Ok, so most anyone who isn't Japanese has probably heard this word while on a trip to Japan. But what exactly does it mean. Most people use it to describe foreigners from other lands. Others insist it is a racist remark made about Americans. The truth is that while the term Gaijin is a type of slang for foreigner, with the appropriate term being gaikokujin, it is far from being racist as it can be applied to any foreigner, be they american or even korean. In the edo period the term bata-kusai, or smelling of butter, was used by the Japanese to describe dutch traders. And also many americans are forgetting the word we have used to describe enemy Japanese fighters in WWII a.k.a. "Japanese". I am a Caucasian American and yet I am appalled by the way we accuse Japanese citizens of being racist, however this is not to say that some Japanese aren't biased against foreigners. I have seen people come to Japan and are even allowed to take part in some of the most "Sacred" and culturally important events. plz comment.

Gaijin = non-Asian foreigner. Chinese, Koreans, and other asians are referred to by their countries of origin: Chugokujin; Kankokujin; Taiwanjin, etc. And yes, Japan for Japanese; please stay out of Japan white person.

^ But you are gaijin too.

Nikkeijin

can you even speak japanese? and if you can fluently?

It's because Americans are race-card pulling weaklings and will always try to twist your arm even if you are already gracious hosts.

Yes, I can speak Japanese . And I admit that I'm definitely not as good as a Native speaker (growing up in the US and being twinkie for 2/3rds of my life), but I'm definitely improving. Currently learning with Kanji flash cards atm

There you go, he's now telling us that he's American national with Japanese ethnicity.
But being American born, you do have Engrish problem.

Or there is something you not telling us?

Considering you have been posting this before.
http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=179988

And this one: http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/index.php?...0&start=900

You've posted this picture before with another account


Yeah you do appears to be East Asian

Yeah, stay away from our women.

Not really.
It's not particularly rare to find people that refer to non-Japanese asians as gaijin. Some will use it to refer to Japanese (those not born and raised in Japan) as gaijin though it's more of a pisstake in that situation.
However referring to individuals by their countries of origin has become more common in recent years and no it's not just with regard to asians.

Don't know what the big deal is. It's not like we don't do the same thing over here when it comes to people from other countries.

I'm not American born; I grew up in America; born in Osaka.


LOL, that pic was a joke after everyone said I looked Hispanic, malay, half white, etc. whatever.


LOL, because I am.

Me neither but you can blame fools like that Arudo Debito, who was pampered his entire life, probably worshipped Japanese culture until he went over there and realized most people don't give a $hit about you just because you say you like their Culture. For the first time, he knows what it feels like to be a minority and he can't handle it and now he's blowing $hit out into epic proportions.

Boy, ain't this the truth! Whites are treated the best out of any non-Japanese in Japan and yet they are always complaining. While in Japan, the locals often snub me in favor of a white guy. Little things like service in a restaurant, checkout at a convenience store, service at a bank, etc. Yet, white men are so used to this special treatment that they think it's normal, and they'll b!tch and complain because little kids stare at them.

Being an American I personally find that too many Americans who visit Japan are completely and utterly ignorant of Japanese social etiquette, and some just plain don't care. In more than one way I am ashamed to call myself an American. I love Japan and unlike some respect the fact that I am different yet at the same time want to live in the country I love and to be a citizen in that community. Japan has a history of imitating other cultures and yet making each thing uniquely Japanese. In many ways Japan and America are similar in the same way they are the same. I as a young kid read Luo Guanzhong's Romance of The Three Kingdoms, Sun Tzu's Art Of War, and as I got older Japanese classics like Hagakure, Book of Five Rings, and The Tale Of Genji. I learned as much about the Sengoku era as I could. I loved anime such as Kidou Senshi Gundam. I've cosplayed. Watched Jidaigeki classics by Kurosawa such as Yojimbo and Ran. My Favorite Japanese dish is Sashimi, with green tea, perferably Matcha. Not all gaijin R dumb.

Japanese people look down on Gaijin just like American look down on immigrants.

I know plenty of Japanese and Americans who don't follow this generalization.

So it's okay for Japanese to live in America, but it's not okay for Americans to live in Japan?


People from every nation on Earth have anti-immigrant sentiments, some more than others.

