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"One of the biggest obstacles I, and the foreigners around me faced
while living in Japan was the inability to be recognized as part of the
Japanese society. Regardless of how much we studied the language and culture,
regardless of how hard we tried to conform to the Japanese way of life,
regardless of how well we adhered to Japanese etiquette and manners, regardless
of how "Japanese" we became, we were always assigned a position
"outside" of the Japanese population.
We were, and always would be, "Gaijin in Japan."
Treated as "gaijin", we longed to be treated with the same
decency and respect that Japanese demanded for themselves. We longed to
be able to live by "one" set of rules, instead of having to
live by a "double" set of rules.
I have come to the conclusion that it is not a deeper immersion into
the Japanese language and culture which will allow immersed foreigners
to become members of the Japanese society, but the education and realization
by the Japanese population that we have actually earned the right to be
treated the same as members of the Japanese population." Dan Venz
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Introduction
"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre
minds. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly
submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his
intelligence." Albert Einstein This study examines how non-Japanese/foreigners
cope under conditions of adversity in Japan. It follows in the tradition
of a wide body of qualitative work that has investigated racial minorities
and their everyday experiences. Much of the existing work, however, focuses
on merely describing thematically and/or conceptually what goes on. The
current study aims to construct an integrated conceptual understanding
of how non-Japanese engage in the coping process.
More specifically, this study seeks to develop a substantive theory that
can explain and predict the behavioral patterns of foreigners in Japan.
This study further aims to construct a basic understanding of the Japanese
views and behavioral patterns towards foreigners living in Japan (or the
stigma of being a foreigner in Japan).
What makes Japan unique to other countries in regards to foreigners is
that foreigners in Japan (in contrast to other countries) are not required
to immerse themselves into the Japanese language or culture in order to
live comfortably, nor do they feel any pressure to become a member of
the host [Japanese] population while in Japan (many foreigners involved
in this research have lived in Japan longer than 10 years and still cannot
read, write or speak Japanese at even a basic level).
This has created a situation, as the number of foreign residents in Japan
has increased, in which foreign residents who choose to immerse themselves
into the Japanese language and culture are met with substantially more
obstacles than foreigners residing in other countries. It has also created
an opinion by the host population [Japanese] that foreigners are not willing,
or are incapable of learning the Japanese language and culture to an extent
which would allow them to become functional members of the Japanese society.
Foreigners who have achieved "native-level" abilities in the
Japanese language and culture are seen as anolamies and therefore their
presence in Japan has not done much to aid in the de-stigmatization of
being a foreigner in Japan.
One main reason many of the barriers for foreigners attempting to assimilate
in Japan exists is that a large percentage of foreigners residing in Japan,
given the alternative of not immersing themselves into the Japanese language
and culture, choose not to learn the Japanese language or culture, reinforcing
many of the stereotypes that the Japanese population have regarding foreigners
and perpetuating the inability of the host population [Japanese] to distinguish
between immersed foreigners and non-immersed foreigners. This inability
of the host population [Japanese] to distinguish immersed foreigners from
non-immersed foreigners leads to stress, anxiety, paranoia, self-alienation
and emotional trauma for the immersed foreigner as he/she is presumed
by the host population [Japanese] to be non-immersed.
Furthermore, this "non-requirment" of foreigners [by the host
population] leads to a tendency for "immersed" foreigners in
Japan to engage in assigning a status to other foreigners based on quality
of immersion. It further leads to the inability of immersed foreigners
to escape the stigma of being a foreigner and at best they [foreigners]
are only able to temporarily distance themselves from the stigma, which
leads to the coping patterns described later on.
Many of the stereotypes that the Japanese have towards foreigners were
created by members of the host population [Japanese] who had experienced
living in other countries and brought their opinions back to Japan with
them. Some of these Japanese became authors and published books or articles
regarding foreigners. Most of these books and articles focused on the
differences between Japan and foreign cultures rather than the similarities
of Japan and foreign cultures. It was further established that many of
the books had a tendency to present a negative perception regarding foreign
behavior towards Japan and Japanese. The stereotypes were also reinforced
by "immersed" foreigners living in Japan who had access to the
media (T.V. and radio).
