The empty seat on a crowded Japanese train: 10 years on, the ‘gaijin seat’ still grates

The empty seat on a crowded Japanese train: 10 years on, the 'gaijin seat' still grates
By Baye McNeil
The first writing I ever published on life in Japan was for a blog I launched in 2008 — 10 years ago this month, in fact — called Loco in Yokohama. And in recognition of this occasion, I would like to revisit the blog post that got the ball rolling for me, career-wise.
The first post on my newborn blog was titled “An empty seat on a crowded train.” If you’re a conspicuous non-Japanese living here who rides the trains or buses, or goes to cafes or anywhere in public where Japanese people have the choice of sitting beside you or sitting elsewhere, then you’ve likely experienced the empty-seat phenomenon with varying frequency and intensity.
I had been living in Japan for four years before I wrote that post, during which time the empty seat and I were constant companions. Our relationship has gone through several phases in the 10 years since, and during that time we’ve gotten to know one another very well. You could even say we were intimate. And like with most intimate relationships, there comes a point where you’ve got to accept your partner, flaws and all, or call it quits. Interacting with the empty seat in this way helped me arrive at an idea that sustained me through the most trying period of my tenure here. And that idea was this:
Before one can make peace with Japan and the Japanese, one must first make peace with the empty seat (in all its manifestations) and all that it signifies.
I had that thought on Oct. 16, 2008. Then I sat down and wrote that post. And that thesis — this desire to make peace with this defining Japanese behavior, and with what was going on inside me that made peace an imperative — became the driving force of what was to become one of the most talked-about blogs around these parts, as well as one of the most respected books on expat life in Japan: “Hi My Name is Loco and I am a Racist.”
So, let’s fast forward 10 years …
----
I’m on the train, taking full advantage of the extra space I’m allotted so often by my fainthearted fellow commuters. The car was full but the seat beside mine was empty.
I noticed it, of course, but on any given day the amount of attention I pay it varies from too much to as little as possible. This was one of those as-little-as-possible days, for I had my iPhone on my lap and was playing 8 Ball Pool on it.
But, life, as it has a habit of doing, intervened.
I looked up to see that the train had pulled into Jiyugaoka Station. The person sitting on the opposite side of the empty space beside me got up, collected himself and got off the train, along with a good number of the other passengers.
As the boarding passengers filed in, I told myself not to pay them any mind. I hate that spat-on feeling I get when I see Japanese people, clearly eager to sit down, spot the empty seat near me, actually make an instinctual move toward it, then, once their eyes take a gander of me, abruptly alter their trajectory and scurry away.
I closed my eyes, nodded my head downward towards my iPhone, then re-opened them. I took a deep breath, and before I could exhale, I noticed two tiny legs standing before me. I looked up to see a mother and daughter who had boarded the train.
The mother’s eyes and mine met as she pointed and aimed her daughter at the seat beside mine — frankly shocking the crap outta me. The youngster, all of 4 or 5, resisted though, and cried “Kowai!!” (Scary!!), eyes brimming with fear. She grabbed and clung on to her mother’s leg for dear life, eyes transfixed on me.
This response, however, restored order to my world — the world her mother had rocked off its axis by directing her child to sit beside me.
It’s such a rare occurrence (as in this is the second, maybe third time in 15 years) that my mind started trying to solve the puzzle. I prayed it wasn’t meant as a punishment. I envisioned the little one acting up in a Jiyugaoka candy store, pouting and crying over some sweets she was denied, and the mother behind an embarrassed smile saying to herself, “You gonna pay for this outburst, you little miscreant!” And here I am, the perfect foil to use to dole out some payback!
But when I looked up at the mother, all I saw in her face was genuine dumbfoundedness and humiliation at her daughter’s reaction. I swear she would have died of an overdose if embarrassment were made of aspirin.
But there was something else there in her eyes and expression. Not payback, though. Something I couldn’t get a read on.
Generally, when this kind of thing happens, if I’m acknowledged at all, the parent will adopt a mien that suggests they are thinking, “Thank god he’s a foreigner and has no idea what my child said.” It’s almost cute, like this fear I tend to generate is some well-kept secret, like the body language of the child doesn’t scream the meaning of the word.
At least I tell myself it’s almost cute.
I braced myself for the next move. How will mama address this? Reinforce the fear? Ignore it, as if it’s to be expected and nothing can be done about it? These are the two most popular options, and I expected nothing less now.
I tried to turn away. Nothing’s worse than witnessing this type of irrational fear justified or normalized. But the rubbernecker in me seized control of my neck and commanded, “Take it like a man!”
But, to my utter surprise, this woman did nothing of the sort. Instead, she took the seat beside me herself and planted her daughter in the seat on the other side of her.
She glanced my way, smiled warmly, nod/bowed and said, “Sumimasen” (Sorry about that. Kids … whatchagonnado?).
I shook my head and waved it off, with a sympathetic and indulgent “Iie” (Don’t sweat it. I work with kids every day and they say the damnedest things).
Instinctively, I slid away from her as far as I could, which was about half an inch or so. I do this whenever people sit down beside me. I’ve found that this gesture tends to alleviate some of their discomfort (and there is almost always discomfort).
I’m not talking about physical discomfort; generally, there is sufficient space for a person to sit beside me without having to squeeze in. Besides, I really don’t care about anyone’s physical comfort. It’s a crowded train. Nobody is supposed to be truly comfortable, and to expect to be, particularly here in Tokyo, would seem to me to be irrational.
I’m talking about mental discomfort, evidenced by the persistent appearance of shifting, fidgeting, inching away, sometimes even scratching, and an inability to remember what to do with their hands or to sit still and relax.
The mother must have noticed me sliding away, for she glanced at me sideways, then down at the little sliver of seat that appeared between us because of my scooching, and kind of smile-bowed again.
I just grinned.
I returned my attention to the iPhone, deciding to write it off as an anomaly I’ll likely never get a satisfactory explanation for. Life is full of them.
Every so often, I noticed, peripherally, a tiny head poking out from the other side of mom. It was the little girl’s. Whenever I would turn my head her way, she’d duck back behind her mother, in that peek-a-boo way children do. Her face was still sour, though, like she hadn’t made up her mind whether I was kowai-worthy or not and was wondering what the hell her mom was thinking trying to seat her beside me.
Around the third or fourth time she peek-a-boo’d me, I waited with my face in her direction for her to re-emerge. When she did, I turned away. Then, I waited for her to duck her head back behind her mother before I turned her way again and waited. When she re-emerged this time, before I turned away, I caught a glimpse of a smile on her face.
Then, I noticed we were pulling into my station, so I stood to disembark. As I made my way for the door, I turned one last time. The little girl was looking at me. Her fear was gone replaced by what could have been glee. She waved at me and said, “Bye bye.”
I waved back, glancing at her mother. This time I could read the expression on her face.
It was gratitude! And I knew exactly how she felt, because the feeling was mutual.
----
In case you’re wondering, no, I haven’t made peace with the empty seat. And I never will. I’ve yet to hear a justification for it that doesn’t involve an ignorant race-based presumption, misjudgment or irrational fear, so it continues to reside high on my list of problematic aspects of life here.
And no, the frequency of its appearances has not ebbed. Not a lick. It remains an indelible aspect of life here and I’m as aware of it as I ever was.
So, has anything changed in 10 years? Does the episode described above represent any change at all?
