Fingerprinting Schmingerprinting, Japan Still Rocks
Posted by 0rion on November 20th, 2007 - 10:17 pm
Amidst all the furor over Japan’s newly implemented policy of fingerprinting every foreigner entering or leaving the country, as I was reading through the various comments on different blogs and news sites there was one particular type of reaction that stood out to me.
Many people were making comments like “That’s too bad, I was thinking of taking a vacation to Japan, but now with all these things I’m hearing, maybe I should stay away.”
Now certainly, Japan is not the magical land of rainbows and ponies and gumdrop smiles that your average weeaboo imagines it to be. In fact, sometimes it looks pretty bad. But at the same time, it’s also not all doom and gloom, racism and xenophobia, which is the impression that many people seem to be getting from all of the recent negative press.
So let me just reiterate a very important point:
Japan is still a wonderful place to visit.
Japan is a beautiful country with a rich culture and heritage and some of the kindest, most hospitable people I have ever met. It has some of the most breathtaking sights, most delicious cuisine, and best entertainment anywhere. It is also arguably the safest countries in the world to travel in.
Matsumoto Castle
Yes, if you are not Japanese you will generally be treated differently. This doesn’t necessarily mean in a derogatory way, however. On the contrary, the Japanese generally go to extraordinary lengths to be accommodating to guests in their country.
In my own travels around Japan I have frequently had complete strangers go out of their way to help me, even when it wasn’t necessary. A few times I’ve even been shocked by people I just randomly struck up a conversation with buying me expensive gifts as a gesture of goodwill and welcome. These are not people in the service or tourist industries, but just regular folks. Honestly, I have never experienced the same level of hospitality anywhere else I have traveled, including my own country.
Sure, these new fingerprinting policies will mean more hassle for you in the airport, but as a temporary visitor you’ll probably never see any of the more unpleasant aspects of the gaijin experience. Even if you were to spend a year or two in Japan it’s unlikely that you’ll face much in the way of real serious racism during your time there. For the most part, only permanent resident foreigners ever really have to deal with the uglier aspects of Japan’s xenophobic policies.
There are plenty of people in Japan who are not racist.
Sure, you may experience cases of sabetsu (discrimination) from some people, and certainly from the government, but there are a great many Japanese who do not think that way. It’s deceptively easy to making sweeping generalizations about the Japanese because they have such a high degree of groupthink and cultural homogenization, so it’s important to remember that they are still individuals with their own beliefs and opinions.
I have met racist people and been discriminated against in Japan, but that was the exception, not the rule. While there are definitely xenophobic and nationalist attitudes in Japan that bother me, and while I won’t hesitate to stand up and denounce those attitudes when I see them, I don’t want you to be fooled into thinking that all of Japan is like that.
I’ve met many wonderful people and made some great friends in Japan.
So basically all of this to say, if you’re thinking of taking a trip to see Japan, or if you were considering working there for a year or two on a temporary visa - go for it! Japan is amazing. I would hate to see anyone turn away from the wonderful experiences and opportunities it affords just because of a few xenophobic policies.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m just as incensed about this whole fiasco as every other gaijin resident. Yes, I hate these new policies and the attitudes behind them. Yes, I hate cops who stop anyone foreign looking to question them. Yes, I hate landlords who outright refuse to rent to anyone who is not ethnic Japanese. More than all that, however, I still love Japan, and I hope you can learn to love it, too.
It isn’t invasive until they probe your buttcrack
I hope more people read your post. (Beautiful pictures, BTW)
Gorgeous pics indeed…that really gives me a kick up the backside to organise my passport and time off work since I’ve been promising myself a holiday there in ages!
In terms of the racism thing, I’d expect some sort of different treatment since, after all, tourists are visiting their home country and are in many cases unaware of etiquette and so on. Besides, I thought it would be less of an issue for people who are only staying for a short while. Immigration is a major thing in the UK right now (I still notice xenophobia here, even amongst younger people), but nobody makes a fuss over tourists, so I’m guessing Japan is no different. Racism and mistrust of foreigners is part of ALL cultures it seems. I’ve never considered Japanese people to have a lower tolerance level to tourists than any other country.
As for the fingerprint thing…again, I’d say the UK or US are worse what with all the ‘war on terror’ stuff. Being fingerprinted at the airport is no big deal when Brits and Americans can’t even take a bottle of Evian onto the plane!
I had the benefit of living with a Japanese family for the summer before I started university and I’d agree with most of what you say. Viewing Japan from that domestic perspective really underlined the schisms in the various ways of life of Japanese living, for better or worse. I still had an amazing time and the hospitality you mentioned dwarfs any occasionally funny look or tittering school girl.
And Martin sums up my stance on the whole finger-printing thing. I really wouldn’t feel imposed upon if I found myself having to do it. When you live in the country where identity cards are constantly on the agenda, your perspective of civil liberties broadens quite a bit. Plus, America poos on everyone else when it comes to airport security. Well, maybe not Saudi Arabia, but still.
Argh, I really shouldn’t half-write a comment, leave the computer for a while, come back and sloppily edit what I’ve said. Ignore any weird syntax plz :/
That’s quite sad, this little extra security is turning people away from Japan. I went to Japan before this extra security and still had to go through immigrations just like any other gaijin. Think how the people of Japan and others from around the world feel when they visit the states as they have had to do fingerprinting for years. Plus this is when you disembark and should take much longer than what is already happening now. It took me about 5 minutes with immigration when I had to show them my passport, ticket, card, etc. The only long part was the line to get them varies with the amount of visitors that have to pass through, about a good 15+ minutes. I encourage people to visit Japan as it’s a wonderful place to visit, even if you aren’t going there for the anime ^^.
Well, when going to visit a country, it is ideal to grasp the concept of possible cultural differences first.
I function along the lines of: “Never state the obvious, never generalize, never think that others are uptight because of this and that”. Diversity, yes. As for acceptance, I still have to apply that concept; I’m much open to everybody but but I tend to back off when I get maintained pressure before I even try or that my efforts have proven to be in vain.
By the way, if people have a first negative impression/concept of your culture of origin (not to mention xenophobic), just try to reason with them by showing the same train of thoughts as stated above. If it fails, try to ignore them.
And for those supplemental administrative procedures, if your will is strong enough, it should only one little more simple trial to overcome before you finally can enjoy the new world that opens up to you.
@AS says what’s the big deal. Japanese Police have this thing about forcing people to sign confessions, and always assume the foreigner is guilty. They’ve previously used the Gaijin Registry to “look up the address of the nearest criminal”. In one case they were looking for a black guy and picked up a white guy from the registry and held the poor bastard for 3 weeks all the while trying to force him to sign a confession. This fingerprint registry makes it even easier, and the Japanese police will be only too happy to assume your guilt.
Ever since Koziumi started beating on foreigners in the Media in 2003, Japan’s attitude towards Gaijin has been on the slide. Right now AS you’re in that stary eyed phase, but if one day you find yourself in a Japanese prison having a firehose used up your anus (yes, Japanese prison guards really did that and the prisoner died) you might think back to your post here. You fall neatly under Benjamin Franklin’s comment about men who surrender their freedom so willingly.
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