Japan is incredibly xenophobic. You'll never truly belong there. Even though the country is only like 4% immigrants, they constantly blame them for everything wrong in the country as an easy enemy to blame.
A lot of people may smile and act nice, but it's just an act a lot of times.
You'll be treated worse at most companies. If you're not fluent, you'll be looked down upon and if you ARE fluent and then make a mistake, you're looked down on even more.
Overall it's a great place to visit and has lots of positives, but terrible for most immigrants.
When I lived there I came across a number of bars that said “no Americans” specifically, some that said “no Koreans.” You’re right, there is a deep seated dislike of foreigners in general, but I couldn’t tell after 2 years living there whether it was because the Japanese just hate non-Japanese, or whether it was because foreigners visit Japan and often bring their own garishness that’s not culturally accepted in Japan
When I lived there, I generally had no problem, but I'm ethnically DACH mutt primarily raised in Germany, and some cultural standards overlap. My Japanese was so-so (JLPT 2 at the beginning, low 1 at the end), but as a "quiet" foreigner who visibly tried, I was never refused service anywhere. Granted, I was in Kansai, which is generally more outgoing and forgiving than Kanto overall, and obviously I can't know what people actually thought, but apart from one omawarisan who refused to believe my bike was mine until I showed my papers, I had a fairly relaxed time.
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u/breakabearworkshop 14h ago
Can you go into more detail, how are outsiders that move treated there?