Yes, one significant change resulted in my ability to fully appreciate the episode above. I’ve made some attitude adjustments. Over the years I’ve come to think of the empty seat less as an antagonist and more as an ally. It’s a journalist, working undercover for an underground news outlet, reporting daily on the state of affairs in Japan. And, when I ride the trains, buses or go to cafes or even walk down the street, I’m tuned in.
Unfortunately, this periodical is often the purveyor of dispiriting news, but on occasion it has wonderful stories to share. Like the story of a mother who flat-out refused to raise her daughter to abnormalize non-Japanese in any way. And how she, with a simple gesture and a single word — “sumimasen” — signaled to her daughter (and no telling how many other passengers in that commuter car) her intolerance of both the empty seat and, more importantly, the fear that produced it.
I’d like to think that she, like myself, has not made peace with the empty seat, has no intention of letting her daughter make peace with it, either, and felt that during rush hour on a subway car full of the faint-hearted was the appropriate time and place to assert her stance.
If so, then that feeling, too, couldn’t be more mutual.
Baye McNeil is the author of two books on life in Japan. Online at www.bayemcneil.com.
== Comments ==
* J.: I noticed this phenomenon on first moving to Japan and asked several Japanese people about it. I received five answers in a row of "They are probably worried that you might start speaking to them in English". I replied, "Why would I start speaking to strangers on a train?" I mentioned this to a sixth person who said, "That stuff about English is just rubbish. They just don't want to sit next to a foreigner." Honesty at last!I made my peace with it early on: "If you'd rather stand than sit next to me, more fool you and more room for me!" I'd sometimes smile and stretch out to emphasize that I didn't care (or pretended not to).Once, a white woman from New Zealand was raving on about how racist a practice it is and I replied that, as white people, we are not used to being on the receiving end of it and, perhaps, it gave us a tiny, tiny insight into how people of colour are treated in our own countries. I thought of Britain in the 1970s: I can just about remember as a young child how no one would sit next to a black person on the bus until only one seat remained - even if they had to walk to the back to get the other seat. At least seats weren't left empty, I suppose....Years ago, I heard an amusing story from a foreigner about how an elderly woman saw and then rejected the seat next to him, then walked on down the carriage only to return as the other seats were quickly filled. By that time, someone else had taken the seat, so he got up and offered her his own seat. She took it with a fair bit of embarrassment.I think things have changed over the last 20 years. These days, I don't often have the luxury of extra space. I was thinking recently how university-aged and people in their 20s usually just sit down without a thought. I guess they have interacted with more foreigners. Having said that, most older people also now take a seat next to me. Probably uniform-clad children are the group least likely to sit down, but they are usually just giggling and saying, "You sit down!" "No, you!" However, I have noticed that, recently, It's the Asian tourists that people seem reluctant to sit next to...
** S.J. (at J.): R., I wish what you wrote about the younger generation of Japanese people were more true, but I find that more often than not, they too are following in the footsteps of the older generations of Japanese - especially in areas which matter most.Some time back before the Lehman-led financial crisis hit, I used to work at the Japanese subsidiary of a well known American multinational in one of the nicer parts of central Tokyo. Being an American company, it employed a large number of foreigners - mostly North Americans and Europeans, but also non-Japanese Asians and other nationalities. Nevertheless, the majority of the staff was Japanese. The average age of the staff, especially the Japanese, was relatively young since it's often hard for foreign companies to recruit mid-career Japanese when they first set-up shop in Japan.What always surprised me about the Japanese staff was that every day they would all get up for lunch at about the same time and head outside in a group without ever asking any of their foreign colleagues if they wanted to join them. Almost without exception, the Japanese staff would have lunch in their own group, which would lead the foreigners to form their own groups for lunch (even when the Japanese were going out for Western food and the foreigners for Japanese food!).After I noticed this phenomenon, I mentioned it my my foreign friends working at other multinationals around Tokyo and they all had also either experienced or observed the same thing. So, clearly, Japan has a bigger problem in dealing with non-Japanese among them which goes beyond just sitting next to them on a train. The younger Japanese are not much better in this regard. To some of the posters here, I should also mention that none of the foreigners I worked with at this company were scary looking, rude or obnoxious in any way. And, oh, only a couple were black. These were some of the nicest, most well educated, highly qualified, sophisticated and well-travelled people I have met. By excluding them, it is the Japanese who lose, not these foreign professionals (who have almost all left Japan since then).Such Japanese attitudes is why Japan is such an unattractive destination for foreign professionals both globally and within Asia. Global surveys confirm that Japan remains an extemely unattractive destination for highly educated, high-skilled foreign professionals. Japan was last year ranked 51st among 63 nations worldwide in its attractiveness to highly skilled foreign professionals (according to the 2017 IMD World Talent Ranking). Japan also ranked last among 11 Asian nations for its appeal to highly skilled foreign workers, behind countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia in this global survey ("Japan ranks dead last in Asia for top foreign talent", The Japan Times, Nov 21, 2017).
*** W._B. (at S.J.): Have you EVER lived in the United States? Have you ever lived in a country militarily occupied by foreign troops who occasionally commit heinous crimes against your people and who, in the past, have done things to you which most thinking folks in the world think well beyond even Human bestiality! Testing, TESTING, nuclear weapons on women and children. I, myself, having read the details, seen the American documents on the walls of the Museum in Heiwa Koen, Hiroshima, CANNOT FORGIVE my own country for those two criminal acts, how are THEY, really, to forgive us? Wasurenai!! 'Rambo Sara' who NEVER learns morality and always thinks they are right. YOU will be the same person and say the same things wherever in the world you might be because you expect, really you expect THEM to 'make the effort' to get to know YOU. Why? All of the people you claim share your experience are likely ephemerals, shorttimers, a year, two years, visitors looking for the 'gaijin specialness' but feeling cheated when it's missing and you're treated like anyone else. Well, people in Tokyo have probably all they need of 'temporary foreigners' who smell like McDonald's, or who smell like garlic. And I would be very surprised if Mexican people who come to America don't experience a very similar behavior from White, Black, and Asian people here. When you go to a foreign country, try to understand that it is called a 'foreign' country by you for a reason; different customs, different attitudes, different judgements in the same situations. What you SHOULD be learning is how to see through their eyes because the greatest gift of living amongst different people is the clarity of vision you gain when returning to your own twisted culture. THAT is the greatest value, learning about others so you can see your own sins clearly. But, you're a 'professional', expected to 'know' and not willing to 'learn'. You have my condolences because an entire dimension of Human life is invisible to you and, I suspect, it's a life time condition. Again, average Americans make really poor anthropologists. Why can't THEY be like WE are? You REALLY don't want that for Japan. We carpet bombed THAT Japan and have occupied it and are destroying their prettiest areas to expand our pathological occupation of the people of Okinawa. Now you want them to love us. You ARE from Earth, right? Understand Humans even a little?
*** d._v. (at W._B.): *golf clap* Good job W______. You thoroughly wrote a post about not wanting to get to know people while at the same time writing generalized statements about people you don't actually know. Well done, I can see you are the most enlightened person in the world.
*** W._B. (at d._v.): Anyung haseo. "... you are the most enlightened person in the world."Well, even I wouldn't go that far, M______, but thanks for the kudos. That was the easy part to parse. Regarding 'people I don't know', you've noted that consistent historical behaviors play large in my perceptual view. I also shares ome of what I consider very important in living within a non-native identity group as a visitor. And I repeat, the 'Why can't THEY be like WE are?' whine heard so often here disturbs me. And, from the depth of your comment, I imagine golf to be big in your life.
