Is Japan Safe for Foreigners?

It was not the first time when I heard a hate speech in front of the south exit of JR Moto-Yawata station yesterday. I had paid attention in the past too to such venomous talk against foreigners belonging to certain countries. A man clad in a black dress standing in front of a black-colored wagon holding a microphone in his hand was the source of the xenophobic talk in Moto Yawata station.

On the way from Sakura, Chiba Prefecture, I was reading an article in the online edition of 'Japan Today' that boasted the efforts of Japanese authorities to show the measures they have taken to convince foreigners about the safety in Japan. Yes, Japan is safe for foreigners compared to many other countries. I have hundreds of personal experiences in the past eight years to prove beyond doubt that Japan is safe in many ways, not only for locals but for foreigners too.

I slowed down to understand more about the reasons for his talk. He was talking about the claims made by China over the Senkaku Islands, and people from such countries enjoy their stay here....and he was getting more fire in him as he proceeded. People going out of the station seldom paid attention to his speech. Nobody bothered to pause to hear him. He was full of pride in the past glory of Japan and expressed his anxiety and concerns over the lost sovereign authority. It seemed to me that the things he uttered would not do any good to Japan. He was just polluting the air.

The Japanese government has also been monitoring the hate speech in the country and had released the results of the survey it conducted. The survey conducted for the first time in Japan analyzed the rallies held by the anti-foreign ultraconservative and nationalist groups in the period between April 2012 and September 2015. The authorities analyzed online videos recorded at the demonstrations, as well as other means, including collecting information on calls for gatherings from websites of xenophobic groups.

Leading newspapers in Japan carried the survey results that show violent slogans such as “Get the hell out of Japan,” etc., were repeated frequently. The majority of those rallies were held to protest against certain political issues. Some of those issues included the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korea and territorial disputes with China and Korea. Two Koreas and China were the main targets of the verbal abuse by xenophobic groups.

Yes, it is a fact that incidents such as the one I came across at the south exit of Moto-Yawata station happen here, but Japan remains a safe haven for foreigners. Unlike in other countries, such hate speeches rarely take violent, aggressive forms here. Xenophobic rallies are also becoming less common in Japan. So, the conclusion is: Japan is safe for foreigners, and the local people are friendly and helpful to foreigners.

The exotic beaches and the warm hospitality of Japanese people at Shimizu

It was around 3:00 PM when we reached at the JR Shimizu station JR Shimizu station is approximately ten minutes journey from JR Shizuoka station on the way towards Hamamatsu in the JR line and is the third station from JR Shizuoka.

We were little confused after coming out of the ticket gate on the exit that goes to Kashi no-chi market, which is a fish market. After trying to locate the road by ourselves, we decided to approach some one local standing in the bus stop. He guided us to the west exit of JR Shimizu station by coming with us so that he might have thought the foreigners should not waste time again from enjoying the scenic beauty of his place.

We got down through the elevator to the ground and walked 5 minutes to reach to the Kashi-no-uchi fish market. As per our plan made after researching on the internet, we were supposed to find a water-bus service behind the fish market. Since we could not find it by ourselves, we asked an old woman standing in front of the fish market. Since she was not sure of the timings of the water bus that goes from the behind of Kashi-no-uchi market to the S-Plus Dream plaza, she took us to an Ojii-san who was guiding the cars going and coming from the parking lot. After explain where we want to go and how, the Ojii-san told the old woman to stay at his place and told us to accompany him.

We could see a water-bus leaving the barbor just a few minutes ago when we reached there. The water-bus stop (Water bus noriba) behind the Kashi-no-uchi market is a small place that it is difficult to recognize it as a place of boarding. The frequency of service is also less. We need to wait 40 minutes for another boat. So Ojii-san advised us to catch a taxi or bus from there to go to the S-Plus Dream plaza. He showed me the number to be called for the taxi and when I dialed it in the mobile, he talked on behalf of me to tell the location where we stand. The taxi charge we paid to travel from Kashi-no-uchi market to the S-Pulse Dream Plaza was 800 Yen. The Ojii-san and Obaa-chaan helped us generously to locate the place and get there without loosing much time during our one day exploration of Shizuoka.

When the castles of good images of Japan falls down in the mind…..

Some of my preconceived notions were getting jolts when encountered with an incident of discrimination though not directed at me. I saw it happened at Morishita Toei Shinjuku station while waiting for train towards Higashi Ojima. Though I tried to convince myself that the acts of racism were not due to the skin color of the victim, I could hardly succeed in convincing myself. There were no other reasons to believe it was not due to skin color. If I could guess correctly, probably it was due to the hate towards a particular race.

And Japan is known for it as many of the personal bloggers declare with their own experiences. I defended many of the negative opinions expressed about Japanese people through this blog.

In acts of discrimination there are always three parties involved. The one who shows the hate feelings, the victim of discrimination towards whom the acts of the racists are expressed publicly and the third one are the witnesses. I was at the third position of witness and was watching the discriminator’s actions as he walked through the plat-form from where the victim was standing in the queue.

At first I thought of not writing about this incident as it may project Japan and its majority good and kind people in a detrimental manner. The discriminator here may be an exception from the vast majority of friendly Japanese people. Though an odd event, I could observe contrary to what I have been telling to my friends that I have never seen any kind of discrimination in Japan. This one of course was pure racist comments he spat on the plat-form with his antagonistic foul mouth.

Let me come out openly with what happened. I was coming down to the plat-form in the escalator at Morishita Toei Shinjuku station. The time was around 6:40 in the evening. The pink car is no more reserved for women. I used to board into the first compartment/car since it will reach first at the Komatsugawa exit by the time the train reaches Higashi Ojima.

There was standing a person who might be from one of the many countries of African continent. The physical characteristics of people including the skin color gives sufficient clue to guess the region and race of them. The person in black was gentle in his position, dress and looks. The moment he entered in a queue, I could see the Japanese young man who was already standing in the front looked at the guy in black and uttered some words in Japanese. The J-man walked away with an angry face and he showed as if he spit on the plat-form. This was to show his unlikeness to the person in black.

We, the witnesses could not see any reason for the J-man’s anger except the one that the B-man stood in his back of queue. They had to travel together once they enter inside the train. The J-man might have dislike towards the B-man’s race. There were no other reason I could guess in mind.

The witnesses of the J-man’s venomous words were just witnessing and did not show any surprise at his action. That is the great thing with Japanese people I have observed. Japanese people have an expressionless face towards many of the events in public.

What was the reaction of the B-man? He was engaged in eating chewing gum as if nothing new has happened. Some of the people walking were looking at his reaction, but he was not looking at anybody. He was gentle in his stand and the J-man was the ugly one showed up his foul mouth at the public place. Who is the winner here!

This one event looks different and dirty among other pages of life in Japan so far. Though not a victim of Japanese racism and discrimination towards foreigners, it hurts my feelings. At many incidents, some witnesses bear deep wounds than the victims. Still I bear the wounds and remember the moment I get down to the plat-form. That plat-form was the place where the castles of flatter on Japan built from the images of beautiful and kind people fell down in my mind. Still I like to believe this is an odd incident.