On Okinawa, the red light area routinely used to refuse “chocolate men” for being “too strong”
俺：俺は読めますので、入りま〜すぅぅ
店長：No! No! No! サイヌ！サイヌ！ノーべーカンシー！
俺：えっ？ちゃんと読んだんですけど。。。
店長：🙅🙅🙅
俺：Fuck your store dick head.
Never heard of a restaurant posting a sign on the door saying they’re full.
I don’t see signs like this where I live either. But when I went to Japan I did see this a couple times. Not a racist sign like this one, but signs saying “we’re full” in Japanese, at restaurants. Different cultures do things differently, I guess.
Yeah that’s more of a hotel thing. I’m guessing this is that influencer trick of intentionally lying about a detail so people will make comments to correct you, giving you free engagement.
I agree. And I’m replying to this comment to skew the numbers.
Japan will put signs out saying they’re full and to queue from x position. Some will list an approximate time. If they take reservations and are full for the day, it will usually say that. Especially in urban areas, we can have some quite small restaurants.
Interesting. Thanks for explaining.
Not race but “I am tired of tourists”-ism
- said John in the beach town that survives because of tourism
That’s maybe not japan case but usually that’s the case for most places
Consider the alternatives. Capitalism is lazy. So if there is a living to be made from tourists of course people are using that as a resource. But there might be a lot of different ways to create a working economy there and its bring hindered by the incumbent called tourism.
Like we (the global north) is fucking up the clothing market for the global south by dumping (donating) our old clothing and completely destroying the chance for a working economy in that sector.
Bring on the downvotes.
If the same people that complain about tourists would suggest anything and actually act…
Like, yeah we have alternatives (kind of…many little town have nothing else than tourism) but no one seems to do anything tbh
Its not a binary State. You don’t switch it on and there is a ready made economy. It has to develop. Needs and supplies and developing of capabilities and the expansion of all three above. It takes time. And energy. And most likely a few losses and hardship. None of these steps are bring taken If there is an alternative. Although annoying and probably not sustainable and definitely not self governed.
Its not a binary State. You don’t switch it on and there is a ready made economy
No shit! Where i said that?
I know perfectly this because i lived in some of these turist town and heck, the region i come from survives on tourism probably, and i an telling you, most people that complain will likely do nothing to improve the situation (eg: opening some bussiness that isn’t made around tourism), maybe they will even make the situation worse by arrassing some tourists
So you haven’t grasped the broader point I was trying to make. The established tourism industry literally kills alternatives. Because of the inherent risk involved in trying new things people will almost always gravitate towards thr established.
And I’m certain that every inhabited region on this planet is able to develop a somewhat complex economy on their own and even interconnected with neighboring regions when left alone. Is it going to be silicon valley? No, but that really isn’t what we are talking about here.
They grasped it, your point is just factually wrong.
“I’m not racist. I just can’t stand all these fucking foreigners.”
That’s what you sound like.
Have you ever lived anywhere with a lot of tourism? Its not the specific people one dislikes but the atmosphere it creates. That may just be me.
Edit: a prominent example being Venice.
I have no sympathy, I’ve met a fair number of “locals” over the years. The vast majority were transplants after the location became a tourist destination. And happily take tourist money. They bitch about the crowds but still take that money…
The definition of hypocrisy.
Very empirical observation. You should write a paper about the study based on the vast amount of data points you seen to have gathered with quantitative and qualitative evaluation and questionnaires.
Edit: homework is reading about confirmation bias and how this could have affected your observations when meetings these locals (as a tourist I very strongly suspect).
Edit2: I live in a semi major city in southern Germany that has a lot of culture events, general attractions and a beautiful oldtown. Surrounded by mountains and woods to enjoy. There is an established economy here and the tourism isn’t the second or even third largest player in the local economy.
I don’t need the tourists, the city doesn’t need the tourists but can of course profit from them. I can tell you that having the slow walking parades of people looking at things and sometimes intrusive observation of the locals is SO annoying that I wish they weren’t there. Now imagine this place times ten and you have a local Japanese restaurant outside of the city center, times 100x at city center and times 1000 gives you Venice. If you can’t grasp thr idea that this can be annoying enough to out out a sign like this then I truly can’t help you.