In many cases, it was found that these "immersed" foreigners
saw "non-immersed" foreigners as a threat to their ["immersed
foreigners"] status and over the course of the past 20 years these
"immersed" foreigners have played a large part in creating the
"unspoken contract" (which will be explained) that foreigners
in Japan are bound to adhere to in order to ensure host tolerance. The
following theories are regarding the attempts of foreigners who have chosen
to immerse themselves into the Japanese language, culture and society
(and how they cope with the barriers they face in attempting to assimilate,
as well as the stigma of being a foreigner in Japan).
To uncover the coping and assimilation process, my immediate family,
as well as long time Japanese, foreign and half-Japanese friends, associates,
students, personal experiences, data collected from the internet, volunteers
and numerous discussions with Japanese were used
as the main data source. The discussions with members of the host population
[Japanese] took place between 1987 and 2001 and have been used, along
with discussions and data from both immersed and non-immersed foreigners,
to establish the opinions the host population [Japanese] have towards
foreigners as well as to establish the stigma assigned by the host population
[Japanese] to foreigners living in Japan.
Other ethnic and minority communities, such as Korean, Chinese and Brazilian
communities, which have been substantially more successful in assimilating
than other foreigners were also used for comparative purposes. Data was
obtained by a number of means; this included interviewing, participant
observation, and documentary analysis. The collected data was analyzed
over an initial six-year period using constant comparative methods.
To better understand the coping process of foreigners living in Japan
a basic understanding of the Japanese views towards foreigners living
in Japan is required. It has been documented by a number of academics
that the majority of Japanese see themselves primarily as part of a larger
group (the Japanese race), more than individuals. Japanese culture and
society constantly reinforces the importance of maintaining the harmony
of the group over individual opinions and desires by penalizing those
who place more importance on personal opinions and desires over the harmony
of the group. Japanese, therefore, rarely look or react to situations
from a personal viewpoint, but tend to look and react to situations from
a "Japanese" viewpoint.
It would be rational to deduce then, that Japanese would tend to look
at foreigners as a group (rather than as individuals) as well. This would
explain the grouping of many foreign nationalities by the host population
[Japanese] into one group, which is the case in Japan. I call this behavior
Gaijin Grouping. The most common two groupings of foreigners by Japanese
are "gaijin" (Caucasian foreigners) and "kokujin"
(Dark-skinned foreigners). It is interesting to note that most Asian foreigners
are not put into these "assigned" mass groupings, but rather
keep their nationality (i.e. "chugokujin" for Chinese and "kankokujin"
for Koreans), therefore the stigma of being a foreigner in Japan is considerably
less for "Asian" foreigners than for "non-Asian" foreigners.
It became obvious in my study that both Caucasian and dark-skinned foreigners
were assigned to a group based more on physical appearance than by country
of origin or nationality. I theorize that this is the main reason for
the difference in the successfullness of assimilating when comparing "Asian"
foreigners in Japan with "non-Asian" foreigners in Japan. "Asian"
foreigners tended to have the distinct advantage over "non-Asian"
foreigners due almost solely on their physical appearance (In other words,
even though this study regards all foreigners as foreigners, there were
certain groups [Caucasian and Dark-skinned] that seemed to have more difficulty
assimilating into the Japanese society due to their physical appearance).
This has created a condition of "perpetual foreignness" for
most Caucasian and dark skinned foreigners.
To the contrary, most "Asian" foreigners were able to mask
or hide their foreignness to a certain extent by developing "near"
native Japanese language skills. This was not an option for "non-Asian"
foreigners in Japan.