* y.: I’m not sure I understand what the problem is. Having ample personal space sounds like heaven.
** S.J. (at y.): I think you're missing the bigger picture. This is not just about having an empty seat next to you on a train, but sheds light on broader issues of Japanese insularity and xenophobia. If the Japanese are not comfortable sitting next to foreigners on trains, how do you think they feel about foreigners living in their neighborhoods, using their local gym, eating at their restaurants, working with them or having them as coworkers, and having their kids attend school with them?Such Japanese intolerance and paranoia can and does take a severe toll over time on foreigners living in Japan. Just earlier this week, there was an article in the Asahi Shimbun about the epidemic of suicides among the Vietnamese community in Japan ("Vietnamese interns, students die in succession in Japan", October 14, 2018). According to this piece:"In Nisshinkutsu temple in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, new mortuary tablets written in Vietnamese line the shelves. These are of 81 Vietnamese who died from 2012 to the end of July this year. According to Thich Tam Tri, 40, a nun at the temple, many of the 81 were students or technical intern trainees in their 20s or 30s. Of these, four died in July. Three were technical intern trainees, and the remaining one was a student. The four died suddenly from various causes or from suicide. Amid the increase in the numbers of foreign students and technical intern trainees in Japan, many have died due to overwork, failing health or pressure in their daily lives. Experts say that it is necessary to improve the working environment and take more support measures for foreign trainees and students in Japan...Junpei Yamamura, 63, a medical doctor who has detailed knowledge on the issue, said, “It’s abnormal for healthy people in their 20s or 30s to die suddenly.""
*** y. (at S.J.): I'm sorry you didn't get my sarcasm/different perspective. I'm fully aware of the difficulty being shun. It's too bad that Japan doesn't roll out the red carpet for foreigners as some might expect/hope. People can force changes, as long as they understand that some hearts can never be changed. People should have the right to be stubborn, too.
*** S.J. (at y.): Again, you're on the wrong track. There are two things going on here which you need to keep seperate. First, when I'm on the train, I really couldn't care less if someone sits next to me or not - I never pay attention and I'm fine either way. I have better things to think about, so I simply don't give this any thought.But, the second aspect of this is more important. Since so many foreigners have for years talked about this, I have to believe that it does indeed happen and is widespread. So, what this tells me is that this is a problem with Japan and the Japanese - not a problem with the gaijin (Japanese ignorance, insularity, backward attitudes, intolerance, bigotry, intolerance, inflexibility...). This is why it is important for foreigners to have forums like this, so it becomes clear to all gaijin that the problem is not with them, but that the problem is with Japan and its people.
*** y. (at S.J.): Eyeroll.
*** S.J. (at y.): y_______, why are you even here if you're not interested in a serious discussion, or are you just trying to be a distraction?This excerpt from the top story right now on the NY Times website may be familiar to you, "The specialists scour Twitter for conversations on the assigned topics and post messages from the several accounts they each run. Sometimes, when contentious discussions take off, they publish pornographic images to goose engagement with their own posts and distract users from more relevant conversations." ("Saudis’ Image Makers: A Troll Army and a Twitter Insider", Oct 20, 2018). The piece is about Saudi Arabia, but could easily apply to Japan as well.
*** y. (at S.J.): To give people like you some perspectives, dude.
* H.: Okay so this guy didn't mention once that he's black... Just a "foreigner". Obviously I would never point this out in a discussion about America, because it is a multicultural society where all people are accepted as equal (at least ideally..).But Japan is a 1 race country whose main exposure to black people is racist stereotypes. Also he's in Yokohama, not even Tokyo, where foreigners are more expected. Sorry to break it to you but even though you've been in Japan for 10 years, if that little girl's never seen a black person before her reaction is not surprising at all.
** K.Z. (at H.): Mild-looking older "white" guy here. This evening's subway had two empty seats in my car: to my left and right.Yesterday's afternoon train had three to my right.This has become much less common from years ago, but I still wryly expect it. Being black might well accentuate it, but he's on point. It's looking "foreign" that unfortunately matter, still.Ten more years - and a doubling of "foreign-looking"people will end it.The US was the same - even in California outside the big cities - when I was a kid. I clearly remember incidents that were the same essential fear/discomfort/curiosity I experience today.
** c. (at H.): Or... she watch too much fox news...
** S.J. (at H.): I worry more about a Saudi-style "Jamal Khashoggi" treatment by Japanese authorities (albeit done with characteristic Japanese finesse) than an open seat next to me, but that's probably because of my very vocal and often public criticism of Japan.One thing I've learnt is that Japan does not tolerate dissent, especially from foreigners living in Japan. No wonder, the Jamal Khashoggi story has not received the same coverage here as it has in many other countries.
*** H. (at S.J.): Wow so I guess you just don't speak Japanese or watch Japanese tv yet u live "here" just to make criticisms up about Japan? That story is literally being covered day and night by every major news channel with great interest. There's zero evidence that Japanese government would ever consider sanctioning the assassination of a foreign journalist.
*** S.J. (at H.): I've been living in Japan more than ten years, have worked in management at Japanese corporations, multinationals and for the U.S. government for many years here. I watch Japanese news.As I said, Japan does things with much more finesse than the dumb way the Saudis acted, but their objectives are similar. I'm not a foreign journalist, but I know cases of foreign businessmen who - either themselves or their loved ones - have fallen sick and died under mysterious circumstances (exposure to harmful substances?). I think I know what I'm talking about more than most foreigners in Japan. Things are never what they seem here.
*** W._B. (at S.J.): "Things are never what they seem here."Perhaps because you are living in a foreign country which you choose to criticize from what seems a position of ignorance rather than actually having learned about the people around you to discover how very THE SAME Humans are across our entire genepool. Try to remember that the words you don't understand and the facial expressions you misinterpret are due to YOUR lack of interest or you simply could not criticize ANY OTHER country coming, as you apparently do, from what is becoming (or has already become) the most corrupt country on the planet. Perhaps you think Nihon has a band of psychopathic assassins like the mossad. My own intuition doubts that very much."...but I know cases of foreign businessmen who - either themselves or theirloved ones - have fallen sick and died under mysterious circumstances (exposure to harmful substances?)"The perfect place for some hard data to back up your scurrilous accusation. No?(scurrilous is OK? Eds?)
