Is spouse visa necessary?

[YokohamaTommy]

Hello Everyone,

Here's my situation:
I am a U.S. citizen, and my wife and son are Japanese nationals.
We married in the U.S., and they are now back in Japan and I will join then in June.
I will start the immigration process, but my question is,

Since America and Japan have the Visa waiver program, and we are married,
do I still need spouse Visa?

Also, what is the process for immigration?
Is there a benefit for citizenship over permanent resident?

Thank you!

Tommy

[Hijinx]

Hello Everyone,

Here's my situation:
I am a U.S. citizen, and my wife and son are Japanese nationals.
We married in the U.S., and they are now back in Japan and I will join then in June.
I will start the immigration process, but my question is,

Since America and Japan have the Visa waiver program, and we are married,
do I still need spouse Visa?

Also, what is the process for immigration?
Is there a benefit for citizenship over permanent resident?

Thank you!

Tommy

So you plan to live in Japan? And work? The visa waiver thingy is just for travel up to three months. Get the spousal visa--now. Then, once you've been married five years, apply for permanent residence. Citizenship allows you to vote and you don't have to be fingerprinted each time you enter Japan.

I don't know if you can enter on the visa waiver and then apply for the spousal visa.

[KansaiBen]

Is there a benefit for citizenship over permanent resident?

Thank you!

Tommy

Naturalised citizens can:

run for public office
represent the country in sports tournaments
own a sumo stable
vote in elections

Other than that there is no difference. Japan does not allow dual nationality.

[YokohamaTommy]

So you plan to live in Japan? And work? The visa waiver thingy is just for travel up to three months. Get the spousal visa--now. Then, once you've been married five years, apply for permanent residence. Citizenship allows you to vote and you don't have to be fingerprinted each time you enter Japan.

I don't know if you can enter on the visa waiver and then apply for the spousal visa.

Thank you for the reply.
Yes, I plan to move to Japan and live the rest of my life.
(My wife is very lucky I love her..LOL)

I found out I can get a spouse visa when my wife (in Japan) starts the process (she already updated her Koseki and city hall records) and she needs to send me
a certificate of eligibility, which I then take to the Japanese Embassy.
The good news is, they can issue the Spouse Visa in 3 days!

About the citizenship:

So I must wait 5 years to apply for permanent resident? Wow. That's twice the time as in America.
How long to apply for citizenship?
Also I heard that to be a citizen, I must take a Japanese language proficiency examination and there is a panel or something that decides if I am to be allowed.
Is that right?

Thanks again!

[YokohamaTommy]

Naturalised citizens can:

run for public office
represent the country in sports tournaments
own a sumo stable
vote in elections

Other than that there is no difference. Japan does not allow dual nationality.

Well, I do practice Kendo..LOL Maybe I can be the first Gaikokujin to be on the national team! :P

[Hijinx]

So I must wait 5 years to apply for permanent resident? Wow. That's twice the time as in America.
How long to apply for citizenship?
Also I heard that to be a citizen, I must take a Japanese language proficiency examination and there is a panel or something that decides if I am to be allowed.
Is that right?

Thanks again!

I think the PR is technically just a three-year wait, but I was discouraged from applying that soon. Five years, and you're in. I've had the PR for a while, now, and really have no desire to become a citizen. If Japan were to ever allow dual citizenship, then I might reconsider.

[YokohamaTommy]

I think the PR is technically just a three-year wait, but I was discouraged from applying that soon. Five years, and you're in. I've had the PR for a while, now, and really have no desire to become a citizen. If Japan were to ever allow dual citizenship, then I might reconsider.

Question:
Why not become a citizen?
This is a HUGE issue with my parents, who somehow believe that if I become a citizen of another country, I'm somehow spitting on America.
To me, it's just a piece of paper.

In my view (which may change once I actually live in Japan) since I have children who are Japanese nationals, I don't want them to feel strange,
like "Daddy is a Gaijin" (which I assume I'll always be considered) but moreover, this is the life I have chosen, so I might as well go all the way.