This "gaijin grouping" by physical appearance has led to the
inability of certain distinctive groups of foreigners to shed the stigma
of being a foreigner, regardless of their knowledge of the Japanese language
and culture. The aforementioned "stigma" stems from the tendency
of the host population [Japanese] to assign foreigners to groups rather
than to see foreigners as individuals. Each foreign group comes with pre-conceived
stereotypes and behavioral patterns of that group by the Japanese population
and any foreigner assigned to that group is regarded and treated by the
Japanese population as if those stereotypes pertain to him [the foreigner]
regardless of whether or not those stereotypes are characteristics of
his [the foreigner's] personality. As a result, these physically distinctive
foreign groups are forced to cope with a great deal more stress in Japan
than other less physically distinctive foreigners.
It was further discovered that the foreign population also assigned other
foreigners to groups, but instead of physical appearance foreigners tended
to use quality of immersion (length of time in Japan, Japanese language
ability, knowledge of Japanese culture and adherence to the rules of the
"unspoken contract") in assigning other foreigners to a group.
The "unspoken contract" is explained in more detail before my
theories of the assimilation process are presented. Interestingly, it
was noted that the longer a foreigner resided in Japan, the more likely
he/she was to begin grouping foreigners by physical appearance [like the
Japanese] as well as the quality of immersion of the foreigner.
Being assigned a status of perpetual foreigner and having to cope with
the stigma of being a foreigner in Japan, regardless of quality of immersion
[of the foreigner] has lead to the realization of many foreigners that
being accepted as a member of the Japanese society is virtually impossible.
This has led to the unwillingness of many long-term foreigners in Japan
to immerse themselves into the Japanese language and culture past a depth
which enables them to live comfortably. Foreigners living in Japan have
[in absence of the opportunity to be accepted as a member of the Japanese
society] adopted a rational behavioral process in order to cope with the
assigned status as a perpetual foreigner and the stigma of being a foreigner
in Japan.
The discovered core process of foreigners living in Japan was one of
"enhancing security". There are two types of insecurity that
non-Japanese are concerned about: first, insecurity can be seen as "content",
which relates to material factors, and second, insecurity can be
seen as "emotive", which relates to psychological factors.
Ultimately, non-Japanese are seeking to resolve both content and emotive
insecurity and they do this by "placating", "challenging"
and "affirming". "Placating" refers to various strategies
used to pacify the host population and encourage tolerance. Hegemonic
structures are acknowledged but not challenged. "Challenging"
involves a confrontation with hegemonic structures in an attempt to secure
tolerance and hence content and emotive security. "Affirming"
is the means by which a foreigner will seek solace from their ethnic identity.
Foreigners engage in the processes of placating, challenging and affirming
in many different ways. Some engage in all three processes, others only
one or perhaps two. Whatever the case, various factors can be identified
that enable prediction of the type of coping process(es) that individuals
may employ as they seek to enhance their security.
This study contributes to three areas of research. First, it adds to
the small but growing body of work relating to living as a foreigner in
Japan. Second, it contributes to research in the area of ethnic relations,
especially work that focuses on interaction. And finally, it adds to the
formal theoretical literature on stigma and its management.
It is important to note at this point that the following study deals
with foreigners and half-Japanese who have immersed themselves in the
Japanese language and culture (i.e.; long-term foreign and half-Japanese
residents who speak and write the Japanese language at near native level).
This study does not refer to short-term foreigners who have not immersed
themselves into the language or culture (i.e.; tourists, working holiday,
short term English teacher's, entertainers, ex-pats, etc.). Although not
discussed in detail in this study, the aforementioned short-term non-Japanese/foreign
residents do play a vital role in the difficulties immersed foreigners
encumber while attempting to assimilate into the Japanese society due
mainly to their very presence in Japan reinforcing many stereotypical
idea's and beliefs the Japanese have towards foreigners.
