Are Japanese people really that racist?

College Confidential Community
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<p>UCLAri, but the issue here is that at least in Europe and in the USA there are many more human rights and anti-discrimination movements and these are actively listened to (to a certain extent?) by their respective governments.</p>

<p>Are there any Japanese people who actively form groups to protest against discrimination? (I'm asking this in a non-rethorical sense, i.e. I'm asking this to know whether they exist or not)</p>

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<p>Oh, I thought of sharing this.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=say9MsdpGXs%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=say9MsdpGXs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>A Japanese-Indian comedian. Addresses some of the things we discussed here.
Funny :P</p>

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<p>um, asians are definitely more racist than Americans =) at least Americans try to hide it, most asians don't.</p>

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<p>wow, asians are racist about africans?</p>

<p>hm. they do see themselves as superior.</p>

<p>one of my parents forbids me from marrying a black for example. lol</p>

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<p>
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lol asians are pretty racist, Africans can't go to China without encountering a lot of open discrimination/staring/pointing etc.

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<p>Is that discrimination or fascination/shock at seeing someone who looks completely different?</p>

<p>That’s not entirely different than what an Asian person experiences in Eastern Europe.</p>

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Anime does not depict characters as "Caucasian" for any reason more nefarious than the original influences on the modern art styles. Early artists like Tezuka were strongly influenced by Disney.

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<p>Exactly. </p>

<p>Those unnaturally "large eyes" don't represent "Caucasian" features - but rather the cutesy large eyes one sees in Disney animation of animals (Bambi, etc.).</p>

<p>
[quote]
UCLAri, but the issue here is that at least in Europe and in the USA there are many more human rights and anti-discrimination movements and these are actively listened to (to a certain extent?) by their respective governments.

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</p>

<p>Otoh – anti-immigration right-wing parties (basically, non-white immigration) have seen a huge surge of popularity in Europe (i.e. – Switzerland) and it is not uncommon, for example, for black soccer players in Europe to hear mocking ape/monkey noises from opposing fans and to have banana peels thrown at them.</p>

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um, asians are definitely more racist than Americans =) at least Americans try to hide it, most asians don't.

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<p>Really? Then why do the Japanese (generally) treat a white person better than a fellow Asian (who isn’t Japanese)?</p>

<p>And where do you think the dichotomy in how Asians view whites and blacks comes from?</p>

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one of my parents forbids me from marrying a black for example.

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<p>And I’ll bet he/she has a lot less problem w/ you marrying a white person (maybe even less than you marrying an Asian who was say, Cambodian).</p>

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<p>
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Is that discrimination or fascination/shock at seeing someone who looks completely different?

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<p>Wouldn't surprise me ...I know a guy who has natural red hair (half Japanese), and he said when he goes back to visit people openly stare and some even take pictures and ask to touch it.</p>

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<p>lol Asians think that they are superior to everyone. it's not only cuz black ppl are different that they point/laugh etc.</p>

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<p>this thread compelled me to read about the ethnic minorities in japan (particularly the ainus). very, very interesting.</p>

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<p>good point. the west has undoubtedly influenced japanese race relations, especially with african-americans imo.</p>

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<p>I've been to Japan and I didn't sense any racism at all. (I'm white) When we toured a school everyone was freaking out and some were even crying because they were so excited! It was a really small town with barely any white people, though.</p>

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<p>Stormharmony,</p>

<p>Yes, there are anti-discrimination groups. But I can't expect everyone to know about them. :)</p>

<p>Jonathan1,</p>

<p>That's a form of discrimination, you know. You're being treated DIFFERENTLY than others. </p>

<p>zarathustra,</p>

<p>I don't know that your mom is 100% on the mark, but she's pretty close.</p>

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<p>
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lol Asians think that they are superior to everyone. it's not only cuz black ppl are different that they point/laugh etc

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<p>Sorry - but you're pretty ignorant about this issue.</p>

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Jonathan1,</p>

<p>That's a form of discrimination, you know. You're being treated DIFFERENTLY than others.

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<p>But not really if he is treated better (not to say that this is a case of that).</p>

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<p>Being treated better is still discrimination-- it's just not the type that most people find problematic. I was often treated "better" in Japan, but it didn't make me feel any more welcome. It made me feel even more like an outsider.</p>

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<p>Yeah, discrimination can also mean when you treat certain foreign populations like Gods and other foreigns like slaves.</p>

<p>Generally I think, though, that tourists rarely face racism in any place of the world (except when there's a strong political sentiment about Western tourists).</p>

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<p>
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It made me feel even more like an outsider.

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<p>But you were an outsider - just as I was living in France (or if I had lived in Japan).</p>

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<p>k&s,</p>

<p>The point, however, is that this was an active form of discrimination that is less present in other societies.</p>

<p>This is, at least to some extent, contrasted with someone living in the US or another more "heterogeneous" society. I know, I know, we have discrimination here as well, and blah blah blah, but I rarely see Americans (at least in major cities) freak out and act like there's a werewolf standing next to them if a Japanese person steps on a train car.</p>

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<p>That's a racist question. = P</p>

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<p>Actually, I think it would be ethnocentric, rather than "racist."</p>

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<p>Or otaku-centric :P</p>

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<p>I'm also wondering about this, because I'd like to travel to East Asia in college. Naturally, I would expect some stares, kind of like when I'm at an Asian supermarket. But I'm a little worried that some people will be outright racist and say rude things about me, which I don't really want to deal with. There will probably be a lot who will think: non-Asian + Japan = otaku. Which isn't true in my case.</p>

<p>Also, what's it like in South Korea? Taiwan? In urban areas, I mean.</p>

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<p>They're not really. They're just kind of sort of xenophobic. I heard Citibank didn't really succeed there because they refused to change their logo to something in Japanese or something like that. And this is coming from my mom who used to work for Citi.</p>