*** S.J. (at W.B.): Just because you did not understand my post, there really is no need for such outbursts. I was mostly refering to Japanese corporate culture and their role in Japan when I wrote my comment. Just like Saudi Arabia is owned by the royal family, Japan is controlled by its large corporations. Any whistleblowing or criticism of the royal family gets you whacked in Saudi. In Japan, the same thing happens to those who engage in whistleblowing or criticism of corporate Japan.I suggest you read Michael Woodford's excellent book "Exposure" about how the former British CEO of Japanese company Olympus had to flee Japan while fearing for his physical safety after he exposed financial irregularities that his Japanese collegues had been covering up for decade at Olympus.Japan has the most corrupt corporate culture in the world. No other country comes even close, especially not the U.S., where I'm from. Some of the more noteworthy cases of corporate corruption, deception and data falsification at large Japanese companies in recent years include:- KYB: The Japanese maker of shock absorbers for buildings disclosed that it had falsified data on the quality its shock absorbers since at least 2003 (2018)- Toray Industries Inc: The company admitted to falsifying quality test data in a 149 cases between 2008-2016 (2017)- Mitsubishi Materials: Company admitted to product data falsification at three subsidiaries for products used in crucial parts of aircraft and cars (2017)- Kobe Steel: Falsified strength and durability data for its products at 23 domestic and overseas plants going back years (2017)- Nissan Motor: Recalled more than a million vehicles because of falsified quality control checks (2017)- Subaru: Falsified quality control data (2017)- Mitsubishi Motors: Caught yet again for falsifying fuel economy tests (2016)- Suzuki Motors: Admitted to falsifying records (2016)- Asahi Kasei: Admitted to falsifying construction records for scores of large buildings which resulted in these building tilting over (2015)- Toshiba: Serious accounting irregularities over the course of seven years discovered (2015)- Lixil: Significant accounting irregularities uncovered (2015)- Toyo Tire and Rubber: Company caught falsifying data on its products, leading to resignations of senior management (2015)- Bridgestone: Indicted by the U.S. Justice Department, resulting in a $425 million criminal fine (2015)- Hitachi: The company agreed to pay $19 million to The Securities and Exchange Commission (U.S.), which had charged Hitachi, Ltd. with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (2015)- Novartis: Top Japanese executives at the Japanese unit quit after they admitted to falsifying data on the company' drugs (2014)- Riken: Admitted to one of the world's worst scientific frauds, when it was disclosed that it had falsified research results (2014)- Takata: Company found to have been hiding information about its defective airbags for tens of millions of cars, resulting in the largest auto recall in history (2014)- Takashimaya Co. and Tokyu Hotels: The two companies admitted to food fraud and false labeling of food products (2013)- Daio Paper: Financial irregularities discovered (2011)- Olympus: Huge accounting irregularities going back years found by new British CEO Michael Woodford (2011)- Nikko Cordial Corp: Significant financial irregularities uncovered (2006)- Kanebo: Ceased operating as an independent company after discovery of falsified financial reporting (2005)- Seibu Railways: Delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange after discovery of financial irregularities (2004)- TEPCO: Company found to have filed at least 29 falsified reports with nuclear safety regulators since the 1980s leading up to the Fukushima disaster (2002)- Tokyu Corporation, Snow Brand and Nippon Meat: These three large companies were caught intentionally mislabeling food products sold at Tokyu Store supermarkets and other places (2002)- Bridgestone: Forced to recall millions of tires after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration linked hundreds of accidents and at least 46 deaths to problems with the tread on its tires (2000)- Mitsubishi Motors: Company revealed that it had covered up safety defects and customer complaints about its vehicles (2000). Four years later, it made further admissions of a broader cover-up going back decades.- Long Term Credit Bank of Japan: Nationalized after it was found that the bank had been falsifying financial statements (1998)- Yamaichi Securities: Filed for bankruptcy after accounting irregularities discovered (1997)- Daiwa Bank: U.S. Federal Reserve ordered the bank's branches closed after finding that Daiwa, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, had hidden more than a billion dollars of losses (1995)
*** W._B. (at S.J.): Yes, Mr. Jackman, that is an impressive list of Corporate miscreants and the most impressive thing about it is that it exists. All of these scumbags have been exposed and brought to light. Albeit, American Corporate is every bit as psychopathic as Japanese Corporate ("It's just business..."), in America there is NO ONE paying attention! Do you REALLY believe that if we had the oversight which Japan, by your own list, seems to have, that we couldn't generate a similar but much more voluminous list of criminal, and almost certainly more pathological, behaviors from our own Corporations? How long has it been since you've lived in America? If Human pathology is your interest, we have more than you could possibly want at this time. Come on home and work on us. We need your help way more than Japan does.
*** S.J. (at W._B.): "Yes, Mr. Jackman, that is an impressive list of Corporate miscreants and the most impressive thing about it is that it exists. All of these scumbags have been exposed and brought to light. "No, this list is just the tip of the iceberg. Remember, most of these deceptions, lies and data falsifications involved dozens or hundreds of people and went on for decades at these companies before they got caught. Even then, almost no one goes to prison in Japan, so there's no accountability. In the West, it's usually some lone Wolf engaging in wrongdoing, but in Japan it is well-organized and system-wide. This in itself speaks volumes about Japanese society and culture.
*** t. (at S.J.): @S.J.You should read "Throw them all out" by Peter Schweitzer for starters and he also has other books on how it goes both ways where the USA Corporations work with the politicians even vice versa, where politicians first actively write bills and then seek out the appropriate corporations to shakedown.There many more books on USA Corporate corruption in every single industry in the USA. The USA has the largest corporations in the world. Their corruption naturally runs deeper than in any other nation because of its size.Even if Japan wanted to or literally any other Nation wanted to, they naturally couldn't compete with the corruption that exists in the USA.And also you fail to mention that Saudi Arabia and the USA are close buddies and yet you are criticizing only the Saudis.. The USA has been literally providing military protection for Saudi Arabia for a very long time now.This missing journalist case isn’t anything compared to how women and its general populace is treated in Arabia’s Muslim religious state – which ironically is by far the worst out of all them Muslim countries in the Middle East.This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to giant corporate and government state of the USA.I actually support USA's intention around the world. USA should be the protector but it's not being done correctly right now. I like many other Allies that USA has around the world but the Saudi Arabia one is horrible
* D.: I know about it, but i was wondering if there is some untold thing from writer : is he avergae gaijin looking ?I am personnaly a crossdresser and in all my time in Japan, countryside for studies and Tokyo for work, and even if I saw it happens to some kowai persons, it never really happened to me...
** S.J. (at D.): I think you have a point. There's a photo of the writer sitting on a train next to an empty seat accompanying this piece above.I took one look at his photo and thought to myself that he's one scary looking gaijin! I'm surprised The Japan Times even published it here without a "Viewer Discretion Advised" warning next to it. If you have young children at home, I'd advise you to not let them look at it - no need to give them nightmares.
*** D. (at S.J.): oh i did not see it...I believe that it is ridiculous to say "don't judge one by his/her look" as we should be aware of our surroundings and whether we blend or not, wheteher we want to blend or not and if we can ve proud of ourself.As world is, you can blame it but still either adapt and take advantage of stereotypes (long hair=female e.g) or complain blindlyJust imo
*** W._B. (at S.J.): Well, mr J______, thank you for confirming your credibility here. It's not just Japan you despise, is it? The author actually looks like my neighbor in Oregon who is one of the most gracious people I know.
*** J. (at W._B.): "It's not just Japan you despise, is it?" You seem to have missed the - rather obvious - sarcasm in comment poster's comment : "I took one look at his photo and thought to myself that he's one scary looking gaijin! I'm surprised The Japan Times even published it here without a "Viewer Discretion Advised" warning next to it."
*** W._B. (at J.): R______, did you grow up in America? And do you think that White gaijin were not influential upon Japanese attitudes and, in those days many, these days maybe fewer, White people are terrified of Black people. Maybe it's ancestral memory expecting payback, or the obvious physicality, strength, size, whatever, many White people hate Black people and it's fear, irrational fear, from which it derives. Nihonjin have been made 'wary' of Black people. In this case it is not xenophobia because when Nihonjin respect people so little that they are openly hostile to them, no reticence is too little. Any 'special' feelings felt by a Nihonjin toward an unknown Black gaijin is not xenophobia but a response induced by years of White attitudes being observed and, I'm sure, even openly expressed. In other words, neither Mr. J______ nor Mr. J______'s comment rose to the absurdity, in my experience, necessary to be 'sarcasm'.