It is further important to note that in many instances during this study
regarding "half-Japanese", I not only observed "half-Japanese"
children both in Japan and the United States, but also had the opportunity
to observe my own children, who are half-Japanese, to gather data. Since
they were born in Japan and lived there for 4 years, and consequently
relocated to Seattle, Washington (where they lived for 3 _ years), and
have now relocated, yet again, back to Japan, it offers me the opportunity
to witness, first-hand, the processes of assimilation discussed in this
report as well as to verify the accurateness of many of the theories presented
in this study.
During the course of this report, vocabulary or words, which may be difficult
to recognize for someone who has never lived in Japan, may arise. I chose
to include quotes inclusively and did not alter the vocabulary used by
informants. The following vocabulary is listed in the hopes that the reader
will better understand the report. Gaijin (in direct translation, means
foreigner. However, this term has come to be used by Japanese to identify
Caucasian foreigners.)
Kokujin (refers to "black" or "dark-skinned" foreigners)
Halfu (refers to someone living in Japan who is half-foreigner/half-Japanese)
Immersed Foreigner (in this report, the term "immersed foreigner
refers to non-Japanese, living in Japan, who read, write and speak Japanese
at near native ability)
Non-immersed Foreigner (in this report, the term "non-immersed foreigner"
refers to any foreigner residing in Japan who has either a basic grasp
or no knowledge of the Japanese language, culture or society)
In the summer of 2000, I started a website in the hopes of gathering
more information as well as sharing information with other foreigners
in Japan. Many of the examples given in this discussion are taken from
foreigners who visited the website. The website; "Gaijin in Japan"
can be accessed at;
http://www.geocities.com/danchan33/
Chapters are uploaded onto the website upon completion. As of December,
2002, there are 8 completed chapters. Feel free to visit the website to
read more of the book or to leave a comment about the book. The book is
scheduled to be published in March of 2003.
Chapter 1 The "Unspoken" Contract
"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which
differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are
even incapable of forming such opinions." Albert Einstein
Before I outline my theories about foreigners attempts at assimilating
into the Japanese society, a more thorough understanding of the "unspoken
contract" mentioned earlier is needed.
Throughout my research I came across a fundamental belief that was shared
by the majority of the foreign population and the host population [Japanese]
alike. I call this belief the "Unspoken Contract." The "unspoken
contract" is a set of rules that is placed upon foreigners living
in Japan "not" by the Japanese government, but by the Japanese
society as well as other immersed foreigners. It is a set of rules that
foreigners new to Japan learn rather quickly, either by the host population
[Japanese] or other foreigners. The quicker a foreigner learns the "unspoken
contract", the easier it becomes for the foreigner to "enhance
security" (placate).
The "unspoken contract" consists of a broad range of rules
and stereotypes that a foreigner must learn in order to ensure tolerance
from the host population [Japanese]. A summarization of the "unspoken
contract" is that in order to ensure host tolerance a foreigner must
conceed the he/she is part of a powerless minority group which is tolerated
but not accepted [an observer but not a participant] into the host population.
Furthermore, it is expected that foreigners must conceed (publicly) that
it is the very fact that they are "non-Japanese" that they feel
discrimination in Japan and are led to believe that the deeper they immerse
themselves into the Japanese language and culture, the lessor the feelings
of discrimination will become (In other words, the host population [Japanese]
believes that discrimination does not exist in Japan, but rather, it is
the foreigner's perception of discrimination coupled with the need for
a deeper knowledge of Japan, which makes foreigners feel as if discrimination
exists in Japan).
It was discovered that by adhering to the rules of the "unspoken
contract" foreigners were able to ensure host tolerance to a certain
extent, however adherence to the "unspoken contract" created
feelings of anxiety, paranoia, emotional trauma and self-alienation for
the majority of the foreign population. It was also obvious that though
most foreigners do
attempt to adhere to the rules of the unspoken contract, there were many
situations in which they [foreigners] could not. Each time an immersed
foreigner failed to adhere to the rules of the unspoken contract strengthened
the host population's [Japanese] stereotypes and distrust towards foreigners
as outsiders that regardless of Japanese language ability and knowledge
of Japanese culture can never really be integrated into the Japanese society.
