I've been denied entry to a bar in Sapporo BastardNamban, so this kind of thing does exist, even if the signs are less common than they used to be. As for Gaijin bars etc. they are a perfect example of the general Japanese response to foreigners, which is to keep them seperate. You are seen as a guest in the country, not an immigrant, no matter how long you live there. Japan has an incredibly restrictive and low level of immigration.

And remember, Arudou Debito sued the onsen that was denying all foreigners entry and LOST in the Japanese Supreme court, on the grounds that denying foreigners wasn't discrimination.

So yes, Racism is alive and well in Japan, just as it is in many countries.

But it's a complex subject, especially when you consider Japan's view of the rest of Asia. Really, if you are a white english speaker in Japan, (ie not Russian) you are generally looked upon VERY generously. (ie. the "Gaijin-san" stereotype) especially in the smaller towns.

People of Chinese and Korean descent experience far far more racism and discrimination in Japan than white foreigners do; you just never hear about it.

What's with the Japanese on the girls shirt, it's all been flipped.

Yeah, this is an old diving trick as well; works better than any decongestant!

I'm in Stephen Harper's riding...wish that meant I have a voice instead of having none at all! :(

I've already emailed the Prime Minister, (who is the MP for my district,) but as I'm currently living in Japan, I'd like to know if the Free postal mail offer still applies? Does anyone know?

Nice Charles Stross Quote

Tesseracts is a wonderful anthology, and everyone should support Canadian SF. I first read a volume of this late in Gr. 5 (possibly Volume 5 or 7? it had a lot of Quebecois authors) and wrote a small piece of electroacoustic music based on a short story from it in High School. The quality is universally high on these stories, so I encourage SF lovers to pick it up!

@76 Garret

One of the biggest reasons this tape was publicly shown, (on primetime TV in Canada!) Was that the police tried to suppress it and the Mother requested that it be shown!

So your arguement that the privacy of the family should be protected holds absolutely no water, and reveals that you are completely ignorant about the details of this case.

Don't wear these in Italy, or you'll get your ass arrested for being a terrorist! (Britain too maybe.)

@Elvis Gump

Seconded, I haven't been able to watch Quicktime videos on the internet for months now. Why is it taking so long for a fix?

Many schools in Osaka warned their English Teachers this year that the Osaka Halloween train party was being closely watched by the police, and they would be quick to arrest any Gaijin that were drinking or partying, so it didn't really happen. Really, I'm not surprised that this happened in Tokyo too, as the authorities are getting far more uptight about foreigners being loud, drunk etc. Especially now that there are 4,000 Nova teachers without a job, most of them in the Kansai area.

As a Gaijin living in Japan and learning Japanese, I say just get over your J-awe and get on with it. Find a native speaker, and speak awful, simplistic Japanese. Trust me, they will be shocked and awed that you can say 今日は。Your not going to "give offense" they know you aren't a native. ;)

And speaking Japanese is actually pretty easy. I've studied for a year and a half and can carry on conversations at the Izakaya just fine. Kanji though, that's a different story.

Your never going to learn it if you are worried about messing it up.