Wrong on all counts, thanks for proving your own biases though! I strongly suspected you were one of the Internet geniuses!
So still no facts or actual responses about the specific points I made. You might regard them as wrong and they might just be that. But you will have to make a little more effort to call this a discussion or even a valid response instead of just wasting my time. When you are up for that, ill be here. Until then, bye.
Edit: one last thing: I regard myself everything BUT a genius. But I am willing to talk about things and arrive at conclusions based on observations instead of convictions. That is all.
But you have done nothing but spew convictions and discount others opinions. Providing no proof yourself.
Good day I’m bored of you. In true Internet Genius fashion I’m sure you’ll twist this conversation into a win so you’ll learn nothing.
I have, and I can see what you’re saying. But intelligent people who understand how the bills get paid figure out a balance.
Yes, society requires compromises, I agree. The problem here is for me that the tourism side seems to only take (space, capacity, mentally) and leave money with no regard (why would they? They paid for the vacation) to a local community. There are exceptions of course.
As long as you can moderate the influx and the way tourists are able to impact local life then I can see some kind of balance. And yes, as always we need to pay the bills somehow. And that means (sadly in our reality) sucking it up and sacrificing some kind of confort. In general, not just regarding tourism.
The people defending this as ‘not racism’… way to miss the point. If this was some BBQ joint in Texas with a sign that says closed in Spanish but open in English you wouldn’t be posting these comments
Its called Xenophobia.
Xenophobia and racism are distinct forms of prejudice: xenophobia is the fear or hatred of foreigners, while racism is the belief in racial superiority and systemic oppression based on race. Though they overlap, they target people for different reasons.
I mean, it’s also racism. Those people are just stupid.
The odds of a Texas BBQ joint not having any Spanish speaking employees is exceedingly small.
And yet they are cheering for ICE to arrest them all. No matter the status or paperwork. If they’re arrested then they are guilty. That’s how it works down here.
There are for sure racist fascists and bootlickers here, but don’t paint us all with that brush.
https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/protests-against-ice-scheduled-across-texas-this-weekend/
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/us/student-protests-walkouts-ice-texas.html
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/14/texas-ice-shooting-houston-city-council-protest/
lol what? Have you ever been to Texas?
It’s been years now, but are you saying that BBQ joints don’t have Spanish speaking employees? Is that a Texas only thing?
Mac is mistaken. There are Spanish speaking employees all over the food service industry in Texas.
Most of the US in fact, especially any decent sized city.
Truth. My favorite Japanese restaurant in the States had a primarily South American immigrant staffed kitchen.
Having lived in Texas for 40 years, I can confidently tell you you’re full of shit
No i just can’t read
I misread their comment and thought they were saying the opposite lol
Have you‽ I was born in Texas. Lived here the last 24 years, and 32 of the last 34. Even asian restaurants here have kitchens full of Spanish speaking people.
Yes, i lived on the border of TX and NM for fifteen years and i can tell you with certainty that i misread your comment. lol
🍻
If an American moves to Europe and doesn’t attempt to learn the local language, then by a few months to a year in with zero effort people will say they’re in the wrong for not making an effort to integrate and expecting everyone to speak English for them.
Clearly “Americans expecting foreigners to speak English” is different from “Other countries expecting Americans to speak the local language” from a moral point of view. So why is Japan then lumped in with America as the “Local people must accept and accommodate foreigners who can’t communicate in the local language” bucket, when anywhere else it’s “If you’re traveling there and you didn’t even try learning the language, then you’re ignorant and entitled.”?
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You yourself are saying it’s unfortunate that people mostly speak English in the nordic countries, and yet you argue that it would be xenophobic and wrong to try to incentivize society to use the local languages more?
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Then what did you mean why you said “unfortunately”? I guess that part through me off.
And look, I’ve done a bit of traveling so I’m definitely grateful for places that welcome foreigners who don’t speak the language. I’m not saying those should go away.