It was further discovered that the belief that "greater immersion
equaled lessor feelings of discrimination" was a falsity (opposite
to what foreigners had been led to believe). When compared to other countries
this situation is unique to Japan (i.e., the better a foreigner speaks
English in English speaking countries, the fewer the instances of discrimination).
This demonstrates that while a lot of the discrimination against foreigners
in other countries can be accredited to the language ability [or lack
of language ability] of the foreigner, in Japan discrimination against
non-Japanese is more apt to stem from the physical attributes of the foreigner,
rather than the Japanese language ability of the foreigner. [The only
other instance I found where this type of situation was present was in
Hawaii. The number of short-term Japanese tourist was so great in number
during the 1980's and 1990's that it created a situation where long-term
Japanese/American residents were grouped into a category as "Japanese
tourist" by the host population based solely on their Japanese physical
appearance. As a result the number of discrimination cases reported by
long-term, immersed Japanese/Americans in Hawaii increased dramatically.]
To acknowledge the former discoveries as a fact however, would require
immersed foreigners residing in Japan to concede that immersing themselves
into the Japanese language and culture as well as adhering to the rules
of the "unspoken contract" has reared them virtually no benefits.
It would further require them [immersed foreigners] to acknowledge that
their status within the Japanese society is little, if at all, different
than foreigners who cannot speak, read or write the Japanese language
and who have little or no knowledge of the Japanese culture. To acknowledge
this would be to contradict not only the "unspoken contract",
which many foreigners use to rationalize placating, but also the "status"
which immersed foreigners tend to assign to other foreigners. I call this
inability of immersed foreigners to acknowledge they are still part of
the powerless minority regardless of Japanese language ability and knowledge
of the culture "gaijin denial", for these immersed foreigners
are actually attempting to deny their assignment to the foreign population
[by the Japanese] and would like to believe that they have reached some
sort of "almost Japanese" status due to their quality of immersion
into the Japanese language and culture.
The study found that the only "real" benefits for immersed
foreigners were greater abilities to placate the host population [Japanese]
than non-immersed foreigners. The only "real" difference in
status was among the foreign population themselves, and being a powerless
minority, this "self-assigned" status by foreigners to foreigners
was purely a "token status", with no real benefit assigned by
the host population [Japanese] to the foreigner. The study showed that
foreigners in Japan are assigned a position as a powerless minority in
which the host population tolerates and sometimes enjoys the company of,
but which cannot be accepted as members of the Japanese society, regardless
of the foreigner's quality or depth of immersion into the Japanese language
and culture.
[I theorize that it is specifically the unspoken contract which has created
this situation for foreigners in Japan. The unspoken contract has set
foreigners [living in Japan] up to fail. The rules of the unspoken contract
are so broad that it is virtually impossible for a foreigner to adhere
to all of the rules, all of the time and the host population's [Japanese]
stereotypes, distrust and inability to accept foreigners into the Japanese
society stems from the failure of foreigners to adhere to the rules of
the unspoken contract. One of the most difficult rules of the unspoken
contract for foreigners to continuously adhere to is that of being an
observant, but not a participant. While in normal, everyday life it was
easy for foreigners to adhere to this rule, there were certain situations
when the upbringing, culture and ethics of the foreigner prevented them
from doing so. Such as when a foreigner witnesses a young girl being molested
on a train. Most foreigners find it almost impossible not to assist the
girl in this situation, however, assisting the girl is breaking the rule
of being an observant and not a participant.]
This is not to say that there are no foreigners in Japan that have achieved
success and status within the society, as there are. These foreigners
are the exception, however, and not the rule. Those foreigners who have
achieved success and status in Japan contribute to immersed and non-immersed
foreigners belief that if they adhere to the rules of the "unspoken
contract", they [foreigners] will also achieve success and status
within the Japanese society as well as being accepted as a full member
of the society. Being accepted as a member of the Japanese society would
reward the foreigner tremendously as it would allow the foreigner to rid
him/herself of the stigma of being a foreigner.