Besides, it might be fun to freak out the locals when I show up to a political rally. LOL

[Glenski]

Is a spouse visa necessary? No. You can come and get a work visa instead if you so wish. It will limit you to the types of jobs you can do (exception being the special permission you can get from immigration; see here http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/te...hikakugai.html ).

It would make sense, though, for you to apply for a spouse visa. Easier to renew in general terms, and it permits any kind of work as long as the employer thinks you are qualified. Plus, it has a better image to immigration when you consider getting PR.

As for PR eligibility, read this and the internal links.
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/te...uu/eizyuu.html

As for "Daddy is a strange foreigner", your kids should already be dual nationality, so they are foreigners in a sense, too, until they turn 22. My kid's classmates are puzzled at my status because they don't really understand nationality. One constantly asks my kid why I can speak English so well! Ha!

[KansaiBen]

So you plan to live in Japan? And work? The visa waiver thingy is just for travel up to three months. Get the spousal visa--now. Then, once you've been married five years, apply for permanent residence. Citizenship allows you to vote and you don't have to be fingerprinted each time you enter Japan.

I don't know if you can enter on the visa waiver and then apply for the spousal visa.

Technically you can apply for PR after you have had at least one three-year visa stamp. You may or may not get that straight off (usually one year and then three years). There is no official time you can apply for naturalisation but each case is decided on its merits and you must have a good reason for applying. I will add the process is lengthy, the investigation is intrusive and they do everything short of going through your trash. Investigation of tax records, interviewing of your neighbors and anything so much as a speeding ticket can scuttle an application for naturalisation. It goes without saying that proficiency in Japanese is required if you want to contribute to society in any meaningful way.

[KansaiBen]

Question:
Why not become a citizen?
This is a HUGE issue with my parents, who somehow believe that if I become a citizen of another country, I'm somehow spitting on America.
To me, it's just a piece of paper.L

Because once you become a foreign national you will need a visa to live in your birth country though technically you have to renounce your US citizenship. Debito Arudo has written about it here and the US doesn't like its nationals giving up their passports.


JAPAN'S REQUIREMENTS

I went down to the local Ministry of Justice (Houmu kyoku) and sat down for an hour with an official. At first, he talked at me as if I were a child, and about very private things. When he started interrogating me about my parents' marital status I interrupted: Hang on. This is immaterial--all I want are the bare bones of what it takes to qualify, not whether or not *I* personally qualify, for citizenship. He nodded, hitched up his politeness level, and gave me the beef:

TO QUALIFY FOR JAPANESE CITIZENSHIP, YOU MUST:

a) have lived continuously (hiki tsuzuki) at Japanese addresses for five years

b) be over twenty years of age "in terms of mental and legal capacity" (20 sai ijou de honkokuhou ni yotte nouryoku o yuusuru koto)

c) behave well (sokou ga zenryou de aru koto)--and they do check--my dictionary even has the word "sokou chousa" (personal conduct survey) in it

d) demonstrate the means to support your family

e) be willing to relinquish the citizenship of your native country once Japanese citizenship is granted

f) respect the Japanese Constitution (i.e. don't plot against or advocate destroying it, or associate or join a group or political party which does)

(extenuating circumstances for the above considered if the applicant is married or related to a Japanese)

[YokohamaTommy]

Technically you can apply for PR after you have had at least one three-year visa stamp. You may or may not get that straight off (usually one year and then three years). There is no official time you can apply for naturalisation but each case is decided on its merits and you must have a good reason for applying. I will add the process is lengthy, the investigation is intrusive and they do everything short of going through your trash. Investigation of tax records, interviewing of your neighbors and anything so much as a speeding ticket can scuttle an application for naturalisation. It goes without saying that proficiency in Japanese is required if you want to contribute to society in any meaningful way.

Question:
When you say they investigate everything, how about credit from when I was in America?
My credit was ruined in America because of a really horrible divorce. Will they investigate that as well?

[YokohamaTommy]

Because once you become a foreign national you will need a visa to live in your birth country though technically you have to renounce your US citizenship. Debito Arudo has written about it here and the US doesn't like its nationals giving up their passports.