But I’ve also spent enough time in some places to gain a little proficiency, and at that point it would be nice to have a few places to go where I’m expected to use the language. Otherwise people see me struggling and then they default to English. It makes it harder to get the level of immersion necessary to go from intermediate to advanced.
Plus, when I’m really immersed in a culture I like to avoid the touristy spots. I try to go to the places where the local language is used more. If I rely on every local’s English proficiency to get by, I’ll never learn.
And it feels nice to be able to differentiate myself from the average tourist, like “no I’ve actually been living here for months and have gained some basic proficiency in the language.” There’s a difference between going somewhere for a week to hit all the tripadvisor spots, versus going somewhere to immerse in the local culture and try to build a life there. Most places view tourists as a nuisance, and I don’t see why that’s a problem because the level of respect for the local culture tends to be lower among tourists anyway.
If an American moves to Europe and doesn’t attempt to learn the local language, then by a few months to a year in with zero effort people will say they’re in the wrong for not making an effort to integrate and expecting everyone to speak English for them.
My American cousin lived and worked in France as an engineer for several years. This is absolutely not true. He did make an effort to learn some French, but it wasn’t because of any pressure. He just wanted to.
It would still not be racism
Xenophobia at worst, only hatred of tourists at best
Xenophobia is inherently racist.
Arent they different things? Racism is about race, xenophobia is about country of origin
Xenophobia is hatred of foreigners or aliens. I.e., those who are different, by one meaning of the word. It therefore encompasses racism.
Doesnt xenophobia only include people who were born in other countries?
Probably a venn diagram but with a large overlap.
Yeah let’s start calling it racism when Barcelona locals spray tourists with water guns and see how quickly these same people scream “THAT’S DIFFERENT!”
It literally isn’t racism though. You can disagree with it and think it should be banned, but there is no interpretation that it can realistically be called racism
I lived in Japan for a while. I’ve seen a couple places with a sign like this. In my experience every place like this is perfectly willing to have foreigners that speak Japanese. They simply don’t want to deal with the hassle of a language barrier
I should also note these places were always in touristy areas. If they don’t have a sign like that, they’ll end up with majority English speaking customers, because Japanese customers prefer places without rowdy tourists that can’t speak the local language. I did too. Going out for an after work beer, you want an entirely different atmosphere from tourists getting hammered
Why not just post the truth then? They could say “We’re sorry, we’re unable to accomodate non-Japanese speakers due to…”?
Oh excellent, I have this translator app right here so they can accommodate me.
It doesn’t say “if you are of that race we are open”. It says you must understand the language. So learn it - you’ll need it anyway to live there - or go elsewhere, where staff can serve you on your language, provide a menu on your language etc.
A hate system where you can upgrade your status by learning is not racism. Also not necessarily a hate system in the first place.
Still racist
I mean, genuinely, how? It’s not saying you need to be Japanese to enter, just that you need to be able to read Japanese. IMO, learning the local language of a country you plan to visit is a basic courtesy that too many people don’t bother with.
Jim Crow literacy tests have entered the chat
… How many countries have you ever visited to say that
Like, being able to speak the very basics I agree. Numbers, hello and goodbye, thank you, etc.
But “If you can read this, you may come in” is pretty advanced. Like, probably requiring weeks of daily study level advanced to be able to understand.
Solidly A2 (European system) with that grammar(English translation) so 3-6 months (1-2 terms of university course).
Exactly
You’re right, in Barcelona they write “Tourists go home” in plain English in order to accommodate foreigners who aren’t fluent in Catalan!
“I’m tired of all these immigrants coming over here and not even being able to speak the language. This is [country] and we speak [language] here!”
That’s what you sound like.
“This is [Barcelona] and we speak [Catalan] here!”
Is this suddenly a different situation?
It’s their country. Aren’t they entitled to make rules?
.world btw
It’s not their fault which Lemmy server they were born into
Yeah, team sports!
/s
If you tie the availability of housing to whatever language someone speaks instead of something tangible related to the respective person, it’s racism.
I used Google Lens to translate the bottom text. Do you think that if i would go in there using my phone to translate i would get a room for the night?
