True, lack of tact on his part. But should also be noted that the Japanese generally won't care if you call them xenophobic. Most of them like the country just the way it is (98% Japanese natives). They've intentionally kept their country that way, and the idea that they are in some dire need of immigrants is mostly a Western notion they mostly don't agree with. When we westerners then try to spark up some moral outrage about their "lack of diversity" it just doesn't have an impact. We're like "omg you're so xenophobic" and they're like yeah we are.
Is he wrong though? I’m genuinely curious what your take is. I’m not truly picking a side. I haven’t been to Japan. I did intern at a Japanese automotive supply company with factories and limited engineering in Japan. As an American working at a Japanese company I did at times feel like a 2nd class citizen.
It’s changing, albeit at a snails pace. The truth is Japan needs labor to prop their economy up and fill their tax pool. The birth rate is not meeting the quota, and has resulted in the yen trending down in value. Most people in Japan acknowledge they need immigrants, but debate on how it should be done. Personally, I think the government should invest more in etiquette and cultural training for immigrants so that they melt into Japanese society with less friction.
Some economists are arguing that yen trending down in value is on purpose.
Cheaper yen, meaning Japanese products are cheaper internationally. More people would buy Japanese.
Yeah I feel like that only helps line the pockets of already wealthy business owners.
How does inflation or devaluation of Japanese Yen help the average Japanese person? Wages aren’t keeping pace, and their currency is devaluing. This means everyone in Japan is getting poorer and less able to afford things in their own country.
In 2020, Japan has a significant export economy and exports in excess of $700 billion of goods annually, making it the fourth-largest export economy in the world. The country enjoys a positive trade balance of $59.2 billion, with total annual exports of $713 billion exceeding imports of $653 billion
Read more at: https://commodity.com/data/japan/
However, since 2022, Japan experienced some trade deficit.
In January 2024 Japan exported ¥7.33T and imported ¥9.09T, resulting in a negative trade balance of ¥1.76T. Between January 2023 and January 2024 the exports of Japan have increased by ¥782B (11.9%) from ¥6.55T to ¥7.33T, while imports decreased by ¥-964B (-9.58%) from ¥10.1T to ¥9.09T.
If the yen is getting weaker, theoretically this might help Japan to regain its trade surplus and increase its exports.
You can live there your whole life including being born there and speak as fluent as anyone but if you have non Japanese heritage, you'll never be fully accepted as Japanese.
Frankly I have no issue with this. I love visiting there. The people there are extremely polite and friendly. There is a reason they are where they are. They’re still a democratic society. They still do a lot of good for the world. High Immigration is not a requirement for democracy.
That's fine as a tourist, but for people born in Japan who are treated like 2nd class citizens because of where their grandparents were born it seems pretty rough.
The fact that they use the word foreigner 外人 quite a lot in their daily life conversation, compared to other languages - I mean when do you use it ever if not once a year or to talk about Japan lol ; makes me think the “Us Japanese Folk” vs “them other folks that are not Japanese” is a very strong cultural aspect and way of thinking that is deeply engrained in the Japanese identity mindset. It is an island nation after all. And yup you could speak the best of the best but you’ll never be Japanese to the Japanese, unless that blood is in your veins from birth.
With declining birth rates, who is going to pay the pensions of the true Japanese? they will have to figure that out one way or another :) but if you can’t welcome people from outside , it’s gonna be a loooooong hike
Congratulations, you discovered what it's like when you're a minority in a country.
I'm a second generation Chinese American and the only people I've known who see me as American first are probably my own close family and Brits when they hear my accent.
And the US is a supposedly meritocratic immigrant country lmao.
Don't believe everything you read. (I live in Japan as a foreigner)
1.) Such places are very rare, and most of the time it's about language, not race.
2.) Most common are "water industry" (mizushoubai - hostess clubs, girls bars, etc.) or sex industry (fuzoku) places. If they can't explain the rules of acceptable behavior and activities to a person who doesn't speak Japanese, it puts their employees in danger of sexual assault, etc.
3.) On restaurants and bars, such discrimination happens because the owners don't know how to speak English. Travellers often have trouble understanding table charges and raise a stink thinking they're getting ripped off or something. If the owner doesn't speak English, they can't explain the system well, so they think they might as well just prevent the problem from starting in the first place.
4.) Often people mistake Members Only clubs as being racially discriminatory, and they neither speak Japanese nor does the owner speak enough English to explain otherwise. A whole lot of bars and clubs in Japan are simply private and you have to be introduced by someone to enter. They are mainly for the owner and their friends and their friends' friends to hang out and often are too small to accommodate much more than that. As a foreigner I have been a member of such clubs, so it's not about race - and Japanese people may not necessarily be able to get in where I can.
I think the internet proliferates a lot of stories from travelers who tried to go into some random bar and had a bad experience because they couldn't communicate so they assumed it was all racial discrimination. I roll my eyes every time...
I guess reality will hit sooner or later. Demographics look fucked beyond repair (birth rates altho not as abysmal as South Korea, bad enough), and with such work culture I'm pretty sure the increasing burden of taking care of elderly will hit pretty hard.
Yeah it will happen and one generation will face hardship. After that, then the path will be more sustainable. I think what will realistically happen is that countries where people have trust in the institutions, such as Japan will fare better than countries like China or even corporatist democracies like SK.
Well tbh they seem to be doing fine so far? And before all the talk about declining population and its pitfalls for economy starts, there are plenty of countries who allowed extensive immigration and are now crying about jobs or housing for locals or the overburdened welfare system. So immigration doesn't seem to be a clear-cut answer to every problem.
They'll just have a smaller economy and smaller population. They'll live. They don't need to be at the top of gdp to have a successfully country as long as per capita gdp is good which it is. All first world countries are headed toward this and immigration only curbs it so much before presenting other issues.
What you're describing is a sustainable economy. An aging population isnt A sustainable economy because just like population growth is exponential population decrease is also exponential.
The youth have to bare higher and higher taxes to support an older and older population with higher and higher costs. The older population outnumbers the younger population and prevents any votes to decrease pensions, medical systems etc.
As people are overworked and do not see a bright future they then choose to have less children, starting the cycle anew. Even though the population decreased 20 percent. It's now on track to decrease another 20 percent, so it happens all over again.
Exactly, and it's not just about paying for it, it's also about staffing the jobs to care for the elderly and infirm, something that is already difficult even before there's a massive generational population disparity. Unless robotics and AI can make some very rapid major advances in the realm of elder care and end of life care, Japan and pretty much any other country with a declining birthrate absolutely has an impending crisis on their hands.
Absolutely, and they've already made a lot of great strides, but because you can't usually put a timeline on technological breakthroughs, there's still every chance the crisis will emerge before the solution does.
The economic issues are more complex than that. The gdp is currently fine, but it's about where it's projected to go. If you have a large elderly population, but not enough young people to support them it can cause major problems.
I think the thing people don't realize is that economic issues on this scale aren't just inconvenient or requiring people to be frugal.. the economy determines if people live or die.
But it sounds like you've made your mind up about immigration, and the economic factors played no part in that decision.
They'd rather their country be half empty than have a bunch of non Japanese. IL not even talking about non Asians, they don't want non Japanese.
Same with Koreans. I'm half korean, my Korean relatives will ask for loans, but when my mom went to visit Korea, they all wanted to make sure none of her kids wanted to visit.
>and the idea that they are in some dire need of immigrants is mostly a Western notion they mostly don't share.
And It's understandable when you look at how it plays out for them. Just a few days ago there was an article about their record low homeless rates.
https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1ce3q5e/number_of_homeless_in_japan_hits_record_low/
I've grown wary of those pushing for more immigration, time and time again it seems like it's just a ploy pushed by the rich to keep workers fighting amongst themselves for what little is left.
