Is 'Gaijin' a Racist Word in Japan?

Do you think it's OK to use the word, 'Gaijin'? And why?

I'd think that in a country like Japan where context is so important, that it would apply here as well.

When I was a foreign student in Taiwan, a German friend and I walked into a traditional Chinese medicine shop where 3-4 older men and women were hanging out, chatting. They all turned and looked at us. My friend said "我們是洋鬼子." ("We are foreign devils!" [a derogatory term for foreigners]). The people laughed, and then we had a very nice and friendly conversation with them. It helps to keep your sense of humor. I disagree with the gal who says "it should be gai koku jin, not gai jin, and why the 'can't be helped'??". Get out and travel the world a bit, and you will discover that people are clannish everywhere including in the middle of New York City, an incredibly diverse place. It's just a natural human trait. The way to overcome that is first to accept that it's normal human reactions to outsiders, second to keep your sense of humor, and third find a way to bridge the divide in a humble and friendly manner and not by shaming them. Japan is an island culture with "Galapagos syndrome" which is to say, their culture has largely developed in isolation for the past 10,000 years. Don't expect them to suddenly be incredibly adaptable and welcoming when they have zero cultural training and experience in dealing with someone who doesn't know the language and customs. They're trying hard. Just my opinions :)

Gaijin, gaijin, is a matter that is coveted in this country.
However, it shows the national character of people openly approaching people and making malicious comments.

Honestly i blame the Japanese for saying that if anything its pretty based lol

The problem is not the word, it's the exclusionary attitude. Changing the word won't solve the issue.

No it's not a racist word.

When THEY tell you what you can say and can't say, THEY start controlling your thinking. You are no longer a free person. An attack at such word as gaijin is an attack at Japanese themselves.

I find it bot stupid and insulting to any ethnicity to explain why they use a certain word for something. As far as I know gaijin is alien and gaikokujin is a foreigner. That's enoug for me to know. If I'm Polish I can be both as I'm not Japanese. Japan belongs to Japanese people, not foreigners. It's up to Japanese people to decide what's good for them, their people, culture and country.

This problem is the same one all over the world. Every country has to give up trying to retain its uniqueness. Racial pride, cultural pride. All those "prides" are from an era that history is leaving behind as we move towards ONE humanity. So if someone calls you a "gaijan" or a "nig*er" or whatever, they are someone who is trying to keep alive an epoch that is on its way out. Race is a paint job that washes out with only 2 generations of dilution. Culture washes out even faster than that.

I'm a Caucasian American. If you're in Japan and you're referred to as Gaijin and you're offended, you need to have a spine put in.

yes its ok to use the word. Banning words is a stupid solution to the problem. It doesn't work and its a terrible trying to inflict the policing of language.
Some people are being offenseive, some people are trying to be offended.
This is mostly a Japanese thing because Japanese identity is so ethnocentric and homogenous, but all of a sudden Japan is importing alot of people from other countries because they made alot of societal choices that lead to population decline.

Importing people is the best short-term economic solution, but it has ALOT of social and cultural LONG term problems.
It stems from that ethnocentric identity. If Japan is going to import people to a significant degree, they need to invent a new and meaningful answer to this question:

What does it mean to be Japanese?

Because if the answer to this does not include immigrants or ethnically mixed people, then Japan AND Japans is still importing people then it is headed for a huge world of Social unrest and increasing Violence. because you are importing a huge population of "Second-class Citizens", or "NON-citizens" who are NOT treated equally under the law. That kind of broad social discrimination will lead to alot of conflict.

The greatest thing Ben Franklin invented was "Americans". That's not a joke or a catchy saying. Its just true. He created an Identity that united the 13 colonies of his day. They were NOT united before. Furthermore, that identity would include ALL who immigrate an become United States Citizens. That is a miracle. That is why America works on a Social and Cultural level. this is HUGELY different from any other nation of the day.

Japan is NOT like this. The Japanese identity is both the Nation and culture, but also the ETHNICITY. Thats a challenging problem to solve. The only answers I know to that question are American answers and Christian answers. So unless Japan adopts a new identity defined the same as the Declaration of Independence and the American constitution, or largely converts to 1 religion, I don't have any answer for them. I don't think a single religion is the right answer, so it has to be the How can you center Japanese Identity around a common heritage that is based NOT on ethnicity?

idk man, i can't quite agree with what is being said during the 2nd half of the video,, a huge issue is the mindset, mind you, just having an actual well-used word for mixed race (hafu) to distinguish from "whole" mono-race people? kind of fucked up to me; from an european perspective

