One major factor that I am anticipating when I go to Japan is the race factor. Being a caucasian in America, I have always been the majority, and my race has never caused me any setbacks or negativity in any way. Even if I were a minority though, America is a heterogenous county full of a variety of races. Unless you hear someone speaking another language of have a thick accent you can not always tell they are a foreigner.
This "luxury" of blending into society will not come as easy for me in Japan, where less than 2% of the population is a minority-not of Japanese decent. Still, that 2% equals to over a million people.
I've heard mixed reviews on Japanese attitudes towards foreigners. I take into consideration that each individual holds their own opinion, and after my stay in Japan I guess I can see for myself how my race and nationality comes into play.
Japanese people live in a collective culture. They place emphasis family and group goals, as opposed to the United States and Western European nations where individual goals are most important.
Before considering themselves Asian, Japanese consider themselves Japanese.
I have heard of the Japanese word "Gaijin" used to describe foreigners. I have also heard stories online, and from a British friend who spent 2 months in Japan a few years ago, that there are some facilities i.e. clubs, restaurants, that do not allow foreigners in. Japanese government is not like The United States in that it does not place an importance on equality of all races.
Despite the negativity, I have also heard positive reactions to foreigners, particularly white people. Although in the movies people see Americans as loud, messy and violent, they also see them as beautiful and different. It is very common for Japanese to dye their hair blonde, wear colored contacts and recently the trend of getting plastic surgery to have more caucasian like features, especially among women, is rising. Many times the shyness or ignorance of Americans is looked at as rudeness.
I'm going to try to not latch on to a certain bias before i actually go to Japan.
My Japanese teacher, a native Japanese women who has lived in America for 14 years, asked us the first day of class why we chose to take Japanese language? the American students answered their liking of manga, anime, J-Pop. She laughed and said that when she was our age she wanted to learn English because of her love of American movies, music and style.
Its all mutual.
マリㇱサ
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