This is a restaurant, not housing
I realized my mistake, but i think i wouldn’t get food either.
racism
Language is not a race.
Not being able to communicate, participate, doesn’t help either side. Buying a house, without being able to communicate is on its way to forming and insular community and not simply being denied service that is otherwise open to the public.
But this sign is for a restaurant, not for buying property. This is simply racism because they don’t want anyone outside of their cultural circle intruding…
Culture is not a race.
Do you believe that anyone existing in America must speak English and only English? If a couple next to you at a cafe are speaking French to each other do you tell them to go back home?
I’m not an expert on Japanese culture, but I don’t think they have the “melting pot” cultural identity that America has had historically.
So it’s not xenophobia if you’ve been consistently xenophobic from the start.
Was it xenophobia for Algeria to reject French-speakers?
America is a country founded upon immigration, so it’s not a comparable example. In broad terms, Japan is historically a fairly homogenous nation ethnically, culturally, and linguistically (and yes, I know those are very broad terms, I’m talking relative to North American countries like the US and Canada).
If the 1600s-1700s had gone differently, and North America remained predominantly populated by Native peoples speaking Native languages, then yeah I’d say it’s totally within their rights to expect visitors to either learn the local language and attempt to integrate, or be left out of certain parts of society such as restaurants that want to cater exclusively to people who speak Algonquin or whatever.
Show up in Algiers and try saying “Sorry, I don’t speak Arabic. Do you have a French menu?”
Do you believe that anyone existing in America must speak English
Yeah, eventually. If I’m going to live in a country indefinitely, I’m going to try to learn their language. If I’m in France for more than a year, I’m going to try to learn French. I’d expect the same of friends and family. It’s not racist to expect people living in a place long term to be able to converse with the locals.
If they’re working here for just a summer or two and spending most of the year in another country, no.
and only English?
No?
So shouldn’t all Americans speak (or at least learn) native American languages? You know, on the account that English isn’t native to America. Neither is Spanish for that matter. Nor French.
Yeah, eventually. If I’m going to live in a country indefinitely, I’m going to try to learn their language.
We’re not talking about eventually or indefinitely we’re literally just talking about visiting a restaurant for a meal
Ah, yes, everyone whould spend months to learn the language of every country they visit even though they might be there for only a few days.
How are you this dumb? I highly doubt you’ve ever been outside the country you were born in, and if you have you certainly didn’t follow your own thought here.
Christ Almighty dude, calm down. Yeah, maybe my comment was ignorant crap, but why jump straight to ad hominem? Do you think you’re actually going to change anyone’s opinion by calling them stupid straight off the bat?
It wasn’t saying it wasn’t tho
the replies didnt surprise me…
A couple of thoughts:
Yes, I’ve heard before, even from people living in Japan, that they are quite xenophobic.
Now, why is this not condemned from the west ? (I know Chinese people and they do remember WW2)
As everything several reasons:
Japan has a great propaganda machine to make their culture look cool AF: anime/manga, the mythology around temples, samurais, ninjas…
The good parts of their culture, specially in contrast to the west: the extreme politeness, how clean and organized they are, civility/safety, super good and maintained public services such transport…
The “pretend WW2 didn’t happen”. They were absolute monsters on WW2, way beyond the nazis, but the combination of doing a 180 towards the west and the atomic bombs made it so the west was comfortable with looking the other way while Japan conveniently forgets his war crimes (for anyone unaware search for Nanjing, be warned is a hard read, but is important not to forget)
The “pacifist xenophobia”. When you go to japan their way of practicing xenophobia is quite passive, like, let’s be clear, you are loud and disgusting for them, but they will never tell you that, and you are probably never going to be in danger. At least as a tourist this is 100% like this, they might even just feel introverted rather than xenophobic. From what I’ve heard from people living there, it gets more clear when you live, but didn’t get any “I’m in danger” feeling from them, so I guess that low key discrimination is like that.
Now, not saying any of that makes it good, but I can understand why there is a different level of pushback than to the USA for example, where if you are brown and meet an angry cop or redneck (or both), you might end up dead.