*** J. (at W._B.): Rebecca, did you grow up in America?" No.
*** J. (at W._B.): I think, as you have obviously been annoyed by S.J.'s other posts, you are trying to read things into this comment that aren't there.D., wondered whether the writer was "average-looking" and said that she had noticed empty seats next to "kowai"-looking gaijin. S.J. was mocking her comment, first as she somehow missed the author's picture, but mainly, that some gaijin - to D. - can be considered "kowai" so they should expect to have empty seats next to them. From the picture, the writer does indeed look "average", as S____ was pointing out sarcastically. Mr McNeil hardly has three heads, a tail and a three foot tongue, does he?
*** W._B. (at J.): Words are tools which must both be sent and received and we must always consider the 'receiver'. 'Tone', heard in our heads as we write often is lost when the message is easily confused with expectations born of experience in the receiver. What D. said was what many Nihonjin have been taught to feel. By generations of White people. Black people are kowai. Because they are kowai to White people. Fear is the root of all real hatred. And, of course psychopathy, both innately clinically psychopathic people and pseudo-psychopathic people driven by fear. And this prejudice is a secondhand prejudice but, sadly, it is real. And, in parts of America, the author would be safer if he looked as you describe in your last sentence because the fear is that great.
*** S.J. (at J.): R______, thanks for jumping in! I couldn't have made this stuff up. After reading his posts, I've been rolling on the floor laughing so hard it hurts. We all needed this to cheer up our Monday.But, on a more serious note, I honestly don't think this is random. One always has to ask the question, "just crazy or crazy like a fox"? This, to me falls in the realm of "crazy like a fox". Years ago, I was reading an article on The Guardian newspaper's website which was somewhat critical of Japan. There was a good discussion going on in the comments section, with a concensus developing among most posters that yes indeed that was a problem with Japan. This is when a bunch of new posters joined in and started posting completely crazy and irrelevant comments to flood the forum and drown out voices of the rational posters.It was also at this point that one of the original posters, no doubt an astute observeror of such behavior, wrote an excellent comment which I wish I had copied and saved. The gist of his post was that he had observed this pattern so frequently where a group of posters come out of the woodwork to create chaos and confusion in online discussions which are critical of Japan, that he was convinced it was the work of a well organized Troll Army. Based on my own experience and observations, I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree with his hypothesis. This is why in one of my other comments here I refered to a recent piece in The New York Times which is still on the front page of their Website. This piece is about how Saudi Arabia employs a Troll Army to control the message on social media, but one can easily make the same assertion about Japan ("Saudis’ Image Makers: A Troll Army and a Twitter Insider", Oct 20, 2018).
*** J. (at S.J.): I think that your friend above has a very circumlocutory way of expressing himself and is unable to spot obvious sarcasm, so you may be correct!There are plenty of Russian and Chinese trolls on the Guardian, but their slightly-off grammar makes them easy to recognise and they usually get called "Vlad" or something similarly daft by the non-fooled posters.The registration date on the G is another way to spot those type of posters. Yesterday someone pointed out that a poster who was vigorously defending the YouTuber subject of a fluffy sponsored article had joined that day and had only posted on that article! They usually go quiet after that. Or register under another name...Of course, the problem is with the people who don't realise they are being hoodwinked as the Brexit leave vote - funded by Arron Banks whose Russian business interests have subsequently been revealed - showed painfully clearly.
*** S.J. (at J.): What I have noticed is that Websites like The New York Times and The Guardian no longer activate their comments sections for articles which are critical of Japan, or when they do open them, the comments sections are closed extremely quickly.This tells me that these trolls are much more effective than Russian, Chinese and Saudi trolls, since comments sections for stories critical of those countries are usually kept open. The Japanese must be doing something right!
*** J. (at S.J.): I have noticed that, recently, even Justin McCurry's lighter articles in the Guardian are not open for comments. Although, I think, the cost/personnel for moderating comments is sometimes the reason for "no comment" articles. However, when very few articles on UK government actions are open for comments and articles critical of the opposition are also "closed", you have to wonder at the editorial agenda of a so-called left-wing paper.
*** S.J. (at W._B.): @W._B.You wrote, "Well, mr J______, thank you for confirming your credibility here. It's not just Japan you despise, is it? The author actually looks like my neighbor in Oregon who is one of the most gracious people I know."Are you for real and from Oregon to boot? If you want people to believe that then I've got a suspension bridge that I'd like to sell you. It's red (technically, International Orange), about one mile long and connects San Francisco to Marin County. If you're interested, I'll sell it to you at a bargain.
*** W._B. (at S.J.): May I amend my comment from 'no credibility' to 'incoherency'?
* J.B.: I have noticed this numerous times. I initially made my peace with it on the basis of being able to enjoy more space. But as I thought about it more I am less convinced this is racism. I feel there is a cultural phenomenon in Japan that directs individuals from engaging with difference. The same would happen to one legged people, people with a injury or obvious illness or even people dressed unusually. I am not validating this but having given it some thought and seen it dozens and dozens of times, I am not convinced this is classic racism.
** Z.V. (at J.B.): Would you willingly sit next to somebody with an obvious illness?
*** J.B. (at Z.V.): Yes of course. For example, if someone has had chemo for cancer it is often obvious. I would have no qualms whatsoever about sitting next to them. Would you?
* p.l.: I am not sure if I am qualified to join in on this discussion as my visits to Japan amount overall to months not years (average 5 weeks at a time.) I am an older woman, travelling alone, using public transport as the means of getting around. All I can say is I never once had an empty seat next to me, never once had even an inkling that someone might not want to sit next to me.It did cross my mind on several occasions when I was clearly the only non-Asian face in the crowd to wonder if people noticed me as different, but again I can honestly say that not once did anyone do or say anything to show me that they did. In fact one of the things that made me fall in love with Japan is the friendliness and helpfulness of the man/woman in the street. Even though I don't speak Japanese and English-speaking Japanese seem to be few, my sumimasen never failed to elicit a helpful response. I lost count of the times strangers would literally turn round and walk in a different direction in order to take me to my destination (perhaps because they had no English to simply explain the route). Having safely delivered me they would then turn again and go back ...p.s. I would add that I feel absolutely safe wandering the streets of Japan alone, not something a woman one would do in many countries of the world.
* S B: I'm a bearded Hispanic man and I spend two weeks in Tokyo each year. I've noticed a small amount of this behavior, but it isn't nearly as glaring as some people make it seem. My best friend is a black man and we often go together. I think this exaggerated "empty seat" perception might come from people's own insecurities.Of course outside of Tokyo people are even less used to foreigners, so it's a bit worse. Still nothing to worry about.
** B.I.T. (at S B): When you don’t live here, it may not feel like a big deal.But when you’ve invested in 25 or even 30 years in making a life, assimilating, learning the language, and have a family, it starts to feel very different.Wanting to feel accepted by your community, wanting a place you feel at home, is a common human need.
