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Anyone living in Japan can tell you that the words internationalization (国際化›) or globalization (グロバール化) are popular catchphrases now. Schools, companies and wider society are all caught up in this great wave called “Go Global”.

As a foreign student in Japan though, I can’t help but wonder – for a term that has gained such traction, no one has actually defined what  “internationalization” means. At first glance, it may seem like there are many credible attempts at increasing the international input in Japan but the inside story is far more mixed.

In essence, does my presence make my university make it a global institution? Does a good TOEFL score make someone a more global person? Do companies with many foreign employees automatically become global enterprises?

The Background

Right Outside the United Nations University in Tokyo

Let’s start at the background first. The current wave of  internationalization started a few years ago and has been first and foremost driven by economic reasons.

While Japanese car makers have still been doing relatively well, electronics makers have been doing very poorly. Sharp, Sony, Panasonic and Fujitsu have all been facing losses in recent years. The problem is even clearer when contrasted to the successes of Apple, Google and other silicon valley enterprises in the US and Samsung in Korea. After all, while Japanese phones used to be considered as the best – now the the best selling phone in Japan is the iPhone.

Other economic reasons include increasing moves towards free trade (like for example the Trans-Pacific Partnership) which Japan is negotiating about. In addition, a shrinking population has increased the need to increase overseas business for many Japanese firms.

Outside economics, Prime Minister Abe has also stated that it is his aim to put at least 10 Japanese universities in the global top 100 rankings by the end of the decade. The lack of international faculty and a sizable international student body hampers this. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are also another reason for the sense of urgency in internationalization.

So What’s Being Done?

Mikitani Hiroshi, CEO of Rakuten

Japan as a country has realized (belatedly) that a long reliance on a large domestic market, the homogeneity in the workforce and poor language skills have been reasons for stagnation and poor competitiveness. It is because of this that many Japanese firms are increasing their attempts at hiring non-Japanese employees.

Some parts of the business world have also been expanding their operations overseas – and I don’t mean just shifting manufacturing to where it is cheaper. Rakuten’s buying of Viber, Softbank acquiring Sprint Corporation and LIXIL acquiring multiple overseas companies are all examples for a recent trend where Japanese companies purchase foreign ones.

Rakuten in particular deserves special attention because they have made their company language English. As Japan Times reported, even internal meetings are to be held in English. Both praise and criticism have been directed at it though – Honda’s (yes the car maker’s) president once called the plan “stupid”.

Universities have also come under pressure to develop  global leaders and “internationally capable manpower”. Many have for example, made taking the TOEFL (an English proficiency tests) compulsory for all enrolled students – even to the extent that my American friend studying in Nagoya had to take it.

Some universities have also implemented degree programs in English to increase the international study body. The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has also been supporting these programs with their Global 30 program.

Similarly, there have been increasing attempts to increase the number of Japanese students going abroad for their studies – which is at the moment far fewer than the number that South Korea and China send. Including for example, this video produced by AKB48 in conjunction with the MEXT to encourage people to go overseas to study. (My school makes an appearance too!)

In addition, MEXT also announced that they would be revamping the much criticized English education system in Japan – because if you can’t communicate with the world, you can’t possibly internationalize. Proposed measures include reforming the English syllabus, lowering the age at which students start having English classes and even implementing the TOEFL as a component of university entrance examinations.

But Is It Enough?

But first my own definition. As I said before, while everybody is talking about “globalization” and “internationalization”, no one has actually defined it properly. By “internationalization” here I mean gaining the ability to operate – and compete – on an international stage. It also means being actively engaged in the world, and accepting of the wider world as opposed to looking inwards. Regardless of the actual definition of what internationalization is etc., it’s often more clear what it is not.

Back to the question. The efforts above are pointing in the correct direction and I don’t mean to say otherwise. Increasing the numbers of foreigners in Japanese companies and schools is certainly important because without foreigners there can be no foreign input.

However, a lot more needs to be done and there are deeper issues that have to be resolved. Consider Japan’s immigration system for example. Japan remains one of the hardest countries around to gain permanent citizenship for without marriage to a Japanese person. One acquaintance of mine has been living in Japan for more than 10 years and did his professorship in a Japanese university. He was denied permanent residency last year.

Many companies may also be open to hiring foreigners but utilizing them after they enter the company is an entirely different question. After all, the one thing that I keep hearing from other foreigners working in Japan is that they are treated “like Japanese who just speak another language”.

This may sound good but it is not. For one, this means that many Japanese companies expect compliance to Japanese hierarchy and unquestioning top-down company culture even towards their foreign employees. And if you can’t question and voice your opinions, what internationalization can there be?

What About Schools Then?

Cherry Blossoms at the International Christian University in Tokyo

Schools (I am more familiar with this subject) present an entirely different set of problems. For one, there are some schools which offer “English courses” – taught by Japanese professors with an inadequate command of English. Being able to read and write papers in English does not automatically qualify someone to teach in it.

Furthermore, foreign student integration is an issue. Now, this does not apply to all schools – some are quite successful in integrating the foreign and local student bodies. Furthermore, if the student is studying in Japanese this isn’t that big a problem.

However, it is not uncommon for foreign students to be living in entirely separate dormitories from Japanese students. The classes that foreign students take may be entirely closed to Japanese students. Alternatively, even if they are open to enrollment by Japanese students, the fact that they are in English puts off most Japanese students such that only a small, select bunch participate in them.

