Now that those tides are turning and you have to struggle to blend with cultures that truly are different, there’s no end to European pundits crying “multiculturalism has failed/isn’t the answer”. It’s essentially the same as screaming “I changed my mind! I take it back!” the moment you go from the sandbox to the battlefield.

The reason for those enclaves isn’t just because of a sense of safety and a way to bring “the old country” with you – it’s also because many new immigrants feel it’s the only place where practicing their traditions isn’t taboo in some way. They’re not constantly told to assimilate. On that note….

2) Any country that tries to globalize but refuses to accept any changes on their part & instead orders everyone else to turn into them, is going to fail. Miserably. Globalization is just another word for integration – over time, both parties take on the color of the other & change into something else completely. That’s what makes multiculturalism such a slow & painful process – most people’s initial reaction once they realize this is fear, and they lash out at what they feel like is destroying all that they know. It’s an exercise in futility (it’s inevitably either integration or death, for all cultures) but they still try. If you manage to accept this, it eases the process.

America & Canada had to learn this the hard way over the past century; if they want to, Japan can learn from our mistakes, but it will mean humbling themselves to accept that the traditional Japanese methods aren’t perfect and will eventually hurt them more than anything else. To be completely honest, I’m not sure they can. If they don’t panic & attempt to shut down their borders to non-Asians completely, then they’ll end up repeating all our (recent) racial mistakes. Watts Riots 2.0, basically.

日本はきっとゆっくり国際的な国になっていますが、ゆっくりというかのろのろと言った方が良いと思います。やはり、記事をもとにして、国際化が進んでいるにつれて他の問題も解決する必要が注目してきました。例えば、英語とか他の外国語（英語以外、他の言語はほとんどなさそうです）が学級にしてはあまり真面目にしていないようで、学生にも先生方にさえ今さらとか日本人だから出来ないまでと言われているのが多いのです。初めてそれを聞くと残念だと思いました。あと、日本の文化は一方では素敵ですし外国人からみると楽しいに違いありませんが、他方では時代遅れと言えます。でも、確か社会のような問題が時間がかかりますね。日本は正しい進路を見つけられろと感じますが。あれをいつかな？

「starduest」へ
JETのことですが、イメージがよくないっと思っていますか。27年過ごしましたね。実は私はそれが知りませんでした。でも、日本は当時は一から始まったのです。JET以外成功したプログラムもありますよ。JETは私にとって、草の根のような目的でそれとすれば成功だと思います。

「fogetti」へ
読んだらあなたの意見が本当に残念です。私達の世がそのうち結束する必要があるのです。日本も。あなたそう書かれたでしょう？「In other words there are always
losers and winners in these situations, and the aliens, the newcomers tend to
be the former not the latter. Also, don’t we forget that people with the same
cultural background in a foreign/strange environment tend to build their own
closed neighbourhoods where they can live comfortably and they feel safe」
ます、ああいう安心が浅いんです。ああ風の考え方が恐れと憎悪の元だぞ。
日本ばかりでなく世界の国々も一体にしないといつも憎悪が勝つ。
つまり、お前の意見が違う！

もう書きません。
よろしくお願い致します。

The bottom line is that Japanese people are only interested in INTERACTING with foreigners (not “seeing what foreigners think) if it somehow demonstrates the Japanese superiority. If it’s sports, they only care if Japan wins. If it’s movies, they only care if Japanese actors are showered with praise and awards.

If Japanese people are simply talking to foreigners (seeing what we think), they only want to do so if that foreigner gives unqualified praise of Japan. Again, this is talking about the political and media (esp. TV) elites. Common people love to study and learn foreign things – Japanese culture is DROWNING in foreign influence (Japan is not and never has been “homogenous” in any way shape or form, and the mere idea is deeply racist). In fact, most common people will open up some pretty harsh criticism of Japan if you ask them honestly.

But the elite? The people on TV? The public, and “official” narrative? They only want to interact with you if they can somehow use that interaction to prove their superiority as Japanese. That public narrative, the “official” story is what’s holding Japan back. The deep racism at the upper echelons of the society, and the monopolistic stranglehold those elites have on the media and culture is what’s holding Japan back.