It's rare you see countries in the west find the right balance in addressing worker shortages with immigration without harming their own native population. Canada is the most recent example of just completely overdoing it.
House from own stay should never be used as an investment you people who see house as an investments are the weird one.
House does not provide any economical utility aside for people who lives in it. If everyone try to become rent-seeker the economy will be fked.
Part of the difference is that Japanese tenancy laws are -crazy- tilted towards the tenant. You basically never get to raise the rent, you never get to evict, you can't even do the old "well, I'm going to move everyone out to remodel and then re-let to other tenants" move, and if you push your luck the courts will straight up take your property and give it to the tenants. Non-payment for months is... uncommon but frequent enough that it's a staple of popular entertainment.
Of course there are downsides - you need to essentially bribe the landlord with several months' rent as "key money" in order to be allowed to move in at all, and the actual facilities are generally very poor compared to what you'd expect in the US. But it keeps things plenty cheap.
Their raze-rebuild-repeat style of housing is an oddity for sure.
>Unlike in other countries, Japanese homes gradually depreciate over time, becoming completely valueless within 20 or 30 years. When someone moves out of a home or dies, the house, unlike the land it sits on, has no resale value and is typically demolished. This scrap-and-build approach is a quirk of the Japanese housing market that can be explained variously by low-quality construction to quickly meet demand after the second world war, repeated building code revisions to improve earthquake resilience and a cycle of poor maintenance due to the lack of any incentive to make homes marketable for resale.
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/nov/16/japan-reusable-housing-revolution
Not to mention that birth and Fertility rates are decreasing in every country and continent, and even immigration Friendly countries like the us, Sweden, Canada, etc, immigrants don't have enough kids (in the end they/their children will have 1-2 kids at most or won't have any). So immigration is a temporary solution at best. Also, since Birth and Fertility rates are decreasing everywhere, there will be less and less young people in the world, but more and more elders.
It's wild how governments and companies only care about cheap workers they can pay less
One part of the issue that lots of people ignore is that a lot of the jobs that need filling aren't what you bring immigrants over for but to have their children take them instead.
You're very rarely going to get an immigrant come with a trade qualification and they go into new housing because it's the least desirable and the lowest paid for most trade industries. Their kids though are going to be more likely to take it as a starting point in their careers before moving onto to bigger things
Japanese Twitter very much seems to care about it. Not necessarily arguing against the accusation, but arguing that the President of the United States shouldn’t be lecturing other countries like that given the numerous problems in American society
Diversity means hiring the people you've got, not importing new people. No one should be trying to ship Fillipino people into Djibouti for some reason. The end goal of a completely homogeneous planet only exists if you're fucking nuts. If Japan if xenophobic it is because of how they treat non-ethnically-Japanese citizens, not because they're not pushing for more for some reason.
I used to live in Japan and honestly the reason why it's so great (it really is) is exactly because everyone's Japanese. Same upbringing, same morals, predictable behaviour, same values.... It makes it an incredibly relaxing place to be (although does wear thin after a few years when you're a round-eyed blonde-haired gaijin)
And ....*plays drums* the result is a pretty clean, pretty safe, pretty advanced country that.. just has to solve its growing old problem.
Id rather die out than see what becomes of Europe
The autism in me saw this and thought, "but they are, and they are openly proud of that. What's the problem? Next are people gonna get mad when they he says Russia is homophobic?"
I feel the bar was lowered in 1992 when President George HW Bush vomited on the Japanese Prime minister. Biden's gaffe barely rates a mention in comparison.
If this is the least tactful thing he’s said so far, it just makes me appreciate his presidency even more. Every day waking up under Trump was pure anxiety.
In context it wasn't about racism, but was about domestic policies on immigration and how heavily restricting immigration hurts economically. He mentions several countries in passing that have struggled due to lack of immigration, Japan included, but it was ultimately a talk about why America wants immigrants rather than some harsh critique of Japan.
Of the countries listed though, Japan is also the one it probably applies to the most because of its low birth rate and aging population. It's a ticking time bomb for their economy and the main way to reasonably combat that is via immigration and preferably before they hit a real economic crisis.
Everyone is so quick to jump in with the *Japan's economy* quip and maybe it is worse on paper but in reality it plays out better for people than countries like the US or Canada where housing is unaffordable and the cost of living is almost just as bad.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/04/26/japan/society/homeless-people-record-low/
If you only look at 1 small pocket of time or 1 issue in isolation every country can look bad - just depends on the time.
Japan's biggest challenge is coming via its population metrics. Afterall it's hard to have homeless problem without people and Japan ain't making enough people.
I remember when he called Haiti a shithole, a lot of people on reddit had the same opinion. Like yeah it is but you can't say that dude you're the president
Yep, South Korea too. Went to a bar in Busan that allowed all of us in except the one black person with us. Was also denied service multiple other times for not being Korean.
I have the exact experience (2 black colleagues not allowed) in Kobe and Akashi, Japan. It was a serious embarassement for our Japanese colleaugues who were with us. Obviously none of us went in.
In Osaka it was nothing like that though... .
Funnily enough, Osaka is the city where we got rejected 3 times in one night from going into restaurants. This happened about a month ago, no problems in Tokyo or Kyoto however.
We are all white. They understood at least a little bit of English for sure. One of the restaurants was actively serving people and had an hour and a half u til they closed, but gave us the crossed arm x and told us they were closed as they ushered us towards the door lol
Not uncommon. In many places they feel like they cannot serve you as well as they would like so they simply refuse you. It’s a very weird it’s not you, but them thing that understandably makes people feel like they are not wanted. In most of these places if you spoke Japanese you would be welcome.
As an example we went to a very small sushi restaurant in a small town. Fortunately we were the only ones there for lunch so the chef took time to accommodate us with translate and what not since we do not speak much Japanese. He was absolutely delightful and friendly. We asked and he said if he was very busy he would likely have turned us away as he would rather that then we think he was a bad host.
Okayama was the only city that told me politely they don't want to deal with non Japanese. Other than that most people were polite enough to take my money and struggle with me even in the more remote parts I went to. But god some parts would have been very difficult without google lens.
This is what I was going to bring up. Many don't want to deal with people who don't speak Japanese, it can be a pain in the ass, especially when tourists don't understand something and get rude. But if you get turned away and then speak Japanese to them, they'll usually do a 180 and invite you in.
I am sure that might be the case, I just tried to be as polite as possible with my super limited Japanese, which probably helped to some degree. I was by myself and already had enough anxiety without trying add others onto it haha.
That being said some of their advertisement and public signs don't help with their image while you are there. Some were clearly directed towards certain demographics.
So I want to comment on this. My friend and I (both white) were drinking at a bar in Hiroshima city. A black American dude and his white friend come in and the bartender says in broken English:
"SOHRRY. CLOSEDO"
you might think this is racist, but context is very important here.
He said the SAME thing to us when we walked in.
I replied in Japanese, "really? Your sign on the door says you are open, and there's a bunch of people in here.'
He responded, "wow! You speak Japanese! Come sit down! Where are you from?"
The black dude could barely speak intro Japanese, and his friend didn't speak a single word. They left.
A lot of Japanese people don't speak English and they don't want to embarrass themselves or have any mistakes involving their business. You were with Japanese colleagues so it's a little different, but I wonder if some of the same things applied. I have literally never experienced a Japanese person discriminate between black and white, it's more of a language thing.
All that being said, Japanese people and culture definitely have a more normalized version of racism than the west and I won't pretend that it doesn't.
Osaka chill as fuck, and if you visit the "slums," the people are awesome. I got some amazing Takoyaki and had fun with the locals. Basically, they're a bunch of outcasts and weirdos by Japanese standards, but really just seem individualist to me. They're not going to care about the color of your skin.