What this leads to is foreign students living in a virtually separate world from their Japanese classmates. This does not just tend to socially isolate foreign students and alienate them, but this also adds zilch to the “internationalization” of the education of Japanese students.

There Is A Lot More To Be Done

Narita Airport

This topic is far more complex than can be summarized in a single article and there are many factors mixed and scrambled around here. For example, there are problems in the systems (eg. the permanent residency system and school class systems), the numbers of foreigners (even Tokyo has only 3% foreign population) and deeper cultural problems (eg. Japanese company culture).

It seems to me that Japanese attempts to internationalize by bringing in more foreigners, enforcing standards of English etc. are simply fulfilling the prerequisites of internationalization. This does not necessarily mean internationalization itself. Because yes, without foreigners, there can be no foreign input. And without a degree of English, global communication is often difficult.

But there are deeper problems such as homogeneity which need to be addressed too. To me at least, how global Japan will become will largely rest on efforts to tackle the deeper problems and not just those on the surface.

Bonus Wallpapers!

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Looking at the website, it was apparent that two gaikokujin were available for rental. One Australian with dark hair and a smirky smile and one American with a beard and blue eyes.

Turns out they are the co-founders and they have had many clients between them… too many, in fact. If you’re a gaikokujin in Japan get in touch with these guys. They’re looking to add some folks to their roster. You can visit their website at gaikokujin-rental.jp.

Although they are in their early goings over at Gaikokujin Rental, I thought it was an interesting idea. I also had no idea what it was they were doing, so I sent them an email asking if they’d be willing to do an interview. They were very gracious and got back to my questions super quickly. What follows is said interview, and it includes stories, success stories, and information on what the heck all this gaikokujin rental stuff is all about.

#Interview START

1. Who started gaikokujin-rental.jp?

Two guys, one Australian and one American. Both have called Japan home for a handful of years: Six and ten respectively.

2. Why did (you) start it?

“Why has someone not?,” is what we have been asking ourselves for years. Peer to peer business in Japan has always been BIG. Big for both client and contractor. Yet it seems every year the market is not adequately accessed, and unfortunately for many the public space for self-promotion is in, we feel, terminal decline.

For-hire platforms available at present are largely top-down corporate to individual, not peer to peer, and we think peer to peer is important and remarkable. We think it makes for new economy.

Also, we feel Gaikokujin Rental serves as an alternative meeting space to the usual foreigner/Japanese social venues which exist in Japan today.

Author Note: Oh, so it’s like AirBnB but for people and their skills/time. Now I’m starting to get it.

3. How long have you been renting foreigners?

Gaikokujin Rental officially launched on November 29, 2013.

4. It looks like you have two people being rented out. Who are they?

They are the co-founders, Austin and Adams.

5. Are you looking to add more people to rent out?

We are actively looking to add more foreigners as well as increase Japanese readership at our site – We wish to bring as many people together and build as many success stories as possible. To this end, we have invested energy and time into the idea, sustainability and scalability of Gaikokujin Rental.

Author Note: There’s a contact form on their website if you’re interested.

6. What kinds of things have you done? I need a bedtime story.

Austin:

I once had a woman hire me to look after her children and clean her house.

I was hired by a Japanese women to go shopping with her and pick out a birthday present for her husband because he was a foreigner.

I was asked to attend a bonenkai with a group of salary men and speak only English with them.

I was asked by a young Japanese couple to come to Kyoto and take pictures of the two of them.

Author Note: Now Austin tells a story:

Well, it started around 8:00 on a Friday night. I got off from work and was asked to meet my client at Nagoya (Meieki) station. We engaged in small talk for a few minutes, after which she asked me if I could do two things. The first was to check some English paper work which she had been given by her boss. I was asked to explain it and help her with some possible answers.

After that, she wanted me to join her for dinner. My client enjoyed eating spicy food but none of her friends or family enjoyed spicy food. We had exchanged mail previously and found that we both had a liking for spicy food. She had already found one of the spiciest Nabe restaurants in Nagoya and made a reservation.

After making our way to the restaurant we entered, took a seat and decided what we wanted to eat. I then helped my client with the paper work which had been mentioned earlier after that our meals arrived and we chatted while we ate. She asked me some questions about what it was like living abroad ( because she was thinking of doing the same one day).

And also asked me questions about my country. The rental period was for 2 hours. So after the 2 hour period was up we talked about the possibility of meeting again, paid the check and went home.

Adams:

I’ve had clients ranging from housewives to businessmen to ramen chefs to entrepreneurs to bohemian outcasts – a motley cast of characters. Once I was asked to work in a Ramen shop to take orders from Russians, because apparently the Ramen shop Master “couldn’t understand the Russians.” I’ve done interpretation work between Italian businessmen and a Japanese apparel firm, but most of the work involved making reservations at onsens for the Italians.

I’ve been in front of and behind the camera for modeling and photography work, behind a desk as a freelance journalist and webshop master, a private mail courier for digital products, Santa Claus… YES, Santa Claus, an English teacher, a flyer boy, a bar server, and a BIG buyer of Switzerland-made outdoor clothing for a Japanese Trading company.