JAPAN'S REQUIREMENTS

I went down to the local Ministry of Justice (Houmu kyoku) and sat down for an hour with an official. At first, he talked at me as if I were a child, and about very private things. When he started interrogating me about my parents' marital status I interrupted: Hang on. This is immaterial--all I want are the bare bones of what it takes to qualify, not whether or not *I* personally qualify, for citizenship. He nodded, hitched up his politeness level, and gave me the beef:

TO QUALIFY FOR JAPANESE CITIZENSHIP, YOU MUST:

a) have lived continuously (hiki tsuzuki) at Japanese addresses for five years

b) be over twenty years of age "in terms of mental and legal capacity" (20 sai ijou de honkokuhou ni yotte nouryoku o yuusuru koto)

c) behave well (sokou ga zenryou de aru koto)--and they do check--my dictionary even has the word "sokou chousa" (personal conduct survey) in it

d) demonstrate the means to support your family

e) be willing to relinquish the citizenship of your native country once Japanese citizenship is granted

f) respect the Japanese Constitution (i.e. don't plot against or advocate destroying it, or associate or join a group or political party which does)

(extenuating circumstances for the above considered if the applicant is married or related to a Japanese)

Gold sir.
I am in your debt. m (_)m
Thank you,

[KansaiBen]

Question:
When you say they investigate everything, how about credit from when I was in America?
My credit was ruined in America because of a really horrible divorce. Will they investigate that as well?

I couldnt tell you for sure but what they are mainly concerned with is your ability to support yourself and contribute to Japanese society economically socially and financially. My guess is that anything that happens outside Japan doesn't carry a lot of weight but if for example you have missed pension payments, dont pay health insurance or you have DUI charges against you here then they will look at that closely. All I can say is apply when the time comes and deal with matters as they arise. The naturalisation process is very opaque and no one here can tell you why one person is accepted and another is rejected.

I will add that even with a Japanese passport you will still be considered a "gaijin" or a foreigner. It comes with the territory. In Japan I know of one Finnish born man who is a member of Parliament and there was a former American who is a municipal mayor in Nagoya. Sumo is also full of foreign born Japanese nationals.

[YokohamaTommy]

I will add that even with a Japanese passport you will still be considered a "gaijin" or a foreigner. It comes with the territory. In Japan I know of one Finnish born man who is a member of Parliament and there was a former American who is a municipal mayor in Nagoya. Sumo is also full of foreign born Japanese nationals.

Thanks again,
Yes, I realized from my visits that this is just something I have to live with, especially in a homogeneous society as Japan, and always having to earn my way into whatever group I am associated with.
This was especially true with my in-laws. My wife's family did not accept me at all for about two years, they were polite, but I was sort of ignored at every family function.
When they finally threw an engagement party for us, the whole clan of 150 people showed up, and my wife's Uncle made a toast and big deal about how "I was now accepted into the family." which of course meant a great deal to me, but strange none the less.
What was funnier still, was my father in law said "even though you are fat." (I'm like 5 lbs overweight) your face is acceptable as a Japanese.
To this day I still have no idea what the hell that meant, but I guess it was a good thing. LOL

I really want to do my best, and be a good example to my children.

any help that anyone can provide will be priceless to me.

[KansaiBen]

Personally I wouldnt worry too much about going native or trying to be more Japanese than the Japanese. You wont be considered Japanese by a long shot even if you walk around all day in a hakama and play the shamisen. They will just think you are a strange gaijin. When I got married the olds threw a reception for us and I met all the relatives. That was the last I ever saw of any of them. Japanese do like though when you show an interest in their culture (I saw in news the other day about one guy who's a considered expert on Edo-period Japanese literature and has helped translate 150 year old documents).

My only advice for what its worth as a 25 year resident here is be yourself and consider yourself a transplanted ex-pat, even if you do have a little blue passport on you. Most people live here quite happily on PR status and unless there is a pressing reason to become Japanese then most don't.

As for Japan being homogeneous they may all look the same to you but Japan has a huge number of minorities including Okinawans (formerly an independent kingdom called Ryukyus) Ainu (Japan's native Indians), transplanted Koreans, Buraku (untouchables) you have kids from international marriages as well as the expat community.