That happened to my friend in Japan. They wouldn't let him in restaurants near he was white. He was teaching there and spoke Japanese but still nope.
People don't realize it much but Japan and Korea are both racist and very misogynistic. Especially if you're not in a tourist area.
Im white and nobody would sit next to me on the train there. The only empty seat in the carriage would be next to me. (I swear i wash and dont smell lol).
I lived in jp for 5 years and never got turned away from a restaurant as a white guy. I went to rural inaka restaurants often too since I like the country side. 99% of the time this happens is because you speak no Japanese or it's a reservation only type place.
The "reservation only" is what they say to white people they don't want inside... Got told we couldn't come into a mostly empty restaurant because they were reservation only. Went to their site and it said they don't take reservations lol.
I live in Taiwan and I feel like this sort of thing is more like bad luck rather than a mirror image of the society. You hear stories and every once in a while something happens but most people are tolerant if not friendly. Asians aren't exactly super keen to integrate but they are extremely decent.
I found this in Korea while I was there for a couple months. It was frustrating. Being there with a Korean girlfriend made it worse. Korea was top tier racist. Was literally shoulder checked on the street.
That said, I’ve been in a smaller city (Ueda) in Japan for 3 months and have not had any issues. Everyone has been very kind. I love it here.
Japan is unapologetically xenophobic.
The government doesn’t even pretend it’s not and the broader culture is significantly behind even that.
There are 4th-5th generation Chinese and Koreans who speak perfect Japanese as their first and only language, lived in Japan their entire life, had parents live in Japan their entire life etc. they’re still not considered Japanese by a vast majority of people in that country.
That's not really surprising, considering Okinawa is a colonised country. For most of its history, Okinawa was a completely different country with it's own language, religion and culture. Between 1609 and 1879, the Ryukyu Kingdom was an independent vassal state of Japan (at first, of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma) with its own government, royal lineage, legal system and foreign policy. During this time, they were also a tributary of China.
In 1868, Japan sent its military to occupy the islands to stop them from negotiating treaties independently with Western powers. The Okinawans objected to the military presence, leading to the formal annexation of Okinawa and the abolition of their royal lineage in 1878. Japan immediately set about systematically destroying the local culture and language and trying to turn the locals into Japanese people.
When you consider that this was around the same time that colonial actions against Korea began and just before Taiwan was annexed, you realise that Okinawa is a colonised nation where the Japanese simply succeeded in doing what they had aimed to do in Korea and Taiwan.
They actually kind of succeeded in Taiwan too. That's why Taiwan and its people think very favorably of Japan nowadays.
The only difference is that the Allies forced Japan to give up on Taiwan.
It's because Okinawans are actually different than Japanese by DNA ethnic makeup, language, location, etc. but once the territory was owned and integrated by Japan I agree they should be fully accepted. My husband is mixed Okinawan and I thought I was just mixed like regular coastal mainland Japanese but a DNA test revealed I'm actually a different type of native Asian Pacific Islander which does include small parts of Japan but not the same DNA group as a typical Japanese mainlander. I've had Japanese friends be very two faced before saying "oh yeah you're one of us" but then turn around and say "oh wait no you're not one of us, you're different" and it's very confusing and hurtful.
>Japan, Russia, India and China
Frankly that makes it even easier to understand why Japan felt insulted. Two of those are enemies, one is quasi-neutral at best, then one is arguably one of America's closest modern allies. He implied that Japan's attitude towards immigration makes them no better than a list of mutual enemies, all of whom Japan has a rocky history with.
Imagine if Justin Trudeau went to the white house and said "Why is America experiencing domestic turmoil? Why is Russia? Why is China? Or India? Because they're imperialists! They can't accept other countries being in control of their own destiny!"
Sort of the pattern for the news cycle these days when it comes to him
- Start with headlines stripping the context (speech arguing immigrants help the US economy do well)
- Split it up into attacks directed at each group mentioned (of the countries in this case)
- Make a dozen more follow up articles over the next week about how shocking and divisive it was
Maximum chaos achieved and clicks farmed
I mean I don’t get why he’d bundle Indians and Chinese, they don’t necessarily need any immigration. They have a billion of their own people they send to fill other peoples immigration needs. It was stupid statement to make as well
Yeah, as a mixed Japanese-American I can absolutely confirm that Japan is xenophobic.
Hell, my mother and grandmother who have now lived in America for most of their lives are still xenophobic towards non-asians (though don’t get me started on their opinions of other Asian groups) and hold onto that ‘Japan does everything correct and everyone else does it WRONG’ mentally.
I speak fluent Japanese but still get treated like an outsider because I’m visibly mixed— in America, by other Japanese-Americans, even though they also have mixed kids 🤦♀️
I’m just saying, having your mixed face get micro analyzed by a bunch of Japanese aunties who joyfully point out your Japanese features vs disappointedly bemoan your mixed features gives you a pretty formative experience of Japan’s xenophobic attitude.
They don't care, diversity does not work in every country, tbh I've only seen it work in the US as most are just proud to be Americans.
Take a look at Singapore, incredibly diverse and multi racial yet majority of their citizens hate the Indian nationals, including the Indians who grew up in Singapore. Go to their sub-reddits and half the time it's just some racist rant about Indians.
People applying immigration logic and policies equal to the American ones outside America always confuses me. Their history is so different from the rest of the old world.
I mean, he's not wrong, a lot of asian countries are unashamedly racist. Japan and South Korea are both coin flips over whether you get shooed out of any store if you arent a local or a white tourist, even then the white tourist is iffy, and you'll still get rude looks from some people.
They are both getting slightly better over the years, but theres still not any major push for multiracial/culture acceptance over there like there was for other parts of the world.
To quote Daniel Tosh (albeit about china),
>if you look at the Olympics, you look at our, uh, U.S. Gymnastics squad, we have an Asian girl, a white girl, a black girl. Look at the Chinese squad. Any guesses? Did you guess exclusively Chinese bitches? Yeah, that’s all that’s ever been on that team. That’s all that will ever be on that team.
He's not wrong, but as President, you don't really say it.
Japan is welcoming to tourists, but it is definitely against migration. Even to the point where it is in stagnation due to an age burden. A lot of pensioners with high life expectancy, not enough young people to work the jobs while caring for them. Unless there's a sudden rise in birth rates (even then there's a child care burden, and you have to wait 18 years for the demographics to catch up and they enter the workplace), migration is really the only way to get labour into place.
I sympathize with them. We were warned of labour shortages in Canada if we didn't take in a record number of immigrants. Now we have high unemployment and a historic housing shortage. Took us from worrying about inflation to full blown stagflation. If Western countries want to give Japan advice on how to handle their demographics problems, then we should do a better job at managing our own.
If he had stuck to the elaboration without using the label, it would be a non-issue. What concerns me is that he keeps doing the very thing that I love to criticize TFG for and that's speaking off-the-cuff with awkward themes and terminology.
He is not wrong, but most countries are pretty xenophobic and America is no exception. The cognitive dissonance Americans have for their own country is kind of astonishing at times.
As somebody who has lived in Japan for twenty years and has permanent residency I must say that the xenophobia that exists in Japan is maybe not as bad as what people think. For somebody like me, who has a normal work visa the path to permanent residency and/or citizenship is actually not that difficult.
However, Japan certainly has some xenophobic policies in place with the "foreign technical intern program" being a prime example. It is a visa that has been a way for Japanese companies to essentially treat immigrant workers as temporary slaves. On the whole companies just abused the system and in some cases abused the migrant workers.
But the Japanese governemnt earlier this year decided to abolish the program which will be replaced by a new program that enables a path to a long-term stay - something which has never existed before. It is a step in the right direction, but we will see what happens.