7. Have you run into any problems while running this service?

Yes, but not the kind one would bemoan about. Actually at present there are simply too many orders to fill for our current line-up of two foreigners. This is the scenario we envisioned, and to ratchet up both the supply and demand we are working in earnest to promote our service via virtual channels, magazines and ultimately word-of-mouth.

8. What’s the best success story of someone using gaikokujin-rental.jp?

It would be difficult to only talk about the best success story and not mention all the really good ones. On the Japanese side of it, students have increased their TOIEC scores, hobbyists have procured parts and various nick-knacks from abroad that otherwise could not have been gotten, local businessmen have been fed detailed information on foreign market trends, party-goers have been entertained, and the list goes on.

On the foreigner side of it, success is in the MAGIC. The magic being that once your profile goes up online at Gaikokujin Rental you can get paying customers who deal with you directly. Furthermore, your new customer is an in-road into their own network – ehem, your new network.

9. What are you hoping to achieve with gaikokujin-rental.jp?

In a word, symbiosis. We want to turn the disconnect between peer-to-peer business into uber-connection! To us growth means lots of little success stories the length of Japan, new networks forged, smiles, and satisfied customers. We plan to make this happen by staying online as a professional go-between for that all-important first connection between Japanese and foreigners.

For Japanese, we hope to attract anyone and everyone, including businesses, who seek to employ foreigners in one way or another.

For foreigners, we hope to attract everyone from young transplants to long timers to even those residing abroad who perhaps offer services via the Internet, and in general anyone here who seeks odd-jobs, freelance stuff, part-time work, one-off arrangements, and basically new money and customers. That’s teachers of all sorts, musicians, caregivers, models, IT people, photographers, artisans, entertainers, self-proclaimed ambassadors and more.

#END interview

So there you have it. At first I thought Gaikokujin Rental was some kind of joke. Something someone put up as a kind of commentary about how “differently” gaikokujin were viewed in Japan. Or, at the very least I thought it was a hobby that a couple of dudes set up because they thought there was an opportunity to make some extra yen.

It turns out, in my opinion, to be a pretty smart business idea. Of course, they have to find new people on both sides (Japanese and gaikokujin), and they are eventually going to have to deal with the problems that come with bad experiences, etc., but in Japan I can see this business model working. Anywhere else? Not so much. Just imagine if there was a “Rent a Norwegian” company in America, where you would get your Norway-related needs filled. There would be a small mob outside the Rent-A-Norwegian office demanding that this racism stops.

In Japan, however, I doubt this is going to be seen as racism. There’s actual need for gaikokujin-related tasks in Japan, as was illustrated in the stories above. A Japanese person needed an opinion from a foreigner about a gift for her foreign husband. Some people needed someone who could speak English. Another person just wanted to eat spicy food with someone (which I can attest to, Japanese people don’t know what “spicy” really means).

I hope they keep on trucking along and start to grow and do okay. Maybe we’ll see if we can meet up with them and see what they’re doing the next time we’re filming in Japan.

Website: http://gaikokujin-rental.jp

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Bonus Wallpapers!

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So in my one and a half years in Japan and studying at two different universities, it seems that for the most part Gaijin students tend to fit into three major groups – and three very differing approaches to Japan. I’m not saying one is better than the other (or, more importantly, I’m not saying one is worse than another), but it is interesting to see how people slide into various “gaijin roles” after they’ve spent some time here. I hope that by reading this (these stereotypes, essentially) you can look inside yourself and notice if you are falling into one of these categories. Maybe you’d rather be something else! Now you have the power to notice what you are becoming.

Type 1: the “Gaijin?”

The Hollywood version

Motto: When in Rome do as the Romans do

And thus when in Japan, do as the Japanese do.

This person is probably the one you find with perfect keigo mastery. The one who goes “Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu” or the person who can seiza properly for 20 minutes without collapsing.

Often can be seen in Japanese university student clubs, especially the very “Japanese” ones such as karate or judo. Probably has hopes for living / working in Japan in the future. His goal is to immerse himself in Japan and try his best to integrate – be a member of Japanese society – as much as possible.

Pros

If you’re looking to experience Japan then this is obviously good. Furthermore, if you really want to practice your Japanese (and particularly your keigo) then this would be a great way of going about doing your business.

If you’re also looking to make Japanese friends then this is perhaps one possible way to do it. More on this in the third section but there are actually many foreigners who leave Japan after a year or more without any Japanese friends – and this approach might avoid it.

Cons

Probably the hardest out of the three to do. You have to be fluent in Japanese to at least a near-native level and be able to “空気を読む” (lit. reading the air or social situation) which may be hard too. And it takes time – a lot of it.

Furthermore, once people know that you’re a foreigner, you’ll have an giant “gaijin” tag superglued onto your head. If you look vaguely Japanese, then maybe it’s possible. But even then, unless your accent with all the intonations are correct – you are gaijin. If a Japanese person mucks up their keigo, he or she is “poorly-educated”. If a gaijin mucks it up, it’s cute – but very “gaijin”.

Every small non-Japanese thing you do will reinforce your status as a gaijin – so being fully “integrated” is extremely difficult to say the least, so expect to be pretty stressed out at times if you decide to take this path.

Type 2: the “Gaijin gaijin”

Motto: I’m not Roman so why should I care?

If the above person tries to remove the gaijin tag stuck to his head, this guy takes advantage of it. He knows he’s a gaijin, they know he’s a gaijin, and he makes sure that they know that he’s a gaijin.

