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Comment by stale2002 | Hacker News Reader

stale2002

Sucks for them. Maybe they will get over their xenophobia and start letting in immigrants once their problems get bad enough.

Racism is both bad AND stupid, and I think it is hilarious for them to be suffering the consequences of their stupidity.

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Aren't being yourself xenophobic by castigating them for having different values?

Theit system has a number of problems but it also has a number of advantages.

Besides, the countries who do let in immigrants are less xenophobic but not by a wide margin.

eh Canada is a good example. We're a country of immigrants

So culturally relativism basically?

I'm xenophobic by denouncing xenophobia?

Xenophobia is just another cultural value and if I disagree with it them IM the xenophobe?

You equated racism and xenophobia with a lack of desire for immigrants. Those are quite different concepts, even if there is an overlap.

Furthermore, you condemned an entire nation and wished harm upon them on the basis of a perceived breach of your own values, which I might add are not completely clear to me.

It doesn't have much to do with cultural relativism, but with the assumption that you know what's good for Japan better than they do.

3rd largest economy in the world.

Hosting the Olympics in 2020.

Their cultural icons Pokemon, Nintendo characters, etc are known around the world.

Very low crime rate.

Yeah total idiots those Japanese are.

They're not idiots by a long shot. But Japan is particularly racist. Living on an island and isolating yourself from the world for over a century will do that...

FYI: there are no laws that ban discrimination in Japan, for instance in the housing market. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_issues_in_Japan

The article you posted directly contradicts the claim "there are no laws that ban discrimination in Japan" though it supports the prevalence of racism.

As someone living in Tokyo. This xenophobic country is glorious. The problem is largely overblown and people are beyond nice. Easy to get friends and to date. Only problem is the working hours, otherwise it's way better than most countries. Only other place that I like as much is Sydney. Protip: be thin and behave well (no macho attitude) and you'll do well.

I would not say you're wrong but I believe it's important to note that the racism is not blatant, but rather perverse. As an example, foreigners working in a large Japanese organization will often feel a clear glass ceiling blocking their career advancement, regardless of their results, because of not being Japanese.

Another form of xenophobia is with the rental market, where a large proportion of places is simply out of reach for foreigners, regardless of their income level. Positive point is that this is usually not the case for the more premium bracket.

On the other hand, immigrating to Japan is very simple for qualified labor, which is great for foreigners looking for some experience here.

That's more likely to do with that foreigners will not know perfect Japanese so you'll reflect badly on the company. It's not racism lurking. Especially since the language has so many levels of politeness that means that even bending of the words are different depending on who you talk to. Business Japanese is very difficult even for Japanese. But it's always easier to hide behind anger. Just realize that many of the things that make Japan great has a drawback to them. But I prefer that countries are different so you can find a place that suits you.

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