* D.b.: 20 yearer here. I have lived in Osaka, Nara, Yokohama and Shizuoka. I think you find lots of different people all around this country. I do believe that in Kansai, people are generally nicer on the trains etc. Tokyo for me is soulless (as are many big cities around the world including Sydney). I have had the empty seat problem but also the friendly chatting person next to me situation (I have also had the drunk business man, crazy crzy mental case, etc). I would also like to add that I'm white so if you are British-black or African-American, it does happen on a daily basis for them.
* D.R.: this brought a tear to my eye.20 years i lived like that, and i never made peace with it either.
** i. (at D.R.): low test
* M.: I wish it was only the empty seat... The more radical version, "empty the seat" when the foreigner sits, is what really saddens me. That is, when the person next to where you sit stands up and goes sit somewhere else, or moves one seat left or right.
** Ph. (at M.): I sometimes do that because I am very sensitive to perfumes, cigarette smoke and hairspray. If one of those is irritating my sinuses and throat, it's better I move than suffer. I short also point out that I worry that the person I am moving away from will feel slighted so I tend to do when it would seem less obvious to them.My point is that you don't know why people do what they do. It doesn't mean the cause of it is racism.Another point is that I see this behavior of avoidance in regards to Japanese or at least other Asian people, too.Perhaps some commuters just want more space. Or to sleep up against the side bit. Or look out the window. Or look at something confidential on their phone. Imagining their motivation is always their racism is in fact a form of racism itself.
*** S.J. (at Ph.): "Imagining their motivation is always their racism is in fact a form of racism itself."Are you not guilty of imagining that the foreigners who have written about experiencing the empty seat next to them are somehow not smart enough to know the difference? How about your implication that foreigners are more likely to smell disagreeable - now, that sounds racist.In all my years living in Japan and taking the train almost daily, I have never seen a Japanese person move when a Japanese woman sitting next to them starts putting on makeup, or when a Japanese salaryman smelling of tobacco, alcohol, musty, having bad breath, or manspreading sits next to them (mind you, these are not infrequent occurences on Japanese trains). For a country so proud of their "Gaman", why a different standard for non-Japanese (that's even assuming that the foreigners are to blame, which I very much doubt)?
* W._B.: How can anyone programmed in American culture not understand xenophobia when it is a CENTRAL characteristic of the average American mind and we see it manifested in a hundred ways daily? Also, and I have met these people, why do people whose only views of Nihon are critical, sometimes hatefully so, STAY in Nihon? "Oh, the Japanese are this!" or "Oh, the Japanese are that!" and usually not exactly attractive people to the asserters. GO HOME. Take another look at your own intellectually challenged culture and criticize THAT but then, in America, you'd get a poke in the eye with a large, ham shaped fist and a "So what! A**$o^e!" And there is always the possibility that you smell bad. As far as Kokujin go, Nihon was infected with more of American culture than is obvious to people who do not recognise their own culture as it has been foisted onto Japan by generations of White 'gaijin'. The Nihonjin learned about 'Black people' from US and OUR attitudes. That Japanese people live and fit in well in more places in the world than just about anyone else, without whining 'The locals don't act the way I want them to!!" again suggests you need to go home. And, if we are to consider the experience of the local folks, please note that, for HER, is was YOU who pulled away from HER. She would have every right to think that YOU found HER unpleasant to sit next to and would have every reason to avoid 'bothering' another 'gaijin' by sitting next to them. This was a dumb column.
** T.J. (at W._B.): Calm down. Relax. You don't come across as "exactly attractive". Wouldn't want to sit besides you in any situation.
*** W._B. (at T.J.): Ah, Joe, like an arrow to the perineum. But Joe, anyone who calls themselves "Tokyo Joe"...really? Why do I see you in slightly too short pants with open shirt, white tee shirt and one of those little straw hats which look like Fedoras? Perhaps your image of "Tokyo Joe" is less clownish than my own. The one thing which can be said for most commenting here, you would all make really lousy anthro[a]pologists. All presumption and no curiosity. But, such is so much of my genepool. What's new?
*** T.J. (at W._B.): I don't wear white or hats....Tokyo Joe is a Bryan Ferry song which actually sounds Chinese. But concerning the subject at hand, I am longer in Japan (arrived 1972) than most working natives I daily encounter. And therefore by now probably immune to so-called "microagressions" or simply don't care anymore. And for above stated personal reasons I'm happy about any more additional space, no matter the reason. But having contributed more tax money (among else) than many natives ever will do, I also feel entitled to have an opinion and to be critical. The "then go home" argument is really lame, by Japanese or foreigners alike.
* c.: Where is this japan you are talking aboot ? 15years here, now a little more in the sticks. But in public places i'm mostly transparent. While in the train I'm most of the time engaged in chit chats especially with old timers. Babies and toddlers tend to stare at me... but guess what... babies, toddlers and poodles will stare at anyone making eye contact...
** J. (at c.): It's different in the countryside. I enjoy more conversations with Japanese people on buses, trains, restaurants and shops in a five-day trip around, say Wakayama or the Seto Inland sea than I do in a year in the city. The novelty value of meeting a foreigner comes into account, of course.
* Ph.: The gaijin seat is a minor thing in the scheme of life in Japan for most gaijin I know. I think the term microaggression applies quite well here. Re-reading your piece, Baye, makes me chuckle, though. I am not laughing at your distress nor anyone else who this upsets. Not at all.What bemuses me is the amount effort you've put into imagining what all those seat-dodgers were thinking before during and after their dodge. After each individual speculation, you then seem to get upset about what you imagined as if you knew it to be true. Then in this piece you do it over and over again. You have a future in fiction!I do sincerely hope you come to some sort of peace with it because I suspect your energies are needed in so many other places. Why torture yourself in this way and why so often?
** S.J. (at Ph.): That's a very unphilosopher-like post coming from someone calling themselves "Philosopher", with overtones of 1984 (the book, not the year). An actual philosopher may have looked at the big picture and asked themselves more philosopher-like questions such as:Is this simply about having an empty seat next to foreigners on a train, or does this pose broader issues of Japanese insularity, paranoia and xenophobia? If the Japanese are not comfortable sitting next to foreigners on trains, how do they really feel about foreigners living in their neighborhoods, using their local gym, eating at their restaurants, working with them or having them as coworkers, and having their kids attend school with them?Ever considered changing your user name to SpinMeister?
*** Ph. (at S.J.): Well, I would've thought that was the obvious implication once one had found that a sizable percentage of Japanese people avoid seating next to foreigners because of racist ideas. Unfortunately, nobody has found that. Or at least there's no proof. How could we design an experiment that could measure the level of racism in Japan?Yes, it is true, some non-Japanese people have noticed that some Japanese people do seem to avoid sitting next to them on the train. I have also experienced that. What is immeasurable at this stage is how many people do choose to sit next to the gaijin. Perhaps we could set up video cameras on trains to record the relative emptiness of the seats next to an assortment of gaijin compared to a comparable Japanese person. We could run the experiment with a multitude of variables. Of both the Japanese and gaijin participants: teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, male, female, tall, short, casual clothes, business clothes. The gaijin could also be Caucasian, African, Middle Eastern, Latin American, Australian aboriginal, American Indian and so on. The people sitting next subjects could also be assessed for which variables they fulfill. The same could be done to those choosing to stand. Then after those that sit and those that stand exit the train carriage we could interview them and ask them to explain their choices. The questions would have to be designed to minimize self-censoring.To make the experiment scientifically rigorous the sample size would need to be very large. I'd say a few thousand seated subjected and many millions of iterations.Of course, S.J., I'd love to hear your ideas on measuring racism in Japan, bearing in mind that the same experiments would then be carried out in other countries so we could compare results. Then, like the philosophers we are, we could discuss the implications for the meaning in our lives. That is what philosophers do.Your ad hominem attacks are beneath you.