Basically, he is everything that the Japanese expect from a “gaijin” – brash, extroverted, frank, loud, “kuuki yomenai”, whatever.

Everyone knows him and he almost is a campus mascot. Inwardly he probably revels in the attention too.

Pros

Through assuming the gaijin stereotype, you get awarded “gaijin space”. Basically, you won’t be accepted as part of Japanese society but you will be accepted as a “gaijin”. This means that you can often do what you want (with some limits) – keigo? Who cares? Hierarchy? What’s that? The Japanese assume that you don’t care or don’t know, so don’t worry about it!

This is also the other way of making Japanese friends – after all you’ll be known throughout campus and so you’ll have a tremendously wide social circle of people who know you (and who you don’t know). Get to know them and the problem is solved.

If you’re the feminist/gay/environmentalist/etc activist type too this approach may be good. Because the gaijin status does accord you the right to be vocal about things – whether the Japanese listen is a different question though.

Cons

How some people may see you

Not everyone is going to take well to you – because you will be indicating that you’re really different from them. Some people will find an gaijin extrovert overpowering and some people can’t forgive the lack of keigo. But you will be attracting the more internationally minded Japanese so there is a give and take.

This requires some finesse and charisma to it too. You can’t just be the critical brusque foreigner that says uncalled-for stuff all the time. That’ll earn you discrimination (as it would in the rest of the world). Also, doing this would pretty much disqualify you from joining many Japanese student clubs (with their strict hierarchy) – there would simply be too big a culture clash.

Aside from this, this is not recommended for people who dislike being the center of attention – obviously.

Type 3: The “Ghetto Gaijin”

Motto: “I am in Rome?”

From my experience this is really the default that a majority foreign students find themselves in. Basically, gaijins who clump with other gaijins – and there are many. If you go to any university with a sizable foreign population there’s usually a very obvious “foreign table” at lunch in the cafeteria.

For the most part this can’t be helped. Because you’ll likely be living in a dorm with other gaijin. If you’re taking classes in English they’re likely to be populated with other foreign students (maybe not so much for grad school). This is not to mention language barriers – if you can’t speak Japanese then you’ll be limited to interacting with other foreigners, and perhaps a limited number of Japanese who can speak your language.

There’s other things too like “soto” and “uchi”, shyness etc. But those have been written about to death already so I’ll skip that.

Pros

This is extremely ironic, but lots of people come to Japan and end up making lots of friends from other countries that aren’t Japan. So it isn’t rare that people go away from Japan with an extremely diverse group of friends and people to visit all around the world. Plus, having classes, discussing and interacting with other foreigners is, in its own way, a form of “global education” too.

But the main reason why gaijin clump is that to be frank – it is much easier than the above two approaches. After all, this does not require any Japanese ability and in school you’ll likely be together anyway. Plus there wouldn’t be any need to deal with culture shock etc.

Cons

If the point of coming to Japan is to experience it, then this approach cuts out half of the experience.

In addition, the best way to learn Japanese is to use it and be exposed to it continually – if someone is mainly speaking English with Japanese only being used in the classes then it’s really no different from Japanese classes you would get back in his or her home countries. Lots of “ghetto gaijin” go back home with an improved level of Japanese – but it would certainly be better if they were using it more regularly when they were in Japan.

To Sum Up

I think from what I’ve observed, the first one or two months many foreign students start with the “gaijin?” approach – they try to join student clubs, go for international exchange parties etc. However as time passes more and more drop out of the clubs and as the Japanese tend to clump, the foreign students do so too and “ghettoize” themselves.

Anyway, there is no “superior method” among the three here. Your personality type, Japanese ability, interests and even how your classes are arranged will affect greatly the method which you will choose. And there’s probably other sub-types and mixes and whatever that can be talked about too. But just pick the one that fits you best or maybe one that was written about in this article. But no guarantees though – your mileage may vary.

My own experience has been between the two. Search the internet (and even this blog!) and you’d probably get tons of articles written by foreigners in Japan. But very few of them come from people who actually can blend in, and this in itself brings an entirely new and different set of issues.

The Good Stuff

Not standing out can be a very good thing sometimes. Many foreigners complain about the constant staring that they receive – if they speak English in public they get stared at. If they speak Japanese in public they get stared at. In the toilet doing their own business they get stared at. Some people embrace the attention – some do not.

In addition to this, seemingly harmless and often well-meaning Japanese remarks such as “oh you are so good at using chopsticks!” or “oh you can write kanji!” are perfectly fine – at first. After a few months in Japan however, these start grating on many people because it just signals to them how “foreign” they are in Japanese society.

For us however, we never do receive that kind of attention unless perhaps we open our mouths and speak a different language. And while I do get “do you use chopsticks where you come from?” or “oh you can write Kanji” (my race invented it dammit!), I most certainly do not get it as much as the majority of the other foreigners in Japan.

Another very true thing is that many Japanese get very self-conscious around foreigners because, quite simply, they simply do not know how to act around someone from a different cultural background. This is partly because the Japanese are very keen to avoid offending other people – however, when placed in a situation with someone visibly different and probably from a different country,  their offense-avoiding radar goes into overdrive. As East-Asians we don’t naturally put the Japanese “on guard” by default, sometimes because they think you’re Japanese, but also perhaps because you don’t look that different from them. Therefore, perhaps on a subconscious level I am not recognized as being that “different” too.

