Neil Hopcroft

A digital misfit

“You’re in Japan now, you must speak Japanese”

“Actually, I don’t think that was part of the entry criteria. In fact, if it were they would have turned me away at Narita. If I were trying to communicate with a local person that may require me to speak Japanese. As it is I’m trying to talk to another native English speaker, we’re both considerably more comfortable talking in English. Perhaps we’re being a little loud and foreign on the train. But theres nothing illegal or immoral about it.

Perhaps it would be better if I weren’t here? Maybe the economy of this country would do better without projects like mine, projects which give jobs to 200 local people, projects that couldn’t be run here without our experience, without our stupid foreign ways. Perhaps then you could have a nice life without having to hear this dreadful gaijin language, or look at our ugly white faces.”


Categories: Memories.

/ 4 Comments

4 comments

  1. neilh

    Not particularly, just a mad little old lady on the train who got upset that someone was spoiling her quiet journey home by speaking English….and turned around to tell us, in English, that we should speak Japanese on a Japanese train. Tracey, who has lived here for some time, asked her in Japanese why she had a problem, but got no response except more abuse in English.

    Its odd, back home all the abuse I get (for being a damned longhair poncy smelly hippy whatever) comes from guys under about 25years old. Over here its the older people who are more prone to being unfriendly, more often than not older women. Young people are normally quite accepting, or, if not, at least decent enough to give you a wide berth without making a fuss.

    Maybe it would be different back home if I were, say, black, maybe the abuse demographic would change. I wonder if there are different generations (and/or social strata) that react in different ways to different minorities? I presume there are, but how could you measure it? Would such data be of any use?

    Reply
  3. vcubed

    Japanese while in Japan

    Never actually had somebody say that to me, but get the feeling that speaking on a train is not welcome. So usually keep quite, mostly drowned in my reading. But yeah, can’t really figure out why it should be so.

    Reply
    • neilh

      Re: Japanese while in Japan

      Yeah, normally keep quiet ‘cos I rarely travel with other people. The bit that bugged was that this particular old lady told us in English that we weren’t welcome to speak English on her train (in her country), but then didn’t respond when my companion asked a question in Japanese – a kind of non-belief I guess.

      I understand a dislike of foreigners, I don’t *agree* with it, but I understand it. You cannot escape cultural diversity in a city like Tokyo, if you cannot tolerate that there are other people who behave differently than you, you shouldn’t live in a cosmopolitan city. This applies to many places, Tokyo, London, New York are probably fairly high on the list, but there are many many other places.

      The people here, generally, are quite tolerant of us uncouth westerners, but there seems a higher proportion of older people who are intolerant.

      Overall, I’ve had less general abuse here than back home (a guy with long hair, he must be gay…erm, no, actually I just don’t like having my hair cut), but it comes from young guys who have something to prove (to themselves).

      So, I don’t know what message she intended for us to take home with us, but the message I got was: old Japanese people are intolerant of cultural difference.

      Reply

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