I know for the fucking internet there is no such thing as grey, is either black or white, but I think the world is more nuanced than that.
BTW, for their work culture alone I would never live there, and while I like an anime or two, I’m not an otaku by any means. I did enjoy my vacation on Japan several years ago, but not more than the one on China or other Asian countries.
The discrimination is never direct when it’s regulated. They just try to repress you the legal way. Of course Japan has better regulation than the third world countries (or countries that pretend they are first world but are equally shitty - US, ex Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, etc.).
I thinks it’s source comes more from the behavior of western tourists than anything else.
Really? If it wasn’t for the west all the Asian populations would coexist in harmony?
Have you read any history books?
History has nothing to do with it.
Your curse still lingers 💀 please check the video!
Due to their propaganda machine they have alot of soft power (and mainly cause of the “Cool Japan” thing like the post title references)
Is that why I see the word “gaijin”(i probably spelt it wrong in English) being used? (Assuming Xenophobia is here)
The better version is: ’ No gaijin ’ xD
Not racist. You can learn whatever language you want. In fact you don’t even need to learn Japanese. You can just use a translator app. This only is discrimination against those too lazy to do either.
Its also discrimination against those who can read all 3 languages but have poor eyesight so they can only actually read the larger text English.
Lol right, well go in there and see if that works.
In Japan many stores don’t let in foreigners / tourists. This is an instance of it.
Yep, one cafe in Kyoto said that they were by reservation only and I’d have to come back the next day. The entire cafe was empty except for one Japanese couple. Was immediately obvious what was going on.
oh yeah, like only letting in three middle school students at a time. we have similar limitations here in statesia to limit knife fights
People have google translate and shit. This won’t stop them
That’s what I was thinking. If I saw a sign like this, with some mysterious text with no translation, I would definitely want to know what it says.
If you could turn the lights out to the entire world for ten seconds, when you turn them back on half of Asia will have killed the other half. And if you ask where everyone else is they won’t even know who you’re talking about.
“Not in front of outsiders” does a lot of peacekeeping. The second the west forgets NK they’re doomed, that’s why their whole foreign policy can be boiled down to “Look at me!”
I have worked with a Japanese company for almost 2 years and never ever again. The racism, incompetence and ass covering is astounding. The way they treat women is also appalling but no one talks about this.
I’ll never understand why western people love Japan, but vilify China. My experience in working in China is a total opposite of Japan.
You found that the Chinese weren’t racist or sexist? I agree with you about Japan, but China was hardly enlightened. They were mostly just louder and more obnoxious, where the Japanese were overly formal and quiet.
Both cultures also had a lot of superstitions, like words or phrases you shouldn’t say, or lucky or unlucky numbers.
One word: “propaganda.”
1.6 billions worth of propaganda
I see my self like both China and Japan ngl.
Generally I think it’s because the Japanese have had continuous cultural interacting with the West for centuries at this point. Everything from Dutch and Portuguese trade during the sengoku jidai, to pirate ronin in the Philippines during isolation, to Japanese communities from Baja Sur to the cascades, and then finally stable connections being made post commodore Perry. In contrast the Chinese have had less than stable connections due to massive cultural changes every couple hundred years including periods of isolation, the collapse of the Ming fucking up trade routes for a time, the Qing being notably more isolationist, the warlord and Republican period being a shitshow, followed by the isolation of the communist period shattering a lot of western interst, it makes for less than stable connections.
Also there’s the whole great firewall of China thing going on which further seperates things in the modern age of the internet, it’s not total separation but it’s enough to be notable. In contrast I have been cussed out by a Japanese person, a Ruskie, an Aussie, and a fucken Peruvian simultaneously while playing games.
Google Lens tells me that the description is accurate. Even though i love japanese culture, they are racist as fuck, so i am not ever surprised.
Meanwhile in the west:
Racism: 🤬
Racism against Asians: 😆😝🤡
Nope. Racial against Asians is an US thing.
I am an Asian and live in Europe. Racism against Asians exists here as well. And it’s pretty much normalized.
OK I didn’t know that. Sorry
“heh you must be good at math because you’re Chinese” (they’re Filipino)