Furthermore, if you register yourself as a resident of Japan, you are even allowed to create a Japanese common name (tsuumei), or basically a Japanese alias for yourself. Nothing stops you from using it to apply for jobs, use at school or printing it on your name-card. Basically, if you make a tsuumei for yourself and can speak an at least near-native level of Japanese, there is nothing stopping you (except for the “nationality” box on forms… and grammar mistakes) from passing off as and living life as a typical Japanese person. This is in fact what many ethnic Koreans, especially those descended from families who came to Japan before the end of World War II, do in real life. Japan’s original peoples, the Ainu, had to do it too.

The Not-So-Good Stuff

Unfortunately, not standing out has its drawbacks too.

Take for example something which is utterly obvious to most foreigners in Japan – being a foreigner you get to take many liberties that the Japanese cannot themselves take. For example, you will be allowed to be much more direct, honest and critical about issues in a way that would invite bullying if you were Japanese. Can’t really understand how to divide the rubbish? It’s okay, after all you’re a gaijin. Some people do take this to an extreme though – there are some who, for example, buy the cheapest train ticket available and pretend to be lost when they get to the station they wanted to go to. The station staff often apparently just let them exit – after all, they are just a bunch of lost gaijin.

To give an extreme example, can you imagine three East Asians doing the same thing (not that they should)? It is clear that they would have much less success doing so than if they were visibly foreign. Similarly, in terms of being able to speak freely and other things, we don’t get that many “gaijin liberties” living in Japan.

There are many different reasons to this. As said earlier, because you look the same, people will subconsciously assume that you are the same. Secondly, one strand of logic, which isn’t actually wrong, goes: Hey you’re Asian. Shouldn’t you know how Asia works with all the rules and politeness?

Exoticism

There’s a subtler dimension to this though. This appeared on one of my friend’s Facebook wall one day.

“Was with a group of white friends last night. Japanese guy approaches, introduces himself, talks to all the white guys, looks at me, ignores, walks away. Maybe it’s time I put on makeup to make my eyes bigger and nose taller…”

Perhaps said Japanese guy mistook him for another Japanese person but the point is clear: There are actually lots of Japanese people who want to make friends with foreigners. Often, this is because they really do want to know more about the outside world or really just because they want to be friends. However, sometimes it’s just because foreigners are “exotic.” Thus, it’s no surprise then that they gravitate towards the more “exotic” looking ones over the Asian ones.

This is also expressed in other ways. For example, many of my friends who are looking to teach English say that private English schools and people looking for private English tutors prefer to hire non-Asians over visibly Asian people – even if said Asian person is a native speaker of English.

How To Deal With It

The above does not mean that Asians cannot make themselves stand out though. As said earlier, get a weird haircut or a tattoo or speak loudly in a different language (especially English) and voila – you’ve announced to anyone that you’re different. Likewise, be extremely extroverted, frank and/or rude in a stereotypically gaijin way and you’d be treated like a full-fledged gaijin at least by the people who have known you for a while.

The extremely odd thing, and the counter to the point said above about how being Asian allows you to lower the guard of the Japanese that you first meet, is that sometimes, you have to go through this “gaijin coming out” process. If you can’t speak fluent Japanese, this is often after the Japanese person realizes that your Japanese is a bit off and asks you where you are from. If you can speak fluent Japanese, this is often after the Japanese person has had a perfectly normal conversation with you and asks where in Japan you are from, your name or about your high school.

You then tell them that you’re from this-and-this country and the conversation usually simply continues, after the customary 日本語上手ですね (Your Japanese is so good!). Occasionally there is this sense of awkwardness – then you know that the offense-avoidance radar is getting scrambled. And very occasionally, as described by a friend of a friend: “you feel that a wall comes up and that the conversation stops.”

As you can see, very coming out-ish.

It’s Not About Which Is Easier

It really is not. Neither is it about who has the advantage or who has the disadvantage – because we all have our different advantages and disadvantages. Some people would much rather have the freedom that comes with being obviously different but then to some people being stared at by nearly everyone wherever one goes is extremely stressful.

What is true is that each situation has its different challenges and they often require different approaches to handle them. Some use the opportunity to lie low and under the radar; others make the extra effort to stand out.

But then again, everything has its own challenges. Being Japanese in Japan definitely has its challenges too. So, all else being said, all there is to do is to recognize your own situation, and choose your method of life.

Gaijin (外人, short for 外国人), or “foreigner” in Japanese, is a complicated word that means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

Some people take the word lightly; when the Tofugu team was in Japan and a roller coaster we were riding unexpectedly malfunctioned, we joked that it was because the ride wasn’t designed to hold the weight of our giant gaijin bodies.

But for some people in Japan, “gaijin” can be a hurtful and alienating word. It can mean refusal of service at businesses, a barrier to entry for housing, or even threats of harassment or violence.

I thought that I’d reach out to some bloggers living in Japan to see what their thoughts on the word “gaijin” were. I got a lot of great, varied, and nuanced responses.

Many people take no issue with the word and even embrace it to some extent. Lots of websites aimed at expatriates in Japan, like GaijinPot and countless other community sites and blogs, have absolutely no problem with using the word “gaijin.”

