Which is precisely the point: If Alex had bothered to read JAPANESE ONLY, he would know that we DID in fact follow the rules, working through every channel available in the Japanese system to try to bring this issue to resolution. For someone like Alex to research as assiduously as he generally does for his books, yet to comment on an issue he clearly did NOT research thorouglyly, is out of character. Then to characterize the movement as something that Japanese would not do is just plain erroneous.

Likewise with “smallq”. There is also a version of JAPANESE ONLY in Japanese for you. I suggest you read it before you comment further. Debito in Sapporo

I find the comparisons between the struggles of a white “gaijin” or “foreigner” (which Debito is not; he is a naturalized citizen) and that if African Americans to be disingenuous at best, and ludicrous at worst.

Right!

Uh … who made that comparison?

I was comparing the attitude that some took towards those blacks who tried to fit into society and follow the typical norms. When people tried not to let them, they asserted they were tax payers and had rights. When they did this they were regarded as doing something bad that might have dangerous repercussions. There was a concern that whites might react negatively to this, and that this might be harmful for everyone in the black community.

The same thing seems to be happening here. Debito is trying to fit in as an ordinary person in Japan. When people won’t let him he talks about rights and says he’s a tax payer just like everyone else. The critics (some of them) say he’s still just a “gaijin” and that through his actions there might be dangerous repercussions. There is a concern that “Japanese” might react negatively to this, and that this might be harmful for everyone in the “gaijin” community.

Kerr says Debito isn’t acting Japanese, but he’s decidedly vague here. Also, given that Debito has expressed his views on the word, “gaijin”, and is a citizen, I’m surprised that Kerr so casually threw this epithet at him.

What specifically has Debito done that’s “over the top”? I mean really, Debito has written exhaustively about everything he has done. Not only this, but it’s all on-line and searchable. If there’s something he’s *specifically* done, and you think it’s wrong, then I think bringing criticism against it is totally appropriate. Please do so. But you need to be specific.

As far as “who cares?”, well, I guess there’s no question where you stand then, right?

And by bringing brothels and strip bars into the argument, I think you are kind of tribvializing it.

I don’t think white foreigners have it pretty easy in Japan if they are looking for jobs outside of the English industry.

Personally, I have been turned down for a non-eikaiwa job with the excuse that they wanted a Japanese person for the post. Granted, I have only experienced that directly once, but I think you will find that a lot of gaijin, including white ones, will be turned down for jobs, housing, etc.

Just recently I found a poster for an apartment that said ‘gaikokujin-ka’('foreigners OK’ I guess).

A former employer of mine told me that the reason the apartment she found for me was in a different town was that the landlord was a man willing to rent to foreigners.

I wouldn’t disagree that there are times or cases where whites get better treatment than other gaijin but I disagree with your blanket statement that ‘White foreigners have it pretty good in Japan’.

Further, there is also the problem of children from marriages between foreigners and Japanese. My son, born and raised in Japan, has been called a ‘gaijin’ on more than one occasion and is constantly referred to as a ‘half’. In a country that emphasizes homogeneity, I think he is being excluded to some degree.

At the same time, I think what Alex Kerr is getting at is the tactics Debito uses are not always subtle. Sometimes it feels like it’s a bit of overkill. I mean, it’s a problem when foreigners are barred from entering a pub or brothel or whatever based on their ethnicity. But in the grand scheme of things, who cares? I think Debito’s most valuable work is his reporting on the incredible problems Brazilians face when trying to assimilate into Japanese culture.

White foreigners have it pretty easy in Japan. More work needs to be done on exposing the challenges of immigrants from other communities. If Debito could “brand” himself that way, his comments on other more seemingly trivial issues (not everyone understands the significance of being barred from just one bathhouse in Hokkaido) might be more digestable to the public at large.

My own agenda: I lived in Japan for ten years, and was refused admittance to an establishment exactly once: at a strip bar in Mishima, Shizuoka.

As for Alex Kerr, well, he’s a pompous, fussy blowhard. What do you expect?

What really set my head spinning after that was when I asked Alex (he’s on my mailing lists) shortly after the interview whether or not he had read my book JAPANESE ONLY. (I had sent him a free copy.) He said he had not.

So what the HELL was he doing commenting like this, then? On methods he hadn’t read about?! Infuriating, to be sure.

Then you took it up from another angle I hadn’t considered. Again, thanks for that.

Your blog is very good indeed. Keep it up. Debito in Sapporo

I was glad to see that Debito thought the message was a thoughtful one!