[theroo]

I think when you experience prejudice regarding your race, it’s unfair to characterize that as “stewing”.

Maybe you don’t find this article or his initial piece insightful; that’s fair enough.

But I also think it’s fair of him to shine a light on unfair treatment in the place he lives, without people suggesting - without irony - that he “go home”.

[barry-cotter]

If you spend extensive time reflecting on an injustice you can’t do anything about and that isn’t going to change that is absolutely “stewing”. I know someone who is still bitter at someone years dead and brings them up to bash them regularly. They were wronged and they’re stewing.

The article’s plenty insightful, it provides a wonderful insight into what it’s like to be the author, and secondarily, an aspect of being a foreigner in Japan that obviously really disturbs some.

There’s no need for quotation marks on home in your last paragraph. Mr. McNeil is not attempting to be Japanese. He’s professionally American in Japan. He writes for English language publications, campaigns for American cultural attitudes and despite living in Japan for 15 years and being a writer his Wikipedia page is only in English.

If he’s being treated unfairly there’s no evidence of it in the linked article.

[tunesmith]

I don't understand the conclusion that just because he wrote a couple of articles about it ten years apart, that he's been constantly stewing on it for that entire time. Maybe it's something that only occurs to him when he's on the train, and even then maybe only sometimes, and maybe - as a writer - he's trained to recognize these transient thoughts and tease them into articles. That's what a lot of these slice-of-life articles are, focusing on moments that would otherwise slip by and escape notice.

[spats1990]

In the words of the late Donald Richie: "I would leave Japan if I were Japanese."

But there are endless perspectives on this issue and quite a few have their merits, despite contradicting each other.

[GreaterFool]

FWIW I live in Japan and I get uneasy around foreigners. And I'd be especially uneasy around folks from my home country!

> experience prejudice regarding your race

I think it might be more about culture than race. Race is a good proxy for "not Japanese". While Japan is not 100% ethnically uniform, if someone doesn't look Japanese they are most likely not Japanese.

When I see a foreigner I don't know if they've been in Japan long enough to share the same values, respect the culture, and the rules. Can I trust them the same way I trust the Japanese? Japanese have earned my trust over time. And spending time in Japan has changed me.

But a foreigner?! I don't know where are they from. I don't know what their country is like and I don't know what they are they like.

Japan is probably the safest place in the world (maybe Singapore can compete? But it's so tiny it's not fair competition). The rest of the world feels like a jungle. Full of wonder, yes, but also full of unknown dangers :)

[nrp]

Somewhat ironically, Singapore is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse places in the world, demonstrating that ethnic non-uniformity shouldn't be a proxy for unknown dangers.

[GreaterFool]

Everything can easily be done in a tiny controlled environment! Also Singapore is fairly uniform. There's Malaysian Singaporean part, Indian part and Chinese part. They do not overlap. Everyone stays in their lane!

[nrp]

I don’t disagree that neighborhoods are fairly delineated, but in the context of this article, everyone rides the same MRT lines. They all sit next to each other too!

[masonic]

  if someone doesn't look Japanese they are most likely not Japanese

Like the Ainu?

[GreaterFool]

> Official estimates place the total Ainu population at 25,000, but unofficial estimates place its total population at 200,000

Meanwhile there are 10M people living in Tokyo. If all Ainu people of Japan lived in Tokyo, how likely would it be for me to meet one?

Also, there were 30M visitors to Japan last year.

So if one doesn't know and one is making a guess, what is more likely? Foreign visitor or a member of a tiny local minority?