"I’ve lived in Japan for a long time. When I first came here, I liked living here. Now, I don’t. I haven’t changed. Japan hasn’t really changed, either. Something else, however, has.”
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Japan: It’s Not Funny Anymore

Category: Gaijin in Japan Tags:
J-Vlogger Drama
For those of you who follow J-vloggers on Youtube, you probably saw the recent spat of drama that erupted between several prominent J-vloggers like HirokoChannel, TokyoZeplin, Gimmeabreakman, etc...
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Should Gaijin Have the Vote in Japan?
Besides making the freeways here actually "free" -- a policy that's received surprisingly little support once people realized the horrific traffic jams that would likely ensue -- Prime Minister Hatoyama's government appears to be moving ahead with a plan to give foreigners in Japan with permanent residence status the right to vote in local elections.
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Category: Politics Tags:
Living With A Foreign Name In Japan
One man's battle with the Japanese language.
Tips and anecdotes for foreigners in Japan to deal with their name in katakana.
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Category: Gaijin in Japan Tags:
Government split over bill to give non-Japanese permanent residents right to vote
A bill proposed by a key member of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) to grant permanent foreign residents the right to vote in local elections has split the party.
Gaijin visits Japan for two weeks... Discovers heaven on Earth!
And concludes:
In North America, we struggle constantly with issues like litter, graffiti, noise, increasing crime and extraordinarily rude behavior from individuals who value personal freedom over societal norms. As a society, Japan has many aspects we in North America would do well to emulate.
Litter????
InvisibleGaijin
Another great blog and addition to the JAPUNDIT blogroll is InvisibleGaijin (Anomalies in the Flow of Life), which is the source of the very popular "59 Ways to Tell if You're a Gaijin, Not a Gaijokujin" post on JAPUNDIT recently.
59 Ways to Tell if You're a Gaijin, not a Gaikokujin
Yet another list of things that make you a gaijin in Japan.
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Books at Bedtime: The Ink-Keeper’s Apprentice
The Ink-Keeper’s Apprentice. In this autobiographical novel, a Japanese boy of thirteen, Kiyoi, decides to apprentice himself to a master cartoonist in Tokyo named Noro Shimpei. The story is set in post-war Japan when life was difficult, especially for aspiring artists.
Read more »Japanese McDonald's Campaign Makes Fun Of White People, Foreigners
I like to make fun of white people (and, really, who doesn't). Even McDonald's likes to make fun of white people if the white people live in Japan. A new McDonald's advertising there campaign centers on one Mr. James, a bespectacled idiot who tortures the Japanese language and is quite literally crazed for McDonald's burgers.
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I bought it from a foreigner
The tendency of Japanese druggies, when arrested, to quickly finger an anonymous untraceable foreigner, and the effects on Japan's foreign residents of the media's delight in reporting it.
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Category: Crime and Punishment Tags:
Raising a mixed-race family in Japan can be hard
What's it like bringing up mixed-race children in a country that likes homogeneity?......
Suzanne Kamata is described as an "author, editor and global mother". She lives in rural Japan with her Japanese husband and twins, aged 10
Almost Homeless: Living in an Internet Café - 24hr Party People
..where unemployed and homeless Japanese geeks move into cubicles in an internet café, paying about $500 a month for the privilege, including, I suppose, all the internet you can use...
the manager says "they are lonely people and they don't seem to want friends or company."
Personal Post - The Bitter Beginning
Your first sip of Fernet Branca, an Italian liqueur, will be akin to waking up in a foreign country (such as Japan) and finding a crowd of people (gaijin) arguing in agitated, thorny voices outside your hotel window. It’s an event that’s at once alarming and slightly thrilling!!, and leaves you wanting to know more.
*tweaked by remora
Read more »A Government Advisory for Sneezing and Squeezing Gaijin
“We ask those foreigners in relationships with local Japanese to please refrain from hand-holding, kissing and hugging,” said government spokesman Eichi Niida. “For the sake of public health, please refrain from displaying affection; instead, please bury your feelings deep inside.
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"Japanese Only" in Yokohama
Yokohama is not quite so international as some would have us believe...
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Category: Living in Japan Tags:
Rights Activist or "Paranoid Nut?'
Arudou Debito's recent JT article on the proposed "bugging" of GAIJIN causes debate.
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Japan needs to ease up on immigration laws
Japanese media last week focused a great deal of attention on Noriko Calderon, a 13-year-old Filipino girl born and raised in Japan, whose parents were being deported to the Philippines after authorities arrested them for their illegal entry into Japan.
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That 100% Authentic Real Gaijin Feeling
Over the weekend I went up to Karuizawa, the charming town in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture that serves as a popular getaway for Tokyoites (and appears in quite a few anime series).
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Japan: The Island of Neglected Women - by Stefhen Bryan
....Japan.... is littered with these lonely souls, only too eager to be penned in my schedule and that of many of my colleagues for a day or two a month. With great success Western men place ads in popular English publications, specifically targeting these lonely souls.
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Coming to Japan.. How to make the most of your trip.
A post over at Ninja Tofu got me thinking… The questions were as follows: How did it go for you when you first visited, all expectations met? dissapointed? exceeded expectations? What was your feelings stepping of the airport on your first visit?
Read more »Japan dumps Brand Allegiance
The recession is causing a massive consumer shift in Japan: No longer do its famously finicky and brand-conscious consumers assume imported and no-name electronics are as cheap in quality as they are in price.
Read more »The Gangster In My Tub
Suddenly Al turned to me and said, “There’s only one thing the people here are more afraid of than a yakuza: a foreigner!” We grabbed our towels and mashed ourselves into the tub, practically on top of the mobster. “Howdy,” I said. The hardened criminal’s jaw dropped in horror. He was gone in seconds.
Read more »Racism in Japan
A gaijin writes on his blog about racism he has experienced in Japan.
The Profile of a Gaijin Whiner
Lighten Up Loco
"Japanese, regardless of their behavior, are not the problem at all! You, Loco, and pissing moaning malcontents like you, are the Problem. Your petty retaliating and, in some cases, your very presence here is the problem and if it weren’t for gaijin like you, gaijin like us would be 10 times better off!"
Is that a fact?
Gaijin: Foreigners in Japan
The word for "foreigner" in Japanese is gaijin, written with kanji meaning outside + person, making it essentially equal to the word "outsider." All countries have foreigners, of course, but Japan's status as one of the most homogeneous countries in the world has a special meaning for Westerners living here, forcing most of us to "be at peace with sticking out in a crowd."
Read more »Gregory Clark: Antiforeigner discrimination is a right for Japanese people
"It is time we admitted that at times the Japanese have the right to discriminate against some foreigners. If they do not, and Japan ends up like our padlocked, mutually suspicious Western societies, we will all be the losers."
Read more »Building the dream in Minakami - Jon Sparks
This is (as usual) pure selfish indulgence..I dont suppose everyone gets the opportunities this guy has had but then sometimes its about making your own..remora
Read more »Tsukiji Fish Market tourist ban justified?
Tokyo's famed Tsukiji fish market was recently closed to foreign tourists after complaints were received of tourist misbehavior and interference with market business.






























