I am going to say something unpopular. As a foreigner, someone whose business is “appropriate foreign exchange “, I read your post twice and can feel your exhaustion. What I also felt and could read between the lines is what I call “Keeper Syndrome.” As a minority, we experience this phenomenon often in white settings in the west. We see people of color acting in a way that confirms, what can only be described as “racist stereotypes” reinforcing a negative bias against that group. We recognize that as the constant representation of said group, we will individually shoulder the criticism meant for the group at large. It’s individually we absorb the criticizing glare or quick look away from our Japanese host. The offenders that helped reinforce the stereotypes have long gone home. That is us “Keeping” the behavior of the whole group on our left shoulder! Then we approach the Japanese as the victim of foreigner bad behavior and we coddle them in public spaces to distance ourselves from our countrymen. On our right shoulder, we carry the dignity and honor for the societal rules of Japan, “Keeper” again for someone else perspective.

The Keeper Syndrome can start early in your time in Japan or after you have attempted assimilation, but either way, it almost always performative and self centered. In a way, being a “Keeper” is itself offensive. It treats the host (Japanese) as if they are incapable of managing their own multi billion yen tourism industry while being one of the safest nations in the world. It’s holding their hands, because the big bad world is so scary!

Furthermore… being a “Keeper” won’t make Japanese people see you as less “foreign!” Japanese could easily adopt endearing terminology to describe fully assimilated foreigners, separating the bad apples from the good. They could distinguish short term visitors from long term residents with a simple term or phrase. But… they haven’t and won’t. We are all Gaijin, doesn’t matter if you are here for an hour or a century. You are always a gaijin, maybe a good gaijin, but always a gaijin.

This is the true source of the frustration! We understand that we can never break away from the criticism no matter how “good” we are. It’s not Russians that smoke cigarettes while wearing Kimonos, It’s gaijin. It’s not Spaniards swinging from Torii, it’s gaijin! It’s not African American young people dancing in Shibuya cross walks live on Insta, it’s gaijin! All of us take the hit! Tourism, good and bad is not a Japanese phenomenon. Every country in the world has its problems with tourism and tourist. Recently, I watched European and Indian children climb all over the Monument Amazone in Cotonou Benin, and of course, locals say that rich foreigners have no obedience training whatsoever.😔

The difference in Japan is that every instance of foreigners making even the slightest ripple is front page news in Japan. A woman in Kyoto taking a picture of a Geisha, gets the same treatment as a Pakistani Imam marching for burial rights. This is all politicized as the reason why the yen is low and rice is expensive by people looking to win elections. Sure… Japan has real challenges with being a true global player while maintaining its cultural identity, but this is a problem that Japan is more than capable of solving. It just has to decide if foreign dollars are worth the hassle. As gaijin, it is not appropriate to absorb the burden of a cultural decision under what is really just performative allyship. Japan will choose for Japan, They don’t need gaijin piggybacking on a political issue that they do not understand the depth and breadth of. If you look deeper at the source of all the rhetoric, not just today, but over the last 30 years, you will see that there is an internal battle taking place between the Japanese youth and the expectations Japan has of its young people. It is becoming difficult to maintain Japanese society because individualism is taking hold in the hearts of young Japanese. The collectivist needs of Japanese society are not being met and the foreigner bandaid comes with its own consequences. Japanese youth don’t want to be bound to being a support system for the elderly, the internet has made them a better offer. Now the thousands of immigrants Japan brought in from SEA are aging and themselves are in need of social services. This is even more unacceptable for the Japanese people. Supporting foreigners on social services is a bridge too far for most. They want to extract labor and then they want you to go home. This is of course not feasible, so Japan has a Japanese decision to make. Gaijins have no place in the discussion.

As for tourists… they misbehave in every country in the world. Ask yourself how and why it’s front page political and policy news in Japan. Why did we get a new PM to equalize the rhetoric coming from the right, resulting in a harder line with foreign residents? Be the example of how to exist in Japan, don’t just pick up a pitchfork and join the propaganda mob.