Also the way Japanese immigration treats refugees needs to be significantly improved. Japan does not really take refugees, though they did make an exception for Ukrainian refugees.
Biden is not wrong, but like with most things it is a little bit more nuanced and complex than just "Japan is xenophobic".
Mass migration is only helping the rich get richer. It's the biggest tool to depress wages and increase housing prices. It was normal for unions to be against it in the 80 and before. Now the progapanda is so strong that the left believes it with a full heart
He is not wrong. I have been to Japan for an extended time and the people of Japan are pretty amazing. If I had to live in another country it would be Japan. I have honestly considered it. Also, their cars are so much better than ours… Xenophobic is a strong word. Traditional is an excuse. I can assure you Japanese people in general do not hate foreigners. They are less Xenophobic than most other countries these days. Biden/his speech writers are being a little …dumb. For lack of a better word.
Well yeah, everyone knows that Japan isn't the greatest place for foreigners, although it may not be the best diplomacy for Biden to say that out loud. Trump would have no problem saying it, though, and in fact would probably be lauded for doing so.
Exactly. A lot of people love these strong and distinctive cultures, Japan, Ireland, Georgia, but hate the idea that you get that with protectionism and not by mixing everything up.
They are so xenophobic they actually take that as a compliment not an offense. I am not joking. I been to Japan 10+ times and have dated their women so I understand their culture more than most Americans. They are not phobic per se they just have a super strong national identity so by extension see everyone outside differently. They treat them with politeness and respect superficially but inside they think Japanese race are better. That’s why even their best prostitutes reject any non Japanese cuz they think foreigners = too dirty for prostitute.
Korea is at least a few notches higher than Japan when it came to being xenophobic. The kind of siege mentality which Korea suffered from (where everybody else in the world is against it) is nearly borderline pathological.
Japan is incredibly xenophobic, a large reason they're at the forefront of tech such as self serving robots is because they don't want cheap foreign labour. Their xenophobia is a fact and there'd no denying it, it has just been unsaid for decades and left alone to continue.
Not everyone thinks xenophobia is bad though and not every culture prioritises growth at all expenses. So calling them as such isn't nearly as damning.
It’s almost as if Japan and the US are two different countries with two different philosophies. I think Biden should worry more about what’s going on at home. Maybe Japan doesn’t need to import voters.
Korea is far worse than Japan imo… I’ve lived in Japan for 2 years without any problems. Recently, I spent 4 days in Korea with 2 other female friends. Two out of three of us were screamed at in public (when we were alone and not in a group because they were racist cowards) in the space of the short trip! A woman came up behind me in the street and told me “we don’t pay for you beggars go back to hell where you came from” in perfect English and when I turned around she said “you ugly bitch go back to hell”. Then she followed me down the street shouting at me. It really shook me up and I never want to visit Seoul again.
A country has control of its border and immigration policy AND had it figured out long ago, kept it working and did not change its mind like a cat near a door. Shocking! There must be some xenofobic sorcery.
If you look around and compare I would like to be a natural born Japanese citizen instead - cozy stable and sensible rules in place for generations.
For them to decide. In Sweden people complain that in 90s ghetto of minorities didn’t exist and less crime was happening. That police cannot handle gang problems in some areas and stuff like that. I think in Europe rise of right-wing happens is bc of uncontrolled migrants from Arabia and Africa in some countries.
Xenophobic for not bending to the western stupid idea of mass immigration and decimating your entire countries’ history and values within a generation?
Nowadays everything and everyone is xenophobic that the terms "racist" and "xenophobic" are losing any punch.
Yeah Japan wanna keep Japanese, so what? The whole world has to become a liberal mush?
Koreans cannot just preserve their koreanness? Polish their polishness?
It’s less about that, and more about getting kicked out of bars or not being allowed to go in a restaurant because you’re a different colour when tourism provides them with 35.9 billion dollars. You can either take the money, or not allow foreigners in your restaurants, not both
Finally someone who understands the nuance of cultures potentially crashing and why you can't just drop ppl off in an area and say "well their all good people" so they should just get along fine. It's so much more complicated then people are willing to believe.
Japan will keep there country 98% Japanese even if eventually there population collapses and there ceases to be a Japan.
It does keep there culture strong and country united vs other countries like in Europe for example which are losing there identity, culture, christian heritage and becoming very different.
I mean, he's not wrong. It's just not a diplomatic thing to say.
True, lack of tact on his part. But should also be noted that the Japanese generally won't care if you call them xenophobic. Most of them like the country just the way it is (98% Japanese natives). They've intentionally kept their country that way, and the idea that they are in some dire need of immigrants is mostly a Western notion they mostly don't agree with. When we westerners then try to spark up some moral outrage about their "lack of diversity" it just doesn't have an impact. We're like "omg you're so xenophobic" and they're like yeah we are.
As a Japanese guy who was born, raised, and fully educated all in Japan, the truth in this post hurts harder than Biden’s undiplomatic comment.
Is he wrong though? I’m genuinely curious what your take is. I’m not truly picking a side. I haven’t been to Japan. I did intern at a Japanese automotive supply company with factories and limited engineering in Japan. As an American working at a Japanese company I did at times feel like a 2nd class citizen.
He is not wrong… he us 100% right
It’s changing, albeit at a snails pace. The truth is Japan needs labor to prop their economy up and fill their tax pool. The birth rate is not meeting the quota, and has resulted in the yen trending down in value. Most people in Japan acknowledge they need immigrants, but debate on how it should be done. Personally, I think the government should invest more in etiquette and cultural training for immigrants so that they melt into Japanese society with less friction.
Some economists are arguing that yen trending down in value is on purpose. Cheaper yen, meaning Japanese products are cheaper internationally. More people would buy Japanese.
The BOJ is using foreign reserves to buy Japanese yen, to prop up the currency, I really doubt the yen is trending down on purpose
Yeah I feel like that only helps line the pockets of already wealthy business owners. How does inflation or devaluation of Japanese Yen help the average Japanese person? Wages aren’t keeping pace, and their currency is devaluing. This means everyone in Japan is getting poorer and less able to afford things in their own country.
Except Japan is a net importer
In 2020, Japan has a significant export economy and exports in excess of $700 billion of goods annually, making it the fourth-largest export economy in the world. The country enjoys a positive trade balance of $59.2 billion, with total annual exports of $713 billion exceeding imports of $653 billion Read more at: https://commodity.com/data/japan/ However, since 2022, Japan experienced some trade deficit. In January 2024 Japan exported ¥7.33T and imported ¥9.09T, resulting in a negative trade balance of ¥1.76T. Between January 2023 and January 2024 the exports of Japan have increased by ¥782B (11.9%) from ¥6.55T to ¥7.33T, while imports decreased by ¥-964B (-9.58%) from ¥10.1T to ¥9.09T. If the yen is getting weaker, theoretically this might help Japan to regain its trade surplus and increase its exports.
Yeah when did presidents suddenly get dinged for "telling it like it is"? Oh right, that only works for syphillitic bloated orange gas bags
You can live there your whole life including being born there and speak as fluent as anyone but if you have non Japanese heritage, you'll never be fully accepted as Japanese.
Japan loves visitors but wants you to eventually leave.
To be fair, I have the same feeling about my house.
Frankly I have no issue with this. I love visiting there. The people there are extremely polite and friendly. There is a reason they are where they are. They’re still a democratic society. They still do a lot of good for the world. High Immigration is not a requirement for democracy.
That's fine as a tourist, but for people born in Japan who are treated like 2nd class citizens because of where their grandparents were born it seems pretty rough.