Thanks again,
Yes, I realized from my visits that this is just something I have to live with, especially in a homogeneous society as Japan, and always having to earn my way into whatever group I am associated with.
This was especially true with my in-laws. My wife's family did not accept me at all for about two years, they were polite, but I was sort of ignored at every family function.
When they finally threw an engagement party for us, the whole clan of 150 people showed up, and my wife's Uncle made a toast and big deal about how "I was now accepted into the family." which of course meant a great deal to me, but strange none the less.
What was funnier still, was my father in law said "even though you are fat." (I'm like 5 lbs overweight) your face is acceptable as a Japanese.
To this day I still have no idea what the hell that meant, but I guess it was a good thing. LOL

I really want to do my best, and be a good example to my children.

any help that anyone can provide will be priceless to me.

[YokohamaTommy]

Personally I wouldnt worry too much about going native or trying to be more Japanese than the Japanese. You wont be considered Japanese by a long shot even if you walk around all day in a hakama and play the shamisen. They will just think you are a strange gaijin. When I got married the olds threw a reception for us and I met all the relatives. That was the last I ever saw of any of them. Japanese do like though when you show an interest in their culture (I saw in news the other day about one guy who's a considered expert on Edo-period Japanese literature and has helped translate 150 year old documents).

My only advice for what its worth as a 25 year resident here is be yourself and consider yourself a transplanted ex-pat, even if you do have a little blue passport on you. Most people live here quite happily on PR status and unless there is a pressing reason to become Japanese then most don't.

As for Japan being homogeneous they may all look the same to you but Japan has a huge number of minorities including Okinawans (formerly an independent kingdom called Ryukyus) Ainu (Japan's native Indians), transplanted Koreans, Buraku (untouchables) you have kids from international marriages as well as the expat community.

Thank you very much for the advice.
And trust me, I won't try to be more Japanese than Japanese.
Though I have studied Japanese history and culture and arts extensively for these last 20 years, I'm learning that whatever I thought I knew about Japan is nothing. ZERO.
It's like I'm an infant all over again. LOL
It truly is like I am starting from nothing,
and I also know I'll never "fit in" as they say. Especially because I am 6"4 and built like a tank. I know I'll always get weird looks. LOL
But part of me has that "____ you" what makes you people think you are better than me attitude, only it's internal, so I project it outward and always try my best to be humble, and learn from my experiences and mistakes.

This is really a change for me. I keep telling myself that this experience will transform my life and enrich it, and allow me to help others, perhaps like you are doing for me now.

Thanks again.

Tommy

[KansaiBen]

Believe it or not some Japanese are big, not American football player big but many Japanese wrestler (sumo and WWF) are built like tanks too. the biggest sumo wrestlers here are over 300 pounds. You get judoists who weigh 100 kg or 200 pounds. Rugby players are the same.

People wont stare at you so much unless you live in deepest darkest kyushu and there are not many foreigners. I came here in 1987 and lived in Shikoku and was treated like a rock star. Nowadays foreigners are all over the TV and the rarity "WOW" factor has disappeared somewhat.

Compared to most Americans Japanese are not really humble but self-effacing, they are not so much in your face but you do get some pretty annoying loudmouths (as well as you fair share of racist bigots). They have been credited with being fairly stoic in the face of the disaster that has befallen them. Imagine if the tsunami had hit California and all the whining and finger pointing that would ensue in the US.

Your biggest problem will probably be low doorways, using Japanese toilets and I guess the miniscule food portions compared to what's on offer in the US. Japanese sense of space is different as you have 1/3 the US population living in the space the size of California. 70% of Japan is mountainous.

and I also know I'll never "fit in" as they say. Especially because I am 6"4 and built like a tank. I know I'll always get weird looks. LOL
But part of me has that "____ you" what makes you people think you are better than me attitude, only it's internal, so I project it outward and always try my best to be humble, and learn from my experiences and mistakes.
Tommy

[Chuck Sickens]

As for Japan being homogeneous they may all look the same to you but Japan has a huge number of minorities ,,,,,, Ainu (Japan's native Indians).