Hikosaemon, a man who’s lived and worked in Japan for over a decade, sometimes sees “gaijin” used in inappropriate contexts, but doesn’t believe that there’s necessarily anything wrong with the word itself:

To me, the word “gaijin” is slang for someone who looks like a non-Japanese. Because it is slang, it is not appropriate for formal contexts, but as slang, the appropriateness of its casual use is contextual—99% of the time, I think the way it is used is fine. It is the 1% of used with malice that causes most of the controversy. I do not subscribe to the view that its limited malicious use means the term should be made taboo. The term gets a lot of focus by people new to Japanese culture who become aware of the exclusivity of Japanese social circles and struggle with the feeling of isolation the culture can give new arrivals (just as it gives migrant Japanese within Japan).

The composition of the term as “outsider” and the feeling that this reinforces exclusion heightens sensitivity about the psychology behind the term and its use to many foreigners, as indeed it did myself in my early years in Japan. However, reactions to the term I think tend to show more about the person reacting than any psychology on the part of the speaker. Those with the greatest sensitivity to the term often seem to be bringing their own complexes to the table about perception of race in their home countries, and their own level of adjustment and language ability in Japan. It’s a convenient slang term that I use myself, and generally have no issue with others using unless the usage is in an inappropriate context—which is a problem you can’t fix by changing the word. We will just go from “Bloody gaijin” to “Bloody Gaikoku No Kata”, the term here is not the issue. It reminds me to periodic adjustments of politically correct terms for intellectually disabled people.

Hikosaemon touches on an the important issue of formality; for some, the informal 外人 is inappropriate in certain situations, but the more formal 外国人 or even the honorific 外国の方 are perfectly acceptable.

And while Hikosaemon wasn’t necessarily offended or alienated by the term, he and everybody I talked to recognized that “gaijin” is a word that can have a powerful effect on people.

I was lucky to talk with the Gakuranman who actually did a lengthy write-up about the word a few years back. He also thinks that the formality of the word makes a difference:

The word ‘gaijin’ (literally ‘foreigner’ or ‘outsider’) evokes a multitude of differing responses depending on who you ask. Although for most Japanese people the term is akin to saying ‘gaisha’ (foreign car) or ‘gaika’ (foreign currency) and no harm is meant, the word itself has picked up a lot of baggage over the years through repeated misinterpretation and reinforcement among foreigners who have visited Japan. Expats in Japan are often surprised and offended at being labelled as outsiders, especially if the term is used towards them despite their repeated efforts to assimilate. Some will even go as far as to think it a racist term because of the way it appears to ignore cultural diversity.

Those who have spent the better part of their life living in Japan generally come to accept the word and learn to distinguish between the negative, neutral and positive uses it can have in different contexts. Personally, I think it to be a clumsy expression to use within increasingly multicultural communities and feel it is better off avoided where possible because of the tendency to unwittingly alienate and offend people. If you absolutely must make the distinction between non-Japanese and Japanese when describing somebody in Japanese, use the word in full—‘gaikokujin.’ Otherwise I suggest sticking to personalized information about the individual.

Some people might not get personally get offended at “gaijin,” but are sympathetic to those that are. Eryk from This Japanese Life seems more or less indifferent to the word, but is understanding to those who attach negative connotation to “gaijin.”

Before I talk about the word “gaijin” I should mention that I am white. As a white American guy, my race has never been a liability. When Japanese natives on a train mutter “gaijin” to each other, I’m not offended.

White people have this superpower where we don’t think we’re actually a race, so we can laugh it off when we’re attacked for being white. But our Kryptonite is our corresponding need for victimization. When white, highly educated Americans from wealthy families spend a year abroad and get outraged by some overheard “gaijin” remark, I feel like it’s just the daily opportunity for outrage. I don’t care.

I have never been threatened by the kids with shaved eyebrows and pink tracksuits who call me “gaijin” just loud enough for their friends to hear it. There is no long, complicated history of shame that comes from being a white dude. The word “gaijin” does not register, for me, as a synonym for disgust and contempt.

“Gaijin,” though, is not like the words cast at minorities in English. Some expats seem to think that if they aren’t offended by it, they’re entitled to say mean, dumb things about other people. But there are words that are implicitly attached to threats of violence, words that carry the real resonance of hatred, words that tell a person, deliberately, that you think of them as nothing more than their race, or gender, or sexuality.

Someone reading this might have been traumatized by violence, or threats of violence, tied to being “gaijin.” If that’s happened to you, you have every right to hate that word. For foreigners who come to Japan with a history of oppression, “gaijin” on the lips of the nationalist parades marching through Osaka might be an ugly reminder of that kind of logic. But the word, perhaps stupidly, is nothing I’ve ever been afraid of.

I was happy that Ashley of Surviving in Japan had a bit of a unique perspective on the matter.

In our discussion, Ashley mentioned that her husband is a white American who was born and raised in Japan. It seemed clear to me that his situation influenced her opinion on the split between feeling Japanese and being considered as Japanese.

When I first arrived in Japan, I frequently heard that “gaijin” was a derogatory term—this is how some expats described it, anyway. But they also often referred to themselves as “gaijin” instead of “gaikokujin”. In my experience it’s often used this way in jest, as those of us who are unfamiliar with Japan repeatedly commit faux pas. There’s a steep learning curve to understanding Japan, its people and culture, and it’s difficult to ever truly fit into society. Even some Japanese who don’t meet social expectations are at risk of being ostracized.