I guess if you call a name that someone does not like it can be racist. You have to feel would you like a name called to you when you visits another country if the answer is no then it’s probably racist. Some may not mind some will just think if it would upset you then don’t say it.

go to finland all the people in finland is nice as well most important they won´t stare at it like OH gaijin 外国人🤣

No banning nor forcing any sort of western bs unto the japanese.
Such minority concerns will be the downfall of the japanese culture

In Australia "Jap" was not considered a slur in the last century. It was just a shortening of the work "Japan" or "Japanese". Australians often shorten words, like Japan does too. Nevertheless, Japanese people didn't like it so we stopped saying it. We stopped saying it in private and in public, because we are a culture that values being respectful to all people. So if you want to continue to use the term "gaijin" in public and private, despite the fact that many people don't like it, do you think you are a good person? Just answer me that one question, yes or no. No debate, just answer the question please.

fun fact: If Japanese people think they're insulting. they havent lived in America yet!

the English language has the most racist connotations in the world.

We are not asking anyone to "ban" the word gaijin. Just letting you know that we will judge you when you use it, just like we would judge you if you said you like punching 5 year old girls. It's not illegal to say you like punching 5 year old girls, but if you say it we will judge you. The world will judge you. 98% of the world. And if you hate 98% of the world, you need to re-think if you are even human or not. Possibly sub-human with a fairy story about being descended from divine beings, which is laughable because your emperor is weak and has no power.

Nobita, it is both interesting and complicated to discuss the use or non use of the term gaijin. In general, Japan is more homogeneous than other countries, so public awareness & sensitivity to visitors or foreign born workers can sometimes get emphasized. Recognizing physical differences doesn't just happen in Japan, just look at the history of civil rights movement in the U.S. The debates on this still go on. As to whether the term gaijin is offensive or not, i think, depends on the context and intent. All languages can have subtle phrasing or tone. It is hard to have one conclusion or rule. Think life is too short to emphasize our differences anyway. We benefit and grow more to find things we have in common.
Even in a workplace, fostering diversity creates a better, more welcoming environment. Organizations that are flexible tend to solve problems faster because diversity is reinforced vs not.
Hard to conclude there is only one rule or one way to look at this. 😊

He compared "gaijin" to "fat" and still thinks its OK to call people gaijin.

Its not the word, its what they think of foreigners in japan

I think we can safely say that all the attempts at word policing in the English language have disproven the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis at this point. All you end up with is an arms race between those determined not to offend and those determined to be offended resulting in non-sensical situations like "colored people" being considered offensive while "people of color" isn't.

I liked that last part the message was a great one and very true.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Jesus Christ
Seriously, would you like to be referred to as "foreigner/foreign person" over and over, as well as excluded from social connections and activities? LoL. Who would?! In simple clarifying comments, in passing small talk, or in comedy, sure, why not. No big deal. But, in many other serious contexts, then just stop with the rudeness, bigotry, and mean-spiritedness. The whole world would be better if we ALL adopted such an approach. How difficult is it to just say a person's NAME? Oh, but to do so would imply simple respect. What a concept. IMHO, we are all made in God's Image, so to disrespect each other as "less than" ourselves is to disrespect the Creator.

I feel like focusing on the word misses the true underlying problem. The issue is feeling like you're being excluded or mistreated on the basis of your race. Changing to a new word won't fix this issue, it'll just kick the can down the road.

You can't attract gaijin hunters without being a gaijin

I was raised to addres people you don't know or have not been introduced to as Sir or Ma'am. Then after introdutions you reffered to them with Mr. or Ms./Mrs. followed by their family name. I understand that the Japanese are even more formal than American southerners. That being so, why would a polite society, such as the Japanese, use the informal/causual term to reffer to or speak to a stranger thusly? It is becuase the believe the individual they are speaking to or about does not merit courtesy. Manners cost nothing.

Even if someone in Japan were to call me a "Gaijin", I wouldn't take it seriously.

I wonder what percentage of those complaining are Americans, Australians, New Zealanders and other countries founded as colonies that are simply confronted by a new concept which they, as not being indigenous to their home country, have not encountered before.
Here in Germany we call foreigners the exact same name as the Japanese: "Ausländer" - "person from outside of the country" whereas we refer to ourselves as "Deutsch" - "those belonging to the people".
I believe every society built on a majority native population uses similar distinctions. E.g. our eastern neighbours the Slavs call us "niemci" - "those who can't talk" while calling themselves "Slavs" - "those who can talk".
So I think the use of the concept of "gaijin" is normal all over the world with the exception of those before mentioned countries founded by colonization and the implications that difference has on their world view

Mostly elder people say gaijin.