??????????????????
I've never seen any Japanese in turbans or attending any hindu temples.

Almost as chronic as your advice about a dog in the middle of a custody battle between its former owners being returned to its mother in 90% of the cases in Japan.



Yokohama Tommy,

a word of warning, be careful at taking any advice offered by Kansai Ben. The guy is more often than not wrong.

Nigel.

[YokohamaTommy]

Believe it or not some Japanese are big, not American football player big but many Japanese wrestler (sumo and WWF) are built like tanks too. the biggest sumo wrestlers here are over 300 pounds. You get judoists who weigh 100 kg or 200 pounds. Rugby players are the same.

2 funny stories on this one. I did visit deep dark Kyushu, and on my first visit no less! I was somewhere outside of Yufuin in Oita Pref, and I remember
stopping at a Lawson in the middle of nowhere. The local farmboys took one look at me, pretended I wasn't there, but I could see them sneaking glances at me from across the isle and muttering amongst themselves. LOL I guess there are rednecks everywhere.
That same trip, I visited a Hakata ryokan (OMG the Chashyu Ramen is HEAVENLY) anyway, this was the first time I got naked in front of other people since my high school sports days. And just my luck, the Japanese national Hockey team was staying at that Ryokan at the same time. So they were all in the Ofurou, and here I am, this giant Gaikokujin, trying to figure out how to work the shower nozzle. Needless to say, I was quite aware as they all were huddled together and I swear, I think they were trying to check out my "junk". We anyway, I finished the shower, and go into the bath. They immediately ball up in the corner, as If I have some strange disease. I tried to look "natural". after about 10 minutes, one of them glides over to me, and we start conversing in my rudimentary Japanese. (One thing I can say about Japanese, is that when they are drunk or comfortable, they are really nice to talk with.) anyway, for some reason, they kept thinking I was Russian. I don't know why, as I am of Irish decent. Well, they kept asking me how I got such big muscles, and all I could say was "niku tabete kara" LOL. I told them I was a Kendoka, which did not seem to impress them, but after the bath they invited me to their room and we all became ridiculously drunk. I will also say, they Japanese have NO qualms about getting so shitfaced that they cannot do anything but lie there and sleep it off.

Compared to most Americans Japanese are not really humble but self-effacing, they are not so much in your face but you do get some pretty annoying loudmouths (as well as you fair share of racist bigots). They have been credited with being fairly stoic in the face of the disaster that has befallen them. Imagine if the tsunami had hit California and all the whining and finger pointing that would ensue in the US.

I will say this: Americans are quite aware of the way Japanese people have conducted themselves during this crisis, and quite frankly, they are in awe, and the level of respect is quite refreshing.

Your biggest problem will probably be low doorways, using Japanese toilets and I guess the miniscule food portions compared to what's on offer in the US. Japanese sense of space is different as you have 1/3 the US population living in the space the size of California. 70% of Japan is mountainous.

[/QUOTE]

First time I was in Osaka I stayed at an "Onsen hotel" just outside the airport in Kansai.
I am acutely aware that because of my size, I must be mindful of things, and It never seems to help. LOL I went into the Onsen, took my bath, and when I came out, I had my (way too small) Yukata on. Well, the steps were very step and I misjudged them. I began to fall, and as I did, I reached out, grabbed the Noren off the hook, and the picture frame next to it as I tumbled to the floor. There I was, a Noren around my neck, my arm through the (now broken) picture frame, and my legs spread wide for all to see.
and as luck would have it, a group of tourists from Tokyo were signing in at the Hotel lobby at that very moment! LOL Yes, they received quite a show I will say. LOL


Good times. LOL

The good news is I LOVE Washlets, and Japanese food.
Heck, I even love Natto!

Tommy

[KansaiBen]

Ainu have their own language and they are closely related (in dress and culture if not anything else) to North American eskimos. For years they subsisted on whaling but they have had to adapt out of necessity. Ainu have their own non-Japanese names. Remember in Korea between 1910 and 1949 people got punished for not speaking Japanese and having Japanese names. For Ainu it was become Japanese or else.