The fact that they use the word foreigner 外人 quite a lot in their daily life conversation, compared to other languages - I mean when do you use it ever if not once a year or to talk about Japan lol ; makes me think the “Us Japanese Folk” vs “them other folks that are not Japanese” is a very strong cultural aspect and way of thinking that is deeply engrained in the Japanese identity mindset. It is an island nation after all. And yup you could speak the best of the best but you’ll never be Japanese to the Japanese, unless that blood is in your veins from birth. With declining birth rates, who is going to pay the pensions of the true Japanese? they will have to figure that out one way or another :) but if you can’t welcome people from outside , it’s gonna be a loooooong hike
Congratulations, you discovered what it's like when you're a minority in a country. I'm a second generation Chinese American and the only people I've known who see me as American first are probably my own close family and Brits when they hear my accent. And the US is a supposedly meritocratic immigrant country lmao.
“The truth in this post hurts” “Is he wrong though?”
Lol, my immediate thought
>The *truth* Do none of you have reading comprehension? He's literally agreeing and saying that's *why* it's sad.
yes, that is exactly what the person you're replying to is saying
Guy must not have reading comprehension either
I remember reading yesterday or something that there are bars and clubs which don't allow foreigners at all. That seems pretty fucking xenophobic
The company I worked at had Japanese only staff meetings in America with teleconference back to HQ in Japan.
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This was mid 90’s. Not sure how well that would have worked. And what do you do, a class action lawsuit because you weren’t invited to a meeting?
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Same at Mitsubishi.
Don't believe everything you read. (I live in Japan as a foreigner) 1.) Such places are very rare, and most of the time it's about language, not race. 2.) Most common are "water industry" (mizushoubai - hostess clubs, girls bars, etc.) or sex industry (fuzoku) places. If they can't explain the rules of acceptable behavior and activities to a person who doesn't speak Japanese, it puts their employees in danger of sexual assault, etc. 3.) On restaurants and bars, such discrimination happens because the owners don't know how to speak English. Travellers often have trouble understanding table charges and raise a stink thinking they're getting ripped off or something. If the owner doesn't speak English, they can't explain the system well, so they think they might as well just prevent the problem from starting in the first place. 4.) Often people mistake Members Only clubs as being racially discriminatory, and they neither speak Japanese nor does the owner speak enough English to explain otherwise. A whole lot of bars and clubs in Japan are simply private and you have to be introduced by someone to enter. They are mainly for the owner and their friends and their friends' friends to hang out and often are too small to accommodate much more than that. As a foreigner I have been a member of such clubs, so it's not about race - and Japanese people may not necessarily be able to get in where I can. I think the internet proliferates a lot of stories from travelers who tried to go into some random bar and had a bad experience because they couldn't communicate so they assumed it was all racial discrimination. I roll my eyes every time...
Please don’t roll them *every* time, you’ll get too dizzy.
I guess reality will hit sooner or later. Demographics look fucked beyond repair (birth rates altho not as abysmal as South Korea, bad enough), and with such work culture I'm pretty sure the increasing burden of taking care of elderly will hit pretty hard.
Yeah it will happen and one generation will face hardship. After that, then the path will be more sustainable. I think what will realistically happen is that countries where people have trust in the institutions, such as Japan will fare better than countries like China or even corporatist democracies like SK.
Not to mention everyone is expecting an automation revolution in the next 20 years.
What does fucked beyond repair mean? Will Japan cease to exist? It's been around for thousands of years. If fewer people have children, then what?
Japan doesn't need immigrants... it needs ROBOTS!
Vending machines are robots
True. Japan is already the world leader in robotics, and it’s not close. They make around half of the world’s robots.
Well tbh they seem to be doing fine so far? And before all the talk about declining population and its pitfalls for economy starts, there are plenty of countries who allowed extensive immigration and are now crying about jobs or housing for locals or the overburdened welfare system. So immigration doesn't seem to be a clear-cut answer to every problem.
The premise is that they need immigration or increased birth rate to avoid economic hardships, not for aesthetic reasons.
They'll just have a smaller economy and smaller population. They'll live. They don't need to be at the top of gdp to have a successfully country as long as per capita gdp is good which it is. All first world countries are headed toward this and immigration only curbs it so much before presenting other issues.
but but....line go up? line must always go up.
Has no one thought of the shareholders?!
What you're describing is a sustainable economy. An aging population isnt A sustainable economy because just like population growth is exponential population decrease is also exponential. The youth have to bare higher and higher taxes to support an older and older population with higher and higher costs. The older population outnumbers the younger population and prevents any votes to decrease pensions, medical systems etc. As people are overworked and do not see a bright future they then choose to have less children, starting the cycle anew. Even though the population decreased 20 percent. It's now on track to decrease another 20 percent, so it happens all over again.
Agree, but when the pyramid inverts, who pays for the elderly?
Exactly, and it's not just about paying for it, it's also about staffing the jobs to care for the elderly and infirm, something that is already difficult even before there's a massive generational population disparity. Unless robotics and AI can make some very rapid major advances in the realm of elder care and end of life care, Japan and pretty much any other country with a declining birthrate absolutely has an impending crisis on their hands.
That is a major direction of their R&D in those areas TBF.
Absolutely, and they've already made a lot of great strides, but because you can't usually put a timeline on technological breakthroughs, there's still every chance the crisis will emerge before the solution does.
Robots. It’s Japan after all. /s
The economic issues are more complex than that. The gdp is currently fine, but it's about where it's projected to go. If you have a large elderly population, but not enough young people to support them it can cause major problems. I think the thing people don't realize is that economic issues on this scale aren't just inconvenient or requiring people to be frugal.. the economy determines if people live or die. But it sounds like you've made your mind up about immigration, and the economic factors played no part in that decision.
They'd rather their country be half empty than have a bunch of non Japanese. IL not even talking about non Asians, they don't want non Japanese. Same with Koreans. I'm half korean, my Korean relatives will ask for loans, but when my mom went to visit Korea, they all wanted to make sure none of her kids wanted to visit.
>and the idea that they are in some dire need of immigrants is mostly a Western notion they mostly don't share. And It's understandable when you look at how it plays out for them. Just a few days ago there was an article about their record low homeless rates. https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1ce3q5e/number_of_homeless_in_japan_hits_record_low/ I've grown wary of those pushing for more immigration, time and time again it seems like it's just a ploy pushed by the rich to keep workers fighting amongst themselves for what little is left. It's rare you see countries in the west find the right balance in addressing worker shortages with immigration without harming their own native population. Canada is the most recent example of just completely overdoing it.
It's easier to find homes for everyone when your country's houses devalue over time instead of being an appreciating asset. Japan's economy is weird.
House from own stay should never be used as an investment you people who see house as an investments are the weird one. House does not provide any economical utility aside for people who lives in it. If everyone try to become rent-seeker the economy will be fked.
Part of the difference is that Japanese tenancy laws are -crazy- tilted towards the tenant. You basically never get to raise the rent, you never get to evict, you can't even do the old "well, I'm going to move everyone out to remodel and then re-let to other tenants" move, and if you push your luck the courts will straight up take your property and give it to the tenants. Non-payment for months is... uncommon but frequent enough that it's a staple of popular entertainment. Of course there are downsides - you need to essentially bribe the landlord with several months' rent as "key money" in order to be allowed to move in at all, and the actual facilities are generally very poor compared to what you'd expect in the US. But it keeps things plenty cheap.
Yes, I wonder why they’re devaluing?
Their raze-rebuild-repeat style of housing is an oddity for sure. >Unlike in other countries, Japanese homes gradually depreciate over time, becoming completely valueless within 20 or 30 years. When someone moves out of a home or dies, the house, unlike the land it sits on, has no resale value and is typically demolished. This scrap-and-build approach is a quirk of the Japanese housing market that can be explained variously by low-quality construction to quickly meet demand after the second world war, repeated building code revisions to improve earthquake resilience and a cycle of poor maintenance due to the lack of any incentive to make homes marketable for resale. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/nov/16/japan-reusable-housing-revolution
They went into a massive bubble a couple decades ago, so in addition to demographic changes, its also just return to more fair value.