Members of the host population [Japanese], however, see these successful
immersed foreigners as anomalies of the foreign population and therefore
the success of these foreigners does little to assist in the de-stigmatization
of being a foreigner in Japan. In contrast, the Japanese often use these
foreigners [by having them as guests on T.V] to reinforce the stereotypes
[and therefore the stigma] of foreigners that members of the host population
[Japanese] have.
An excellent example of this is a T.V. program in Japan entitled; "kokoga
hendaiyo nihonjin" (here is the weird Japanese). While this program
had 30 to 40 foreign guests weekly discussing the weird side of living
in Japan, paneled by 3 or 4 prominent Japanese,
the theme of the program became obvious during its first airing. Most
of the immersed foreigners were selected on their basis to make the viewers
[Japanese] laugh rather than their quality of immersion into the Japanese
language and culture. It quickly became a program that reinforced how
"weird" foreigners were instead of actually educating the Japanese
population on the difficulties foreigners face living in Japan. This program,
due to members of the Japanese population belief that the foreign guests
represented the views and opinions of the entire foreign population, reinforced
many negative stereotypes regarding foreigners in Japan.
The "unspoken contract" also serves an important purpose for
the host population [Japanese]. It allows them [Japanese] the rationalization
that their discriminatory behavior [towards foreigners] is not actually
discriminatory. The "unspoken contract" can be used whenever
a confrontational situation arises between a member of the foreign population
and a member of the host population [Japanese]. It [the "unspoken
contract"] allows the member of the host population [Japanese] to
discount the argument or confrontation of the foreigner as superficial
or exaggerated by focusing not on the argument or confrontation, but on
the foreignness of the foreigner and referring to the need [of the foreigner]
for further immersion into the Japanese language and culture. In this
way, they [Japanese] can always rationalize discriminating behavior by
adhering to the belief that "if the foreigner understood the Japanese
language and culture better, they [foreigners] would see it my [the Japanese]
way." I refer to this type of behavior later on as "Rationalized
Discrimination."
The unspoken contract further allows members of the Japanese population
to expect foreigners to abide by the rules of the Japanese society when
beneficial for the member of the Japanese population, yet to disregard
the rules of the Japanese society when it is beneficial for the member
of the Japanese society. This creates a lose-lose situation for foreigners
living in Japan. A prime example follows in the foreigner's comments:
Dean: "I was late once because my daughter was sick and I wanted
to make sure she was o.k. before I left the house. My [Japanese] manager
really gave me a guilt trip about this. He told me that in Japan, it is
unforgivable to be late. He further related to me that it was my wife's
duty to look after the kids and advised me to learn about the Japanese
way if I wanted to be successful in Japan. A few months later, I asked
the same [Japanese] manager if I could reschedule an appointment I had
with a foreign company. The appointment was scheduled for a Japanese National
holiday and my wife wanted us to go on an out of town trip. He flatly
refused. I asked him why I was the only person in the office scheduled
to work that day. He related to me that I was not Japanese and had a different
contract than the Japanese [full-time] employees. The same was true for
X-mas, my children's birthdays and other days where I would have been
off in my own country. It was a double edged sword with no benefits."
Interestingly, this type of "rationalized discrimination" was
noticed to be present among the foreign population as well. It was reported
by many foreign informants that the most confusing and stressful discriminatory
situations came "not" from the host population [Japanese] but
at the hands of a "fellow" foreigner who usually held a position
of authority over the informant. It was in these instances where the most
emotional trauma occurred. I would theorize that the ability of the foreigner
to rationalize discriminatory behavior lessened when the discriminating
figure [person] was part of the foreign population [another foreigner]
and not part of the host population [Japanese]. I refer to this type of
behavior later on as "Gaijin -vs- Gaijin."
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