My personal scale:
Gaijin-> Not polite
Gaijin-san-> Better but still don't like it.
Gaikoujin-> Much better
Amerikajin etc. -> Best

Well, the intent is more important for me, just a few days ago as I was hurrying to the subway station, I got stuck behind a drunk group who were having fun and as I was trying to pass through them, one in the group pointed at me and began saying things about the "gaikokujin" probably thinking I didn't understand Japanese.Well I didn't have the time to argue or teach them that closing the way as a large group and walking like a snail wasn't proper "nihonjin" way, so I rushed though the group as if I don't understand, besides, didn't want the guy to lose face in front of his friends either. So it is the attitude rather than the words, and in that case even if I didn't speak Japanese, I'd have understood they are talking about me and laughing.But in other cases I am OK. gaijin is not a racist wordi just an abbreviation,and I heard Koreans and Chinese use it in some occasions as well. In general however, I don't think Japanese people are racist or discriminotary compared to ost European countries such as Greece, Belgium or Denmark.

Here is the problem with the word "gaijin". It groups 98% of the worlds population into one group who have nothing in common. The only thing it tries to make us have in common is not being Japanese. But you can't tell who is Japanese from who is not Japanese just by looking at them. Some people think they can, but they can't.

That is why in the west we don't call people "foreigner" because that is assuming things that we can't know. We call people by their name or by sir ma'am etc. For some strange reason we let Japanese people get away with labelling us irrationally.

A second point is people defending the term by saying that they don't intend any harm or have any bad intentions. Well, your intentions don't matter, your actions matter. Anyone can claim that they didn't have bad intentions. How about if I go and stab someone and then say I didn't have any bad intentions. Would that make it ok?

Next time someone calls you gaijin call them a monkey boy, because that's what they look like. Then say you don't have any bad intentions, it's just what you look like.

The people saying it's not nice to say "gaijin" but it's OK to say "gaikokujin" and sometimes we might say "gaijin" amongst ourselves with no bad intention, they do not understand. Anyone can be mean and then say "I didn't have any bad intentions!". That's nonsense. Explain clearly to me why you need to talk about 98% of the people in the world who you don't know, using one single term. You can't you stupid M.

I think it heavily depends on context. There's a difference between "Oh you're a gaijin? Can you tell us about your country?" and "Get the f*ck out of Japan, gaijin".

The Japanese fail to understand that without foreigners, it'd still be a barbaric culture rooted in feudal confusion and savagery. But the reason why Japanese people are going extinct is because of the way they treat their own kind as outsiders. I lack remorse for such an ignorant people.

sorry they're gaijins

I’m being proud to be a gaijin because I ain’t no nihonjin. I always been called as a foreigner even in the country where I was born. I don’t feel I have an identity related to a country so I don’t give a fuck that people call me gaijin all the time

平たく言うと両者の気持ちの問題です。
外国人である私としては、結論から言うと「外人」という単語自体が別に悪くないと思いますけど、差別に当たるかどうかはそれを使っている人がどういう気持ちで言っているのか次第だと思います。
英語の「Nワード」がスラーになったのは、言葉そのものが別に酷いってわけじゃなくて、それを言っている人の偏見と嫌味が込められてきたせいでかつそれ以外の使い方をしてこなかったからなんです。
なのでもし外国の方に対してネガティブなニュアンスでしか外人を使わないってなると、その人からの「外人」という言葉がスラーになるというわけです。

Just call them the word that means local or native in japanese.

The Japanese expats I dealt with in the US do not like to be called a Gaijin😂😂. I had a meeting with a JP client and he called the Americans Gaijin.....

Gaijin!

Gaijin is the literal translation of the word “foreigner”, not gaikokujin. It’s “foreign” (outside) + “er” (making this refer to a person). Gaikokujin is already at a more respectful level. People need to leave other culture’s languages alone.

Dont use the term foreigner at all. If you are referring to someone from another country use their country. Join the modern world. When we talk about different groups we use their country. When we refer to Japanese we say Japanese.

Interesting video I had no idea this was a concern in Japan. I do not live, nor have lived in Japan so this is my outside perspective after watching the video, I believe its all about the intent behind the word, so if its used to exclude, or bully people then its bad but other then that its just a word that describes something. I'm more worried about what the lady mentioned about feeling "pressured" to use certain words as to not be misjudged, I think placing this kind of pressure on people might stop them from opening up or engaging in conversation and ultimately that's not a great thing for anyone. My takeway from all this is to just stand up to the bullies and try your best not to get offended to easily.

Japanese using "gaijin" is like Americans and Europeans using the word "non-white" to refer to all Asians, Africans, and Indians.