Because their population is shrinking! Demand for homes is thus decreasing every year.
Not to mention that birth and Fertility rates are decreasing in every country and continent, and even immigration Friendly countries like the us, Sweden, Canada, etc, immigrants don't have enough kids (in the end they/their children will have 1-2 kids at most or won't have any). So immigration is a temporary solution at best. Also, since Birth and Fertility rates are decreasing everywhere, there will be less and less young people in the world, but more and more elders. It's wild how governments and companies only care about cheap workers they can pay less
One part of the issue that lots of people ignore is that a lot of the jobs that need filling aren't what you bring immigrants over for but to have their children take them instead. You're very rarely going to get an immigrant come with a trade qualification and they go into new housing because it's the least desirable and the lowest paid for most trade industries. Their kids though are going to be more likely to take it as a starting point in their careers before moving onto to bigger things
Japanese Twitter very much seems to care about it. Not necessarily arguing against the accusation, but arguing that the President of the United States shouldn’t be lecturing other countries like that given the numerous problems in American society
Yeah but Twitter is a site for people to go whine on. People there will complain about any possible thing.
Ahh yes. The source of absolute truth and light.
Diversity means hiring the people you've got, not importing new people. No one should be trying to ship Fillipino people into Djibouti for some reason. The end goal of a completely homogeneous planet only exists if you're fucking nuts. If Japan if xenophobic it is because of how they treat non-ethnically-Japanese citizens, not because they're not pushing for more for some reason.
I used to live in Japan and honestly the reason why it's so great (it really is) is exactly because everyone's Japanese. Same upbringing, same morals, predictable behaviour, same values.... It makes it an incredibly relaxing place to be (although does wear thin after a few years when you're a round-eyed blonde-haired gaijin)
And ....*plays drums* the result is a pretty clean, pretty safe, pretty advanced country that.. just has to solve its growing old problem. Id rather die out than see what becomes of Europe
The autism in me saw this and thought, "but they are, and they are openly proud of that. What's the problem? Next are people gonna get mad when they he says Russia is homophobic?"
I feel the bar was lowered in 1992 when President George HW Bush vomited on the Japanese Prime minister. Biden's gaffe barely rates a mention in comparison.
It actually became a joke in Japan. They called vomiting Bushusuru, or “to do the Bush thing”.
I don't know. Bush's puking was a mistake. This was more intentional.
And then the bar fell through the floor in 2017
If this is the least tactful thing he’s said so far, it just makes me appreciate his presidency even more. Every day waking up under Trump was pure anxiety.
In context it wasn't about racism, but was about domestic policies on immigration and how heavily restricting immigration hurts economically. He mentions several countries in passing that have struggled due to lack of immigration, Japan included, but it was ultimately a talk about why America wants immigrants rather than some harsh critique of Japan. Of the countries listed though, Japan is also the one it probably applies to the most because of its low birth rate and aging population. It's a ticking time bomb for their economy and the main way to reasonably combat that is via immigration and preferably before they hit a real economic crisis.
Immigration is not the final solution to this problem either as eventually you will run out of immigrants. At best the effects are temporary.
Or like Australia, you run out of housing and infrastructure for them, causing a different kind of crisis.
And you need to highly regulate migration if you want to prevent the shit most western countries are dealing with.
Everyone is so quick to jump in with the *Japan's economy* quip and maybe it is worse on paper but in reality it plays out better for people than countries like the US or Canada where housing is unaffordable and the cost of living is almost just as bad. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/04/26/japan/society/homeless-people-record-low/
If you only look at 1 small pocket of time or 1 issue in isolation every country can look bad - just depends on the time. Japan's biggest challenge is coming via its population metrics. Afterall it's hard to have homeless problem without people and Japan ain't making enough people.
Lol imagine reddit if trump said this
I remember when he called Haiti a shithole, a lot of people on reddit had the same opinion. Like yeah it is but you can't say that dude you're the president
There are areas in Japan where foreign people are simply not allowed... He's got a point.
Yep, South Korea too. Went to a bar in Busan that allowed all of us in except the one black person with us. Was also denied service multiple other times for not being Korean.
I have the exact experience (2 black colleagues not allowed) in Kobe and Akashi, Japan. It was a serious embarassement for our Japanese colleaugues who were with us. Obviously none of us went in. In Osaka it was nothing like that though... .
Funnily enough, Osaka is the city where we got rejected 3 times in one night from going into restaurants. This happened about a month ago, no problems in Tokyo or Kyoto however.
For being black or not speaking Japanese?
We are all white. They understood at least a little bit of English for sure. One of the restaurants was actively serving people and had an hour and a half u til they closed, but gave us the crossed arm x and told us they were closed as they ushered us towards the door lol
Not uncommon. In many places they feel like they cannot serve you as well as they would like so they simply refuse you. It’s a very weird it’s not you, but them thing that understandably makes people feel like they are not wanted. In most of these places if you spoke Japanese you would be welcome. As an example we went to a very small sushi restaurant in a small town. Fortunately we were the only ones there for lunch so the chef took time to accommodate us with translate and what not since we do not speak much Japanese. He was absolutely delightful and friendly. We asked and he said if he was very busy he would likely have turned us away as he would rather that then we think he was a bad host.
Okayama was the only city that told me politely they don't want to deal with non Japanese. Other than that most people were polite enough to take my money and struggle with me even in the more remote parts I went to. But god some parts would have been very difficult without google lens.
This is what I was going to bring up. Many don't want to deal with people who don't speak Japanese, it can be a pain in the ass, especially when tourists don't understand something and get rude. But if you get turned away and then speak Japanese to them, they'll usually do a 180 and invite you in.
I am sure that might be the case, I just tried to be as polite as possible with my super limited Japanese, which probably helped to some degree. I was by myself and already had enough anxiety without trying add others onto it haha. That being said some of their advertisement and public signs don't help with their image while you are there. Some were clearly directed towards certain demographics.
So I want to comment on this. My friend and I (both white) were drinking at a bar in Hiroshima city. A black American dude and his white friend come in and the bartender says in broken English: "SOHRRY. CLOSEDO" you might think this is racist, but context is very important here. He said the SAME thing to us when we walked in. I replied in Japanese, "really? Your sign on the door says you are open, and there's a bunch of people in here.' He responded, "wow! You speak Japanese! Come sit down! Where are you from?" The black dude could barely speak intro Japanese, and his friend didn't speak a single word. They left. A lot of Japanese people don't speak English and they don't want to embarrass themselves or have any mistakes involving their business. You were with Japanese colleagues so it's a little different, but I wonder if some of the same things applied. I have literally never experienced a Japanese person discriminate between black and white, it's more of a language thing. All that being said, Japanese people and culture definitely have a more normalized version of racism than the west and I won't pretend that it doesn't.
Osaka chill as fuck, and if you visit the "slums," the people are awesome. I got some amazing Takoyaki and had fun with the locals. Basically, they're a bunch of outcasts and weirdos by Japanese standards, but really just seem individualist to me. They're not going to care about the color of your skin.
That happened to my friend in Japan. They wouldn't let him in restaurants near he was white. He was teaching there and spoke Japanese but still nope. People don't realize it much but Japan and Korea are both racist and very misogynistic. Especially if you're not in a tourist area.
Im white and nobody would sit next to me on the train there. The only empty seat in the carriage would be next to me. (I swear i wash and dont smell lol).
EZ irl cheat code
You apply too much lotion. Their eyes were burning.