I guess you have never been to Tsuruhashi in Osaka where Korean town is.

Okinawans only became part of Japan after about 1880, where before that they had their own king for centuries.

Buraku are considered untouchables and are like the lower-castes in India. Most Japanese shun Buraku when it comes to seeking a marriage partner because of the stigma (they used to be leather tanners and grave diggers in Edo period)

I suppose if you consider racial ethnicity then they are homogenous but thats about as far as it goes.

PS obviously you don't recognise sarcasm when you see it. I was kidding about the dog.

??????????????????
I've never seen any Japanese in turbans or attending any hindu temples.

Almost as chronic as your advice about a dog in the middle of a custody battle between its former owners being returned to its mother in 90% of the cases in Japan.



Yokohama Tommy,

a word of warning, be careful at taking any advice offered by Kansai Ben. The guy is more often than not wrong.

Nigel.

[trip_hop]

In my view (which may change once I actually live in Japan) since I have children who are Japanese nationals, I don't want them to feel strange, like "Daddy is a Gaijin" (which I assume I'll always be considered) but moreover, this is the life I have chosen, so I might as well go all the way.

You might have Japanese citizenship, but you'll always be a gaijin. Can't run, can't hide it. Just accept it.

In wabisabi land, the locals always know... even three or four generations later.

[Hijinx]

You might have Japanese citizenship, but you'll always be a gaijin. Can't run, can't hide it. Just accept it.

In wabisabi land, the locals always know... even three or four generations later.

I've even witnessed a little half kid (half wabisabi) call his American dad in America a gaijin.

[YokohamaTommy]

You might have Japanese citizenship, but you'll always be a gaijin. Can't run, can't hide it. Just accept it.

In wabisabi land, the locals always know... even three or four generations later.

Then I resign myself to be the great-white ugly oni;
descending from the mountains to trip and make embarrassing faux pas everywhere and to blow my nose in public.
No doorway or tiny space shall be safe,
and ALL shall be stricken with uncomfortable silences.

LOL

[KansaiBen]

2
The good news is I LOVE Washlets, and Japanese food.
Heck, I even love Natto!

Tommy

Washlets have only been around for the last ten years or so. Im talking about the squat type where you stand over it.

Lots of Japanese dont like natto and I have seen Japanese kids hold chopsticks as if they are holding a pencil or like a dagger.

[YokohamaTommy]

Washlets have only been around for the last ten years or so. Im talking about the squat type where you stand over it.

Lots of Japanese dont like natto and I have seen Japanese kids hold chopsticks as if they are holding a pencil or like a dagger.

Nothing like a jet of hot water up yer arse to make you feel like a man.
A CLEAN man however.

Let us never speak of this again.


LOL

[YokohamaTommy]

I've even witnessed a little half kid (half wabisabi) call his American dad in America a gaijin.

Wabisabi? I am familiar with the term in artistic sense, but is that what they call a half-Japanese half other ethnicity?
I thought it was "Happa"

No?

[KansaiBen]

Wabisabi? I am familiar with the term in artistic sense, but is that what they call a half-Japanese half other ethnicity?
I thought it was "Happa"

No?

Hybrid kids here with one Japanese parent are called "haffu" as in "half". Wabisabi is a bit "tongue-in-cheek". My son used to be embarrassed to be seen with me on sports days or speak English until he went to Australia and he became the foreigner in his class.

[YokohamaTommy]

Hybrid kids here with one Japanese parent are called "haffu" as in "half". Wabisabi is a bit "tongue-in-cheek". My son used to be embarrassed to be seen with me on sports days or speak English until he went to Australia and he became the foreigner in his class.

There are many things in this world that I dislike, but only one thing I hate, which is racism.
I know the Japanese are not overtly racist, except maybe those right winger, but I like to think they are simply ignorant.
Ignorant of the fact that they came from Korea, Ignorant of the fact that Japan was populated by other ethnicities such as the Ainu and even in ancient times, by Caucasians.
Ignorant of the fact that we are all one people, and they are not descended from Izanagi and Izanami.
But such is the dichotomy of the Japanese. We believe in Kami, but really not. We believe this is the land of the Gods, but really not.