I don’t believe “gaijin” in and of itself is derogatory, but it can be used that way. I didn’t experience this much other than kids stopping in their tracks, pointing at me and saying “gaijin!” I suppose one could say it would be equivalent to an American child who points at someone they “think” isn’t American and yelling “foreigner!” It’s rude.

That brings us to the point that anyone who doesn’t “look” Japanese in Japan is typically considered an outsider, which shows an underlying preference that being Japanese means that they have to “look it.” But what if you’re of another Asian ethnicity? What if you’re Japanese-American? Or what if you’re not Japanese at all, but were born and grew up in Japan? Depending on how you were raised, you might grow up feeling like you are “Japanese”, but then are constantly reminded that you won’t ever truly fit in because you don’t “look” the part. Bi-racial children (half-Japanese in particular) may, and often do, face similar obstacles.

So I don’t believe “gaijin” is always an issue, although it is attached to a set of stereotypes (which also vary, depending on your skin color and nationality). The main issue is this pervasive attitude of who can and can’t be truly accepted into society; and in many cases, gaijin can’t.

I would like to note that I’ve met many Japanese people who don’t have or agree with this attitude.

Other people I talked with had a staunchly negative view of the word. Jasmine of Zooming Japan is understanding of some of the contextual uses of “gaijin,” but on the whole feels that the word is very alienating, a constant reminder that complete assimiliation is next to impossible.

For the word “gaijin” it depends on who says it and in what context, but in general I consider it as rather negative.

Even though I know that most Japanese people don’t mean any harm, by using the word “gaijin” they make me feel like an outsider, like someone who doesn’t and will never belong here.

Based on my daily experience here in Japan the word “gaijin” is not equal to “foreigner”, but to “you ≠ we”. I often see that when Japanese people travel abroad and say: “Look! So many gaijin everywhere!”

They don’t even realize that they have become the gaijin for the time being.

That’s why the strongest association I have with the word “gaijin” is “outsider” or “somebody who is different.”

Being different can be something good or bad in the eyes of a Japanese person. For some, foreigners are beautiful, passionate and exotic, others think all foreigners are criminals. Based on that, the word “gaijin” can mean something good or bad.

Most of the time I hear people say “gaijin” and not “gaikokujin” or “gaikoku no kata” which I would prefer because it sounds more polite and doesn’t have such a strong connotation of “outsider”.

In the end it’s not the word itself, but the whole mindset that stands behind it:

If you live in Japan and people stare at you on a daily basis or kids point at you and scream “Gaijin!!!!”, then you will feel awkward.

You are not only different, but you also do not belong there. You are not Japanese. You are only a visitor, a tourist or a short-term resident. You will leave and go back to your own country. The idea that you might have been born in Japan and could be part of the “we” doesn’t even exist. And that’s very sad.

One of the most fascinating things I learned during this discussion was that Japanese use the word “gaijin” even in contexts where they’re the foreigner. And I thought it was especially interesting that not on did Jasmine point this out, but also Leah from The Lobster Dance.

Like Jasmine, Leah also has quite a strong opinion against “gaijin,” feeling that it’s a limiting, alienating word.

I used to be of the mindset that gaijin could only be used BY foreigners. I even wrote a cooking section of my blog that used to be called “The Gaijin Chef.” Yet in the past few years, I’ve begun to understand betters the social implications of linguistics.

Why does this word make me so uncomfortable now? Part of it is the lack of respect, especially toward people in my generation who were born and raised in Japan but are not ethnically Japanese. They are not foreigners. If your Japanese parents immigrated to the US and raised you there, you would probably consider yourself American or Japanese American, depending on your view of the terminology as it relates to your personal experience. However, a child born to two non-Japanese parents in Japan and who has lived their whole life in Japan will not be considered Japanese. There’s a very strong link between race and nationality in Japan, and one of the ways it is supported is linguistically. Gaijin lumps tourists, immigrants, permanent residents, and citizens all together that appear to be a very limited concept of “foreign,” both in terms of appearance (white, sometimes black) and of experience.

Likewise, part of the reason I hate that word is the cavalier manner it induces when used. For instance, when Japanese people go abroad, they continue to use gaijin to refer to the native population. “There are so many gaijin in America!” No, you are the foreigner in this situation, but the attitude is that “Japanese people can’t be gaijin/foreigners.” I feel that the term just encourages a xenophobic and rude mindset, and getting people to understand why it is linguistically problematic will be a step in the right direction.

As for those who use it to refer to themselves, I think a lot of people go through a phase where they think, “Well, I am an outsider and it doesn’t bother me.” I’m reminded of several incidents in which some acquaintances who did not speak Japanese well claimed that to have never experienced racism in Japan over the course of the 3-6 months they had lived here. In a short period of time, that might be true, and without listening skills, it’s quite easy to miss. But as with sexism, everyday racism is not usually blatant or violent; microaggressions are easier to ignore or excuse, especially by the perpetrators. When you are not The Other, it requires imagination and often experience to even understand a fraction of what it is like to live as The Other. I understand the line of thinking “I’m foreign, so I will use gaijin,” but there’s a lot of cultural baggage associated with the term, and I don’t think we can reclaim it.