America for whites, Japan for Japanese (East Asians!)


America used to have anti-immigrant sentiments, until the Jew school system brainwashed them into thinking that race is a social construct.

You can bash my race all you like and I will just regard you as the Asian Twinkie (your own word) equivalent of American trailer trash. You seem to think the same way.
Actually, I think even calling you a twinkie is rather an insult to something I happen to be rather fond of (both versions).

Despite my endorsement of tighter immigration controls in the U.S. (compared to Japan, America doesn't have any), I happen to believe that immigration to and from any country by honest, working people is good. The cultural exchanges benefit the whole.

As for the "Jew school system" you haven't got a clue.
What happened? You drop out because you couldn't hack it? Fake your way through? Or just ignore and forget everything you disagreed with?

i think white males goto japan only for the japanese pussy

Cause thats your ignorant way of thinking it.. And all of you talk about racism.. You haven't seen anything yet.. In Poland, its 99.8% White Catholics.. Any immigrants that come to our country get beat up, and are forced to either relocate, or move to a completly different country.. You ever herd of the term SKINHEAD? Well thers a $hit load of them in Poland. We have rich history to which some people think that by letting immigrants in will corrupt it in some way.. truly, thats European way of thinking, but I guess thats EVERYBODY's way of thinking.. Nobody will just say it out loud.. They complain on Forums, but wont do anything about it. Myself - I have no problem with different races.. Like somebody said before.. if you are a hard working, honest person, and are willing to adapt to other cultures, and especially RESPECT other ways of thinking, you are good to go.. Vietnamese, out of all choose Poland as their "heaven" in Europe.. And the Polish - Japanese school in the University of Warsaw (Polish capital) http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZtEaaZrlBU (part 1) http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=J8reDrmgZIY&...feature=related (part 2).. very cool video..
I myself am an immigrant.. I moved to the US in 2005 from Poland.. And I have been teased about my accent all the time.. but I made many, many friends because people are open minded.. and that includes friends that I have from Asian countries, including Japan. If you are American born, you really should not post anything on how your country views other races because you NEVER experienced it.. Taking trips, and actiually living in your home country, and THEN relocating is what counts.. I plan on moving to Japan one day, because your culture intreegs me, and I would love to learn your language. Because honestly, the only "racist" if you can call it that, aspect of me, is somebody, in a different country, NOT speaking the local language.. Thats a sign of dissrespect in my eyes. Of course, it takes time, but at least take classes.. the Vietnamese immigrants in my city actiually learned Polish because its a necessity. And if you decide to reply to this, I used Vietnamese people as an example of Asian countries.. I don't need to hear "We don't give a $hit about Vietnamese ppl, its a Japanese section".. its just an example.. Well, there you go.. Thats where I stand.. Cheers

Yet you live in the US right? Fvcking hypocrite.

But you weren't raised in America?

wow. so many little nazis running around here

By destroying culture, yes. You're correct. Multiculturalism isn't culture.



LOL, it's funny how I already graduated with a degree. The Jew school system meaning how they indoctrine their philosophies and teachings through various subjects, like Biology, Anthropology, and Sociology. How they teach us that "race is a social construct" and how they slandered and ridiculed Watson, the discoverer of DNA, ridiculing him and revoking his achievements, all because he proved that blacks have a lower IQ than Whites and Asians. And it's true, on average, blacks have a lower IQ. Lower IQ has been linked with crime rate, while blacks make up 12% of the population, they make up about half of all violent crimes. What are we learning in schools? Are we learning or being brainwashed?

Now f-CK OFF because you don't know what the **** you're talking about!


It's not my fault I'm here, my parents brought me here when I was 2. I'm moving back to Japan next year, and brushing up on my vocabulary and alphabet as we speak. Japan for Japanese; America for whites; Africa for Africans; Asia for Asians; Europe for Europeans!

But what if you don't get the homecoming welcome you were looking for? What if you're not fully accepted, looked at similarly to the "gaijin" you dislike, for not being as fluent as someone always raised in Japan?

Don't ruin his fantasy now will you

Race is not only a social construct, it is a social construct with no scientific evidence at all to back it up.