As smart as the Japanese are, they are really innocent of many things,
ne.

[KansaiBen]

There are many things in this world that I dislike, but only one thing I hate, which is racism.
I know the Japanese are not overtly racist, except maybe those right winger, but I like to think they are simply ignorant.
ne.

Considering that a few years ago people were against J.F. Kennedy because he was a Catholic and the US government locked up Japanese-Americans in WWII but not Germans and Italians, thats saying something. You still have a healthy minority who still refuse to believe a black man born in Hawaii with a white mother could ever qualify to be President.

Japan has never been colonised, just like Britain so people tend to have a bunker mentality and everyone else is outsiders who come to invade the promised land. Even the Emperor here has admitted to his Korean roots.

[YokohamaTommy]

Considering that a few years ago people were against J.F. Kennedy because he was a Catholic and the US government locked up Japanese-Americans in WWII but not Germans and Italians, thats saying something. You still have a healthy minority who still refuse to believe a black man born in Hawaii with a white mother could ever qualify to be President.

Japan has never been colonised, just like Britain so people tend to have a bunker mentality and everyone else is outsiders who come to invade the promised land. Even the Emperor here has admitted to his Korean roots.

You have a valid point indeed.
Ignorance is ignorance, and my experience has shown me in America, I am in the minority that embraces reason and science and tolerance and compassion as an axiom.
Truth be told, I have yet to experience real racism in Japan, but I assumed it was present, beyond the smiling and aisatsu.
I'd like to think my heart speaks for itself, and perhaps too much when dealing with people, so in this regard,
perhaps it is me who is naive.
either way, I am who I am. Open and I suppose vulnerable.

such is the way of things.

[Hijinx]

Wabisabi? I am familiar with the term in artistic sense, but is that what they call a half-Japanese half other ethnicity?
I thought it was "Happa"

No?

My attempt at a joke. I meant half-Japanese.

[YokohamaTommy]

My attempt at a joke. I meant half-Japanese.

I know what you meant, and sorry if I seemed too over-reactive.

Let me buy you a beer and we will call it even.
:P

[KansaiBen]

Y
I'd like to think my heart speaks for itself, and perhaps too much when dealing with people, so in this regard,
perhaps it is me who is naive.
either way, I am who I am. Open and I suppose vulnerable.

such is the way of things.

Racism and bigotry occurs in any country where you have people of different skin colors, religions or ethnicities living side by side. Japan is no different though its a little better than it used to be. Racism does exist in this country though a lot of it is bureaucratic and institutionalised. Have you seen the "no foreigners" signs outside onsen and some nightclubs? Got to be seen to be believed some of the people turning foreigners away were themselves Filipina hostesses.

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara is bigotry personified and has just been re-elected for the fourth time.

[YokohamaTommy]

Have you seen the "no foreigners" signs outside onsen and some nightclubs?

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara is bigotry personified and has just been re-elected for the fourth time.

Sadly, yes, I have seen them. and I also have been denied access to Onsen because of my military Tattoos.
Non offensive, unit patch tattoos, that sort of thing.
I actually had to patch them up with tape in a few places to gain entry.
What part of "I am a Gaijin and NOT Yakuza do they not understand?

also, I was denied entry into almost every nightclub in Osaka.

Didn't know the Tokyo Mayor was such a person.
Thanks for that.

[KansaiBen]

Sadly, yes, I have seen them. and I also have been denied access to Onsen because of my military Tattoos.
Non offensive, unit patch tattoos, that
Didn't know the Tokyo Mayor was such a person.
Thanks for that.

Ishihara is legendary. He said foreigners would rape and pillage in the case of a natural disaster. Note the US army providing troops to clean up in Tohoku after the tsunami. Also said rampaging hooligans would over run Japan during the Soccer World cup in 2002. Only people who got arrested were Japanese for disorderly behavior. Spent something like a billion yen on the failed Tokyo Olympic bid and his pet bank project in Tokyo is spewing red ink and is being kept afloat by taxpayers.

Even Japanese women with tattoos cant come into an onsen. If they let one in then they have to for everybody.