I was surprised at the diversity of opinions on “gaijin,” and am grateful to everybody who shared their views on this sometimes divisive and controversial topic. It’s clear from the variety of responses I got that there’s a lot of thoughtful dialogue about this word, and that there’s no one clear position on it from the expat community living in Japan.

What do you think of the word “gaijin?” Please share your story about your experiences in the comments.

1. Don’t Bring a Gift

The first situation you’ll run into at a Japanese house is entering the residence and meeting the family who has been so kind as to take you in for a while in this strange new country. Should you bring them a gift? No way! Simply by being there, you are providing them with the best gift at all – your baka gaijinity. There is no way they’d be offended that you didn’t adhere to the custom of bringing a small gift such as alcohol, chocolate, or a souvenir from your home country when visiting a house in Japan. They should be giving you a gift for gracing them with your presence.

This is a surefire way to let your homestay family know right off the bat that you have no idea what’s going on. Not bringing a small gift to show your thanks for them putting up with your baka gaijinity for however long you are there is a pretty lousy thing to do. But if you want to lull them into a false sense of security with your manners, you should definitely provide them with a small gift of gratitude before you surprise them all with our next tip.

2. Wear Your Dirty Shoes in the House

Immediately after presenting your gift (or not) you should romp right into the house with your wet and muddy shoes. Japanese people love to clean and they will be delighted to know that you were so excited to see the rest of their beautiful home (which they just recently cleaned for your arrival) that you just could not spare the time to take off your filthy shoes. By the time one of the children hints at you that wearing your shoes inside is a no-no, you’ve already covered a good portion of the house in your baka gaijin filth. Well done.

Pretty much never do Japanese people wear shoes inside their homes. It’s usually slippers (more on that later), or socks in the home, so wearing your outdoor shoes inside a residence is a great way to show off how baka you are. Usually homes will have house slippers for themselves as well as their guests right near the entryway where you didn’t take off your shoes, you silly gaijin, you.

3. Wear the Bathroom Slippers Around the House

So you finally took off your dirty shoes and you realize that you haven’t gone to the bathroom since you arrived in this strange new country. You ask where the bathroom is and you rush right in. Upon arrival, you notice that there are a pair of slippers in here. How convenient! You just learned about these earlier. So you slip on the slippers, do your business, and prance right out of there like royalty, still in the slippers. You know, the slippers that are only meant to be worn while in the bathroom because, you know, people pee in there.

You may find yourself asking how much more complicated can household footwear get? Well after you see the horrified faces of your homestay family when they realize you’re wearing the toilet slippers around the house after they just cleaned the floors from your earlier incident, you’ll know just about all you need to know concerning footwear etiquette in the house. Maybe next time you should just leave the bathroom slippers where they belong, okay?

4. Get Extra Comfy Around the Dinner Table

By this time you’re probably pretty hungry. And probably pretty sick of everything that has to do with feet and the things that go over them. It’s time for dinner and you sit yourself down on the floor by the dinner table. Even though everyone else is sitting seiza or Indian style, you decide to show everyone your endless capacity for baka gaijin-ness and sit all sprawled out with your legs stretching under the table and your feet pointing at and sometimes touching the members of the family. Why try to conform now when you’re already so far down the path of baka gaijinity?

By this point you’ve probably realized that a great thing to do in unfamiliar situations is just to do what everyone else is doing. Follow the social convention. The best way to be a baka gaijin is to just do your own thing and totally ignore anything you think might be customary in this new land. Pointing feet at people and especially touching other folks with your feet is pretty darn rude. Oops.

5. Hog the Bathtub Because You are a King (or Queen)

Dinner is over and sleepy-time is fast approaching. What do? Take a bath of course! The family graciously offers to draw a bath for you and allow you to be the first one to take a bath that evening. Show them what a baka gaijin you are by not even thinking about allowing one of them to take the first bath – no one deserves it as much as you do! Remember, you are a gift to this family. Once you get into the bathroom, be sure not to wash yourself off before getting in the bath, you’re clean enough already. Time to take a nice long soak in the tub. Afterwards, be sure to pull the plug and drain the water. It’s not like there’s a whole family of people planning to take a bath after you, right?

Okay, so usually families will use the same bathwater for everyone’s bath since they will usually wash themselves off first in a shower separate from the tub. That way when they get into the tub, they are already clean and they don’t dirty the tub water with their human filth. So in a way, your draining the tub kind of saved the family from bathing in your filth and experiencing the wrath of your baka gaijinity. Well, half of your baka gaijinity anyway.

Su Casa es Mi Casa Baka

By performing all of these acts you will have made it very, very clear to the family what a baka gaijin you are. Especially if you manage to pull all of them off in the same day (impressive!) So next time you are in Japan, remember how to act on a train, but also remember how you should act once you get to your destination as well. Make every house your own personal baka house**

So now you know how to be a baka on trains, and also how to be a baka while in a Japanese house. Have you ever accidentally made any of these mistakes while in Japan? Tell us your story in the comments! (Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us.)

Also, if you want a more straightforward post about how to behave in Japanese households, it’s laid out pretty plainly in this post from VipJapan.

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**Please realize that this post is mostly satire and is supposed to be funny. I am aware that gaijin are not the only ones who perform the faux pas in this series of baka gaijin posts. They are just meant to draw attention to some mistakes people might make while in Japan in a humorous manner.
Hugs and kisses <3 J