Quote:
Carl Thompson wrote:
Hello Chris,
I hope you don't mind me adding a few thoughts to your own.
Becoming ethnically Japanese is impossible but becoming a Japanese citizen is in fact quite doable. Standing out because of your ethnicity/culture is always going to happen in an area where one ethnic group/culture is more common than the others. This doesn't just apply to Japan but to living in any other country which has a different culture to your own. Some people can handle this, some can't.
"Restrictive" is a relative term. For example, if you like a particular culture, fitting in (awase) with its social rules is part and parcel. If you prefer the system you were brought up with, it is restrictive to have to fit in with another one. Some people can handle this, some can't.
Some foreigners who complain about life in Japan genuinely have problems, some are just people who always complain about their lives, but I think a lot simply didn't do enough research and preparation to live in a foreign country.
Carl
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Yes, you can become a citizen (although it's relatively difficult, and not really encouraged by the Japanese government). But you never become Japanese - it's not like the US, where becoming a citizen means that you're an American. You're either born Japanese or you aren't. Most people are nice about it though...
Even Japanese who stay abroad too long are looked at differently. It's more than just standing out - it's a country where 98% of the population is the same and you're one tiny fraction of the rest.
Take a look at
http://www.debito.org/otarulawsuit.html for a recent example.
Of course, you have to fit in with the rules anywhere - but in Japan there are more social rules applied more strictly than almost anyplace you're likely to live in the United States.
Best,
Chris