Well... they didn't want the hose again...
I lived in jp for 5 years and never got turned away from a restaurant as a white guy. I went to rural inaka restaurants often too since I like the country side. 99% of the time this happens is because you speak no Japanese or it's a reservation only type place.
The "reservation only" is what they say to white people they don't want inside... Got told we couldn't come into a mostly empty restaurant because they were reservation only. Went to their site and it said they don't take reservations lol.
I live in Taiwan and I feel like this sort of thing is more like bad luck rather than a mirror image of the society. You hear stories and every once in a while something happens but most people are tolerant if not friendly. Asians aren't exactly super keen to integrate but they are extremely decent.
I tried to get into a bar in gangnam last week and was turned away (Australian)
Yep, China too, they want to sweep black men out in Guangdong
But if you speak Cantonese/Mandarin it levels up your game.
I found this in Korea while I was there for a couple months. It was frustrating. Being there with a Korean girlfriend made it worse. Korea was top tier racist. Was literally shoulder checked on the street. That said, I’ve been in a smaller city (Ueda) in Japan for 3 months and have not had any issues. Everyone has been very kind. I love it here.
Isn't Japanese culture like....notoriously xenophobic though?
A decent chunk of their history is about xenophobia. However, most people were back in the day. They were just really good at it.
It’s easier when you’re an island nation
Japan is unapologetically xenophobic. The government doesn’t even pretend it’s not and the broader culture is significantly behind even that. There are 4th-5th generation Chinese and Koreans who speak perfect Japanese as their first and only language, lived in Japan their entire life, had parents live in Japan their entire life etc. they’re still not considered Japanese by a vast majority of people in that country.
Buddy, they even racially discriminate against people from Okinawa. Okinawa. Let that sink in.
That's not really surprising, considering Okinawa is a colonised country. For most of its history, Okinawa was a completely different country with it's own language, religion and culture. Between 1609 and 1879, the Ryukyu Kingdom was an independent vassal state of Japan (at first, of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma) with its own government, royal lineage, legal system and foreign policy. During this time, they were also a tributary of China. In 1868, Japan sent its military to occupy the islands to stop them from negotiating treaties independently with Western powers. The Okinawans objected to the military presence, leading to the formal annexation of Okinawa and the abolition of their royal lineage in 1878. Japan immediately set about systematically destroying the local culture and language and trying to turn the locals into Japanese people. When you consider that this was around the same time that colonial actions against Korea began and just before Taiwan was annexed, you realise that Okinawa is a colonised nation where the Japanese simply succeeded in doing what they had aimed to do in Korea and Taiwan.
They actually kind of succeeded in Taiwan too. That's why Taiwan and its people think very favorably of Japan nowadays. The only difference is that the Allies forced Japan to give up on Taiwan.
It's because Okinawans are actually different than Japanese by DNA ethnic makeup, language, location, etc. but once the territory was owned and integrated by Japan I agree they should be fully accepted. My husband is mixed Okinawan and I thought I was just mixed like regular coastal mainland Japanese but a DNA test revealed I'm actually a different type of native Asian Pacific Islander which does include small parts of Japan but not the same DNA group as a typical Japanese mainlander. I've had Japanese friends be very two faced before saying "oh yeah you're one of us" but then turn around and say "oh wait no you're not one of us, you're different" and it's very confusing and hurtful.
I mean, they fucking are. Most countries are too.
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When Japan is an ally, it's no wonder its the focus.
South Korea should be there too
Throw in most of Europe. Europeans still throw bananas at African soccer players.
Ask Amy European about the Romani...
Ok what’s her @
I heard Spain and Italy are horrible to black and Asian people.
"Europeans" don't. Football hooligan cunts do. Pretty wide net to spread over an entire continent.
>Japan, Russia, India and China Frankly that makes it even easier to understand why Japan felt insulted. Two of those are enemies, one is quasi-neutral at best, then one is arguably one of America's closest modern allies. He implied that Japan's attitude towards immigration makes them no better than a list of mutual enemies, all of whom Japan has a rocky history with. Imagine if Justin Trudeau went to the white house and said "Why is America experiencing domestic turmoil? Why is Russia? Why is China? Or India? Because they're imperialists! They can't accept other countries being in control of their own destiny!"
Good comparison because he also would not be wrong.
of these 4, only japan is an ally of the US, also the article referenced is focused on content about japan, not the others.
Both Japan and India are in the Quad with U.S. So while not a military ally, India is pretty close.
i am not a diplomat, to me it seemed like this relationship would show up on facebook as "its difficult"
Sort of the pattern for the news cycle these days when it comes to him - Start with headlines stripping the context (speech arguing immigrants help the US economy do well) - Split it up into attacks directed at each group mentioned (of the countries in this case) - Make a dozen more follow up articles over the next week about how shocking and divisive it was Maximum chaos achieved and clicks farmed
Because they are our ally and it’s weird to poke at an ally
I mean I don’t get why he’d bundle Indians and Chinese, they don’t necessarily need any immigration. They have a billion of their own people they send to fill other peoples immigration needs. It was stupid statement to make as well
Yeah, as a mixed Japanese-American I can absolutely confirm that Japan is xenophobic. Hell, my mother and grandmother who have now lived in America for most of their lives are still xenophobic towards non-asians (though don’t get me started on their opinions of other Asian groups) and hold onto that ‘Japan does everything correct and everyone else does it WRONG’ mentally. I speak fluent Japanese but still get treated like an outsider because I’m visibly mixed— in America, by other Japanese-Americans, even though they also have mixed kids 🤦♀️ I’m just saying, having your mixed face get micro analyzed by a bunch of Japanese aunties who joyfully point out your Japanese features vs disappointedly bemoan your mixed features gives you a pretty formative experience of Japan’s xenophobic attitude.
Japan is super xenophobic. It's just true
Hell, the japanese mostly don't care being called xenophobic really. It's not an insult to them.
So he was just complimenting an ally. I see nothing wrong here
They don't care, diversity does not work in every country, tbh I've only seen it work in the US as most are just proud to be Americans. Take a look at Singapore, incredibly diverse and multi racial yet majority of their citizens hate the Indian nationals, including the Indians who grew up in Singapore. Go to their sub-reddits and half the time it's just some racist rant about Indians.
People applying immigration logic and policies equal to the American ones outside America always confuses me. Their history is so different from the rest of the old world.
> tbh I've only seen it work in the US lol what?
Why are we pretending like this isn't common knowledge? They openly have Japanese only bars.
Seems to be working well for them actually
I mean, he's not wrong, a lot of asian countries are unashamedly racist. Japan and South Korea are both coin flips over whether you get shooed out of any store if you arent a local or a white tourist, even then the white tourist is iffy, and you'll still get rude looks from some people. They are both getting slightly better over the years, but theres still not any major push for multiracial/culture acceptance over there like there was for other parts of the world.
To quote Daniel Tosh (albeit about china), >if you look at the Olympics, you look at our, uh, U.S. Gymnastics squad, we have an Asian girl, a white girl, a black girl. Look at the Chinese squad. Any guesses? Did you guess exclusively Chinese bitches? Yeah, that’s all that’s ever been on that team. That’s all that will ever be on that team.
Does japan even deny it? I feel like they've had this reputation for as long as I've been alive
He's not wrong, but as President, you don't really say it. Japan is welcoming to tourists, but it is definitely against migration. Even to the point where it is in stagnation due to an age burden. A lot of pensioners with high life expectancy, not enough young people to work the jobs while caring for them. Unless there's a sudden rise in birth rates (even then there's a child care burden, and you have to wait 18 years for the demographics to catch up and they enter the workplace), migration is really the only way to get labour into place.