* R.2: The author should have mentioned that he is not white and people are responding to the colour of his skin, not just because he is a foreigner. I have not noticed such an issue myself in japan (I am white and from northern europe). If I stand in the street looking at a map I get japanese people come over to ask if i'm lost and at tourist sites I get groups of schoolchildren flock around to ask questions and take photos with me. So there is no general phobia about foreigners in Japan.
** S.J. (at R.2): "The author should have mentioned that he is not white and people are responding to the colour of his skin".Funny, I always though that the Japanese were also "not white".
* J.S.: Let’s also flip it around and consider reasons why WE would not want to sit near another person or get up after a short period and move.For me, I could care less about what a person looks like, but if they’re wearing too much cologne/perfume or smell bad (to my olfactory senses), I’m gonna move or keep a safe distance. Also, if someone of ANY nationality/race seems creepy/crazy/dangerous/etc., I’m going to try my best to avoid them. And, depending upon my good/bad mood, there are times when I’ll avoid sitting next to someone who looks like they want to talk/socialize. I’ll also avoid sitting next to females, if it appears that I’m gonna seem like a creep/pervert—after a quick look at the social/male-female dynamic of train car.
* T.J.: Interesting article. But I personally suffer more from the opposite... I like privacy and personal space, so I am actually relieved when people avoid sitting besides me. What bothers me more - I call it betabeta syndrome - is that somebody chooses to sit right besides me, even if there is plenty of space elsewhere. It happens quite a lot... Full disclosure: old, white, bearded, dishevelled, over 40 years in Japan.
* F.W.: German living here for almost 13 years but in 関西, Never experienced any of this once nor anything else like other articles I read here since I came here. I work with Japanese and live with Japanese people. I guess the problem maybe 関東かな、
** B.I.T. (at F.W.): Just because you haven’t personally experienced something doesn’t mean no one else has.I’ve been in Tokyo 25 years, and like you, I work for a Japanese corporation.I experience microagressions nearly every day, and more blatant racist discrimination on occasion.Racism is a real thing; it happens in every country - why would Japan be an exception?
* R.W.: After five years of riding the trains, I look forward to the extra space. I no longer feel offended. This past week during a vacation trip my Japanese wife felt concerned that no one would sit next to me, I told her no problem it doesn't bother me. I have my very good Japanese friends who do not give a damn, so the rest of them can just stand while I relax.
* PH.: I love Japan and it's culture, but the one area that confounds me is the behavior of the Japanese towards foreigners. I am Chinese, brought up here, speak Japanese without a foreign accent and by all accounts look and behave like a Japanese. As a Tora-san fan, I was on my way to visit Shimabata for the first time. On the uncrowded weekday train there from Oshiage, I sat in an very open seat between 2 women with ample space on either side of me. The seating was designed for 5 people and at one end was an elderly women and the other end an middle aged women, who upon my seating, bounded up and walked towards another cabin, all the while huffing and puffing and glaring at me. I have no clue what I did to invoke such a response. The elderly women also looked dumbfounded by the middle aged woman's behavior. It was my first such an encounter in all my years here. I thought I may have cleared my throat improperly or had bad body language as I sat down. I have seen this sort of behavior by Japanese towards foreigners, but never experienced it myself. Maybe I am not as Japanese as I think I am.
** J. (at PH.): That sounds just like an encounter with a random weirdo. I wouldn't dwell on it.
** C.F. (at PH.): Is there any chance it was a women-only car?
** Z.V. (at PH.): How do you think that person determined you weren't Japanese? That makes no sense.
*** PH. (at Z.V.): Are you Asian and/or Japanese? Her behavior was not meant for another Japanese, believe me.
* e.: Isnt it just you’re being a little bit self-conscious?Born and raised in Tokyo, I’ve associated with only a handful of foreign people, but I don’t really mind who’s sitting beside me on a train. Whenever I’m lucky enough to find a vacant spot, I’ll take it no matter what, especially on a packed train.
** A.W. (at e.): I'm sure many people think and act like you, but sufficiently many people to make it a noticable phenomenon consciously or unconsciously avoid sitting next to foreigners.As a half Japanese I have barely noticed.
** m.1 (at e.): I don't think he's being self-conscious, this empty seat phenomenon happens to me, too. I'm more surprised when someone does sit down next to me on a bus or train, and I don't think I'm 'kowai.'BTW, nice job up-voting yourself.
** a.m. (at e.): Ok so you were born and raised in Tokyo, a city where 1 in 10 young people identify as foreigners, and have, by your own admission, only ever associated with 'a handful' of foreigners? I know there isn't a word for 'irony' in Japanese, but your comment itself is an empty chair.
* A.: Difficult to believe, taking into account it never happened to me in 6 years and half living in Tokyo.
** P. (at A.): Do you have difficulty believing in the existence of stomach cancer just because it hasn’t happened to you during a 6 year (and a half!) period?
*** A. (at P.): Not an appropriate comparison in my opinion:- Stomach cancer is not something you can notice if you are not told- There are scientific proofs about its existenceHere we're speaking about something that seems to happen very frequently, according to the author the article. If it's something that common, even if it didn't happen to me, I guess I should have seen it at least once (just a guess of course).I'm not saying he's a lier anyway. Based in my experience it's difficult to believe, that's all. Do you believe everything you are told? It's written on the Internet so it has to be true lol.
*** P. (at A.): No, I believe him because it has happened to me too. Simple as that.Of course I don’t believe everything I read on the internet. In fact, i find it difficult to believe you have been in Tokyo for six (and a half!) years because I haven’t seen any scientific proof of it.
*** A. (at P.): Like me, you are free to believe whatever you want of course ;)
*** A.E.C.: (at A.): A______ you’re not black.
** Z.V. (at A.): In 5 years never happened to me either.
*** B.I.T. (at Z.V.): 25 years. Happens to me on occasion, happens to my partner often.I don’t quite understand how a person could think the argument “it hasn’t happened to me therefore this person is lying.” is a valid argument.
*** Z.V. (at B.I.T.): Hasn't happened to me != The person is lying.Sensitive much?
*** B.I.T. (at Z.V.): How does that indicate sensitivity?
* W._B.: The columnist is Black. The Nihonjin have learned their attitudes toward Black people from Whites. What DO you expect? Also, please note that when the woman sat down, it was the author who visibly pulled away from HER. Her experience was that this person did not want to sit close to a Nihonjin. What should she think next time? There is SO much poison in the misunderstandings which we propagate when we observe with our own programmed interpretations assuming a personal bias without testing in any way. While the author complains about Japan, it is a fact that there are endless places in the U.S. where the same or worse would be the norm. Perhaps, expecting that empty seat, the message is sent in posture to the other passengers of an inherent discomfort in this person not to be enhanced by impolitely crowding them. In four years in Hiroshima, I have never experienced, or never noticed, this phenomenon and I'm 6'3" and uglier'n a wart.
