That’s putting it lightly. Japan never really relaxed in regards to things like blatant racism and nationalism. In the wake of WW2, the Japanese government invested heavily in the arts to try and change their public image. And it largely worked. Overseas, the country is mostly known for anime and zany fashion.
But domestically, the country has always been extremely conservative and resistant to change. At ~99% natural Japanese, their population is one of the most homogenous in the world. And that ~1% of foreigners encompasses the entirety of tourism, foreign workers, etc… Japan has a saying that roughly translates to “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down,” and the culture definitely embodies that. The culture is largely defined by conformity and tradition, meaning even small deviations from societal expectations get heavily scrutinized.
This pressure to conform also means that Japan is extremely racist towards basically anyone who isn’t Japanese. If given the choice when hiring, Japanese companies will choose a Japanese applicant over a foreigner 100% of the time, even if the foreigner is just as qualified. That’s why the OP mentioned starting your own business if you plan on moving there. As a foreigner, you have basically no chance of getting hired by an existing company. As ann immigrant, your only real opportunities for employment will be in a stereotypically “foreign” job, (like teaching English), via international transfer, (like an American working for Toyota, and transferring to a Japanese branch), or via starting your own business.
And that racism has always been present, but it has recently started to percolate into outright jingoism. Their politics have always been a mess, but recent elections have swung things even farther towards fascism. They’re constitutionally prohibited from building an army, (it was one of the concessions they made after WW2, and they’re only allowed to keep a small national self-defense force), but they have politicians murmuring about building an army anyways.
That’s putting it lightly. Japan never really relaxed in regards to things like blatant racism and nationalism. In the wake of WW2, the Japanese government invested heavily in the arts to try and change their public image. And it largely worked. Overseas, the country is mostly known for anime and zany fashion.
But domestically, the country has always been extremely conservative and resistant to change. At ~99% natural Japanese, their population is one of the most homogenous in the world. And that ~1% of foreigners encompasses the entirety of tourism, foreign workers, etc… Japan has a saying that roughly translates to “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down,” and the culture definitely embodies that. The culture is largely defined by conformity and tradition, meaning even small deviations from societal expectations get heavily scrutinized.
This pressure to conform also means that Japan is extremely racist towards basically anyone who isn’t Japanese. If given the choice when hiring, Japanese companies will choose a Japanese applicant over a foreigner 100% of the time, even if the foreigner is just as qualified. That’s why the OP mentioned starting your own business if you plan on moving there. As a foreigner, you have basically no chance of getting hired by an existing company. As ann immigrant, your only real opportunities for employment will be in a stereotypically “foreign” job, (like teaching English), via international transfer, (like an American working for Toyota, and transferring to a Japanese branch), or via starting your own business.
And that racism has always been present, but it has recently started to percolate into outright jingoism. Their politics have always been a mess, but recent elections have swung things even farther towards fascism. They’re constitutionally prohibited from building an army, (it was one of the concessions they made after WW2, and they’re only allowed to keep a small national self-defense force), but they have politicians murmuring about building an army anyways.
None of this is inaccurate.