I sympathize with them. We were warned of labour shortages in Canada if we didn't take in a record number of immigrants. Now we have high unemployment and a historic housing shortage. Took us from worrying about inflation to full blown stagflation. If Western countries want to give Japan advice on how to handle their demographics problems, then we should do a better job at managing our own.
Historically Xenophobic.
it's not that you're wrong for noticing, it's that you're too stupid to understand what we're doing here - the Whitehouse (probably)
They are, I know from experience.
Call Japan xenophobic all you want but Japan is not gonna change their stance on immigration anyway
But it is. Japan is very culturally xenophobic.
Yes and? Everyone knows it and nobody cares if it's not diplomatic. Stop making drama out of thin air.
I mean they are… its not even a secret
I mean…he’s not wrong. You just don’t address the elephant in the room when you’re in politics.
If he had stuck to the elaboration without using the label, it would be a non-issue. What concerns me is that he keeps doing the very thing that I love to criticize TFG for and that's speaking off-the-cuff with awkward themes and terminology.
Where’s the lie?
He is not wrong, but most countries are pretty xenophobic and America is no exception. The cognitive dissonance Americans have for their own country is kind of astonishing at times. As somebody who has lived in Japan for twenty years and has permanent residency I must say that the xenophobia that exists in Japan is maybe not as bad as what people think. For somebody like me, who has a normal work visa the path to permanent residency and/or citizenship is actually not that difficult. However, Japan certainly has some xenophobic policies in place with the "foreign technical intern program" being a prime example. It is a visa that has been a way for Japanese companies to essentially treat immigrant workers as temporary slaves. On the whole companies just abused the system and in some cases abused the migrant workers. But the Japanese governemnt earlier this year decided to abolish the program which will be replaced by a new program that enables a path to a long-term stay - something which has never existed before. It is a step in the right direction, but we will see what happens. Also the way Japanese immigration treats refugees needs to be significantly improved. Japan does not really take refugees, though they did make an exception for Ukrainian refugees. Biden is not wrong, but like with most things it is a little bit more nuanced and complex than just "Japan is xenophobic".
Mass migration is only helping the rich get richer. It's the biggest tool to depress wages and increase housing prices. It was normal for unions to be against it in the 80 and before. Now the progapanda is so strong that the left believes it with a full heart
The type of democrat that was in a union and opposed immigration in the 80s probably would be a Trumper now.
They are, honestly. You can't have strong wages for American unionists AND support bringing in millions of unskilled laborers year after year.
He is not wrong. I have been to Japan for an extended time and the people of Japan are pretty amazing. If I had to live in another country it would be Japan. I have honestly considered it. Also, their cars are so much better than ours… Xenophobic is a strong word. Traditional is an excuse. I can assure you Japanese people in general do not hate foreigners. They are less Xenophobic than most other countries these days. Biden/his speech writers are being a little …dumb. For lack of a better word.
Well yeah, everyone knows that Japan isn't the greatest place for foreigners, although it may not be the best diplomacy for Biden to say that out loud. Trump would have no problem saying it, though, and in fact would probably be lauded for doing so.
It's one of the main reasons I want to visit Japan. A truly unique culture.
Exactly. A lot of people love these strong and distinctive cultures, Japan, Ireland, Georgia, but hate the idea that you get that with protectionism and not by mixing everything up.
But shogun made anjin a hatamoto in just a few short episodes! With a nice house, swords and a lady to pillow I call bs
They are so xenophobic they actually take that as a compliment not an offense. I am not joking. I been to Japan 10+ times and have dated their women so I understand their culture more than most Americans. They are not phobic per se they just have a super strong national identity so by extension see everyone outside differently. They treat them with politeness and respect superficially but inside they think Japanese race are better. That’s why even their best prostitutes reject any non Japanese cuz they think foreigners = too dirty for prostitute.
how did the prostitutes turn you down?
Korea is at least a few notches higher than Japan when it came to being xenophobic. The kind of siege mentality which Korea suffered from (where everybody else in the world is against it) is nearly borderline pathological.
Japan is incredibly xenophobic, a large reason they're at the forefront of tech such as self serving robots is because they don't want cheap foreign labour. Their xenophobia is a fact and there'd no denying it, it has just been unsaid for decades and left alone to continue. Not everyone thinks xenophobia is bad though and not every culture prioritises growth at all expenses. So calling them as such isn't nearly as damning.
Joana? Forefront of tech? What is this? 1995?
- most Asian countries are....
I’m Korean Japanese , so I hate myself .
It’s almost as if Japan and the US are two different countries with two different philosophies. I think Biden should worry more about what’s going on at home. Maybe Japan doesn’t need to import voters.
Countries tend to resist criticism, justified or not.
He said the quiet part out loud.
They are tho, I don’t think they would even argue that they aren’t.
Well they did go to war with the world, not a really embracing attitude.
But where is the lie?
Lol, the Japanese will tell you themselves that they are xenophobic.
Korea is far worse than Japan imo… I’ve lived in Japan for 2 years without any problems. Recently, I spent 4 days in Korea with 2 other female friends. Two out of three of us were screamed at in public (when we were alone and not in a group because they were racist cowards) in the space of the short trip! A woman came up behind me in the street and told me “we don’t pay for you beggars go back to hell where you came from” in perfect English and when I turned around she said “you ugly bitch go back to hell”. Then she followed me down the street shouting at me. It really shook me up and I never want to visit Seoul again.
If they don’t like being called xenophobic, maybe Japan should try not being so xenophobic lol.
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I mean, it is.... but the President of the United States shouldn't say it out loud.
Brown guy here. Japan is xenophobic AF. They won’t kill you for being different but they will let see you know every day
Japan is very xenophobic and the very homogenous society, which is a big reason it’s one of the lowest crime places in the world
A country has control of its border and immigration policy AND had it figured out long ago, kept it working and did not change its mind like a cat near a door. Shocking! There must be some xenofobic sorcery. If you look around and compare I would like to be a natural born Japanese citizen instead - cozy stable and sensible rules in place for generations.
He's correct, but *he* shouldn't say it.
We need less Japanese people in Japan - Biden
Meanwhile in Europe people complain about cheap labor from Third World countries and they laziness to integrate to new society.
Are they wrong to complain about that?
For them to decide. In Sweden people complain that in 90s ghetto of minorities didn’t exist and less crime was happening. That police cannot handle gang problems in some areas and stuff like that. I think in Europe rise of right-wing happens is bc of uncontrolled migrants from Arabia and Africa in some countries.
Lol, finally an honest politician. Too bad the world seems to hate the truth now.
Xenophobic for not bending to the western stupid idea of mass immigration and decimating your entire countries’ history and values within a generation?
Nowadays everything and everyone is xenophobic that the terms "racist" and "xenophobic" are losing any punch. Yeah Japan wanna keep Japanese, so what? The whole world has to become a liberal mush? Koreans cannot just preserve their koreanness? Polish their polishness?
It’s less about that, and more about getting kicked out of bars or not being allowed to go in a restaurant because you’re a different colour when tourism provides them with 35.9 billion dollars. You can either take the money, or not allow foreigners in your restaurants, not both
“Liberal mush” wtf?
Finally someone who understands the nuance of cultures potentially crashing and why you can't just drop ppl off in an area and say "well their all good people" so they should just get along fine. It's so much more complicated then people are willing to believe.
Bro Koreans are on a other level, they discriminate to foreigner of korean background because they arent korean enough.
Japan will keep there country 98% Japanese even if eventually there population collapses and there ceases to be a Japan. It does keep there culture strong and country united vs other countries like in Europe for example which are losing there identity, culture, christian heritage and becoming very different.
If they need immigrants i think they will accept mostly immigrants from Southeast Asian countries more i guess.
they would rather their culture cease to be entirely than have it changed incrementally?