about it now I have been here so long.
Before I came to Japan I would be like wtf thats bs so rascist etc.
Now I am here I don't really care to tell the truth. It is there country so to speak. If someone owns property and doesn't want people of certain race groups to go in then whatever I guess.
Not being allowed into schools or to do stuff that will improve your life is when the line gets crossed I think. A bar doesnt really mean shit.
But it is a messed up situation. In life certain people can really spoil things for the majority. I think it is a mixture of that and a bit of ignorance from the people living in Japan.
Meh I dont really know I can probably talk about this for like 10-20 pages lol.
June 30, 2009 12:59 PM
@Prometheus, hey no problem, man. Thanx for your comment. I totally agree with you. Few bars and pubs and onsens don't matter as much as the racism in the system, which may not be as obvious, but it's way more discriminating. Yea, it's a never ending topic.
June 30, 2009 11:05 PM
Post a Kafkaesque comment!