James Watson didn't prove anything. If anything, his comments were taken out of context, which he himself later clarified. He never said a thing about the intelligence of black people being genetically inferior, but he was pointing out that people in Africa generally perform worse in IQ tests. He never mentioned the word "race", but made the comment in terms of geographically isolated populations. He later clarified that there is "no scientific basis" for the belief that Africans are genetic inferior in intelligence. The overwhelming majority of geneticists, including the researchers at the Human Genome Research Institute, are in agreement that there is absolutely no scientific evidence to support such a belief. All studies regarding race and intelligence are simply based on IQ test performance and socioeconomic achievement, not actual genetic evidence. Remember, correlation does not imply causation, and it is a logical fallacy to claim it does. Also keep in mind that African immigrants are the most highly educated group in both the UK and US (even more than whites and Asians), which directly contradicts the belief that they are genetically inferior in intelligence.


Never! America for Native Americans!

What does gaijin mean?

Seems like all asians are racist and see the entire world as "us vs. them"

No wonder Asia has never and will never reach the cohesive unity and greatness as Europe. All Asian nations suffer from severe inferiority complexes and childish arrogance. LOL

Don't pretend to be innocent, you are gaijin and otaku.

CH1NKS ARE GAY

unknown foreigner .

Gaijin (外人) = Outside person

OR

Foreigner

Actually, I will. Nikkei and Nisei are encouraged to come back to Japan and many do from the projected population decline. Hell, I'm coming back there to work with my uncle. Also, surrounding myself with Japanese will make my Japanese even better. You're black, so what do you know about Japan?



No evidence to back it up? LOL, your own two eyes can back it up, if you can't acknowledge that we evolved in all our own ways which created subspecies within human, here is science backing it up:

Race matters to 3-month-olds, studies find
http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060212_racefrm2.htm

Bi-racial bone marrow hard to find
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=...&id=6443924

The Medicalization of Race: Scientific Legitimization of a Flawed Social Construct
http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/125/8/675

Participation of Racial/Ethnic Groups in Clinical Trials
and Race-Related Labeling
http://www.fda.gov/cder/reports/race_ethni...city_report.htm

Minority organ donors needed
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/...et_6870358.html

Scientists see race, the medical community sees race, 3-year old babies see race...

Why call me a bigot, but I think I'm on to something here.





Taken out of context? read the quotes:

The 79-year-old geneticist said he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa� because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really.". He said he hoped that everyone was equal, but countered that “people who have to deal with black employees find this not true�.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2677098.ece

LOL, African immigrants. They get the best of the best students and even extreme help from the libs, and even they aren't exceptional. Tell that to the Africans in Japan who get absolutely no help and form gangs and commit crimes. Also, The average IQ for Africans are 75, which is borderline retarded. IQ has been highly linked to crime and African countries are incredibly crime infested. Just look at how post-apartheid south africa turned into a ****hole.

And no, America for whites because they started the infrastructure of the US for themselves. Native Americans didn't "make" America. I doubt America would be this developed if Native americans were untampered.



We aren't racist. We're "race-conscious." Although we do accept the success of the Westerners, we strive hard to beat them and forward our civilization for our own people. And funny about how you apply "us vs. them" in context with Europe > all. Europe will decline and bastardize due to multiculturalism and dependence on America, which I see no hope for, due to the massive credit problems/printing and borrowing money that had absolutely 0 worth.

I never said it will definitely happen, I asked "what if"? Do you have a backup plan if that does turn out to be the case?

It's not so much about knowing about Japan as much as it is taking into account that you were not raised in Japan even though you are of Japanese descent, and this scenario does happen to people raised in another cultural environment than the one of their ancestors when they return to the "motherland", regardless to whether it is Japan or China or Kenya or wherever else.

I have a friend raised in the US from Kobe, fluently speaks Japanese, who began going to middle school in Japan after being raised in the US . He was teased by his peers because they perceived him as an outsider. He wasn't used to some things, so they felt like it was strange. Not saying you may or may not get what you expect, but you should be careful/aware of the possibility that they might not automatically be able to relate to you just because you're the same race/ethnicity that you put so much emphasis on.

I asked for scientific evidence, i.e. genetic evidence to be specific. All you've done is find a bunch of sources which only confirm the fact that race is nothing more than a social construct. One of the sources you've cited even refers to race as a "Flawed Social Construct" in the title! Why even bother trying to deny this obvious fact?