* D.D.: Yeaaah ok I hear of this quite often in Japan. I am a Japanese born and bred citizen who’s half Caucasian, a quarter Hawaiian and a quarter Japanese. I do NOT look Japanese even though I am, and I’ve lived with this my whole life.But this whole “Japanese don’t sit next to foreigners” this is rubbish. Perhaps the writer is a bit scary looking!I HAVE noticed people not sitting next to scary, drunks, punks, and yeah sometimes foreigners, but not for the reasons stated above.No need to try to spread the false notion that this is common practice here. More people sit next to me, smile and say hi than avoid me, my wife, or any other foreigner I’ve seen.Oh...and btw, I take the airport line to work everyday!
** S.J. (at D.D.): You had me until you wrote, "More people sit next to me, smile and say hi". Anyone who lives in a big city in Japan and takes the trains knows that Japanese people are a pretty dour bunch. They almost never smile and say hi, not to other Japanese and certainly not to foreigners. It's just not part of Japanese culture. What do you think, this is America? Sorry, but you lost all credibility when you wrote that.
*** Ph. (at S.J.): Are you kidding? Tokyo people talk with and smile at me every day on the trains. It probably helps that I am friendly to strangers. What you put out often times comes back. So that begs the question, S.J.?
* P.: Fortunately, there are no trains in Okinawa :-)
* x.x: I don't see this as a Japan issue. There are xenophobes and jerks most everywhere. I think it's a perception thing, in Tokyo at least. Increased discrimination against black people, and also non-Japanese Asians, compared to white people, is undoubtedly true in Tokyo (can't speak to the rest of Japan), but I think the train in Tokyo is a poor venue for gauging discrimination. Over the past few years in Tokyo, probably hundreds of thousands of people have sat next to my vaguely white looking ass, sometimes with other seats free. Plenty of times, people have chosen to stand, sit elsewhere, or just yesterday, change cars, rather than sit next to me. However, that's maybe 100 out of 300,000. Im from New York, where we think of ourselves as the very incarnation of multiculturalism. Yet, the numbers are probably similar there. Xenophobes gonna xenophobe! It's surely worse for black people, which is a huge issue that we should rage against, and isolation has caused great ethnocentrism, but let's not cast Japan as a cesspool of racist behavior more so than the rest of this racist world.
* D.P.J.: This article brought back memories of living in Japan, but not because of the "empty seat" phenomenon - quite the opposite really. I lived in Kansai, Hokuriku, and Fukushima during my stay and found that Japanese people often went out of their way to sit next to me and try out their English or just because they were curious. I am a pretty shy person by nature so this freaked me out a bit for a start but I grew to enjoy it... some good times.
* L.A.: So, it may depend on the city, but I lived in Kyoto for 6 months and always moved around with public transportation and never experienced this phenomena...Either in bus or train, most of the people would prefer sitting next to me rather than standing.I even managed to leave my seat to elderly people many times (whitch many japanese told me it's kinda rare to be accepted as a gesture)Sure, people scared I would speak to them in english (even tho I'm italian) I've found a lot, but once they heard me talking in japanese all restrains disappeared.
* Ki.: On buses here where I am in Canada, most people sit ALONE or only pick a spot next to someone because there's no choice. Some people don't like sitting next to anyone and want the seat next to them empty. Or they'd rather stand so people who need to sit can. I've only had no one sitting next to me a few times in Japan. Most times those seats fill up next to me, regardless.
* W.F.: Japanese never hesitate to sit next to me on trains. Any tips on how to prevent this would be much appreciated.
* F.O’B.: No, it's just Americans. They like taking your money like most countries but they are afraid of being bored to death or fire-bombed again. Must read this article when I have a lot more time or am suffering from insomnia.
* L.J.: I have mainly resided in Japan for over 20 years and of course it still happens. The reasons will vary but I care little. All nations and regions have differences all over the world and then develop to suit the changing times.
* K.: Uhm interesting. I do have encountered at times this behaviour from Japanese people in public transport. I am mixed race, but look more like a hafu Japanese/white European that blends in with the Japanese. I cant remember I ever encountered any ignorant racism...but sometimes when I enter a store I can sense that some employees do not want to deal with foreigners at all, especially in Tokyo I now see this more and more....I guess because more foreigners are visiting Japan and to some extend misbehave which is worldwide problem....lets not forget the Chinese who come to Japan and do not act accordingly but thats another story....overall us foreigners living in Japan really need to ask ourselves is worth it? will Japan ever accept you as one of them? even if you have started a family here, work, go to school, pay taxes, contribute to society.....my answer....Im not sure, I doubt it !
* A.E.C.: 1990 I was 20 yrs old visiting a friend that used to be an exchange student in the United States. One day his father took me to his work near Shibuya. He told me I could roam and explore on my own for a few hours as that's what I wanted to do. I found a movie theater that was showing Back to The Future 3. I purchased a ticket and sat on a seat next to the aisle.There were two seats next to me empty. The movie theater was filling up, and soon it was almost full. I motioned to a couple looking for seats that these were available. At first they sat down, then about 45 seconds later they got up the young male nodded at me and they sat a few rows up. I thought to myself surely these empty seats were mistaken for someone that came with me surely I wasn't there by myself? so full there were some people standing on the side. I remember this clearly; feeling miffed and a little lonely next to two empty seats in a packed theater.However, I was stationed in Japan from 1994-1998 and took the train by myself many times and never noticed anything like that again; in fact I had a few beneficial perks as the Gaijin.
* k.: After years and years in Japan none that sort of thing bothered me anymore. What did were the old drunks who would sit next to me and try to speak English ...
* B.A.: This, this, this and this. It's so true of life here, even in a big metropolis like Tokyo. I work with children every day, and I hooe the exposure they get to me will help them to view foreigners as people, and not somehow dirty. Every time someone avoids touching me here it's like an insult.
** W.F. (at B.A.): Did strangers frequently touch you in your home country?
*** B.A. (at W.F.): My point is that in my country people didn't go to painful lengths to avoid physical contact.No need to be facetious. I love Japan, and I love living here, but people are often casually racist. I will happily concede however that this situation is beginning to change, and I hope within two generations it will be a rare phenomenon.
* a.m.: Great article, and really on-point. Where you've written 'fast forward ten years', I think you meant 'rewind ten years' though.
** p.b. (at a.m.): No, he means 'fast forward 10 years'... meaning, the intro reflected on his first article in 2008, and now, in 2018, let's revisit not that original article, but rather his more recent experiences with the empty seat.
*** a.m. (at p.b.): But he writes, "let's fast forward 10 years..." and then the following 20-odd paragraphs are (correct me if I'm wrong) the original piece he wrote in 2008?
*** a.m. (at a.m.): Ah, wait, I see it -- this actually a new incident that has occurred 10 years later. My mistake, and apologies to all.
* h.: Japan is one of the most racist countries there is. Get over it or leave.Been here 23 years. Empty seat syndrome, answer the Japanese person when the foreigner asked the question in perfect Japanese syndrome. The Japanese national personality manifests itself in many ways. Sticks and stones.
* R.O.: sometimes i think people have too much time thinking about unnecessary things...
* t.b.: Who gives a crap what people think? All those words to say "I am insecure".
** B.I.T. (at t.b.): And your post says “LOOK AT ME! MY OPINION MUST BE HEARD!!!”
== Source ==
* https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2018/10/17/our-lives/empty-seat-crowded-japanese-train-10-years-gaijin-seat-still-grates/#.XbOSRbJE2hA