And you don't see anything taken out of context there? Have you ever wondered what he might have said between the parts they quoted?

James Watson later clarified it himself:

"To all those who have drawn the inference from my words that Africa, as a continent, is somehow genetically inferior, I can only apologize unreservedly. That is not what I meant. More importantly from my point of view, there is no scientific basis for such a belief."


According to the 2000 US Census, 43.8% of African immigrants have a college degree, the highest of all ethnic groups in the US, even higher than Asian Americans (42.5%) and White Americans (23.1%). It's the same in the UK, where African immigrants have the highest educational qualifications from all the ethnic groups, even higher than Whites and Asians. If Africans are so "retarded" like you claim, then how do you explain the fact that the performance of African immigrants in higher education is superior to both Whites and Asians in the UK and USA?


And the modern infrastructure for Hong Kong started with the Brits... Hong Kong for the Brits!

ALL HAIL BRITANNIA

You're delusional but keep it up, I find it highly amusing

AsianNational, manko, steveperry, wonda51 all gaijins.

No $hit loser. I'm American, I ain't in denial about it.

OK Japanese-American, what ever you feels like it.
Why Gaijin like you pretending to be Japanese nationalist?

Don't forget that the U.S. helped to develop Japan economically after they got their asses nuked. Plus we opened up their tight asses via Commodore Perry to international trade otherwise they'd still be hacking each other away with their katanas and gutting themselves over ridiculous reasons. Stupid nips couldn't have done that economy boosting themselves. Japan for Americans! See AssianNational? This $hit can go both ways.

and without China there would be no whites shooting your ancestors. then again you're probably 95% honky.

You contradict yourself. Why should Japan be for Americans when they "nuked our asses?" Sure, they did help develop, but hell, like China, we could've done it on our own without the US's help. It's good not to be dependent on a Western country; that way, no western country will be able to blackmail and bully us. Now fu-k off gaijin.

LOL With AsiaFinest.com being headquartered in New York, I'd say you're the gaijin here. A Japanese calling a skin a foreigner. That was so cash. My post was intended for AsianNational. I simply used Jagger's post as an example that those who develop a nation thereby own it. See his HK for the Brits claim. He's probably messing around though but I wanted to use it to knock A.N. off his nationalistic high horse. I hope mrdata is right and he's just some weaboo claiming to be some nationalist. Also, I see you don't posting crap towards AsianNational, a fellow Japanese (in case he isn't a weaboo), especially with his usage of NAs like we're vanished or some such tripe. Now fu-k off karuruna.

Japan helped china so much

US helped Japan to develop?
How?

No we didn't. We gave them some loans.



After WWII, the Allied Powers were afraid that a weak Japanese economy would result in Communist forces taking over. During the Korean war, Japan became the central supply depot for materials needed for the Korean War, thus boosting its economy along with other tax reforms.

Not sure exactly how this conversation became so skewed, but back to the question. I think it's become colloquial and accepted as a term for foreigners. And it's not too uncommon in any society, I definitely noticed the same type of prejudice with their own terms in Europe, the rest of Asia and it's still present in a lighter sense in America. It's far from being something unique to Japan, I don't know why people glorify Japan for it or even glorify Japan in general. There's showing an interest... and then there's just pure obsessed.

However wrong xenophobia and racism is, it's pretty much ingrained in most of us, especially when it comes to language. When I went to Japan, they had no trouble treating me like a local cause I looked it, but when I opened my mouth, they were taken aback, "he's... Asian? And he can't speak our language but English fluently?!" At least if you're white, you might get treated like a foreigner but you'll still get attention. I was just out of place either way. In France, if you even have a different accent from theirs you're automatically an outsider, in Paris those arrogant pricks won't even speak French back to you. You think it's a myth, but it's real I assure you. Know what's even funnier? In England, they had a hard time understanding my English cause of my American accent, but they're nice there at least.

Oh and back to the topic of racism to set this straight, that myth about white people getting "attention" (both good and bad) in Japan (and even East Asia)? True :P. *ding ding ding* Ya, I thought it was obvious too but stupid people still seem to ask this question on this forum every month.