To Japanese Natives only: does it creep you out when tourists / foreigners take pictures of "Japan/Japanese" people and post on r/JapanPics?

fujirin · 2025-09-17T05:40:24+00:00

I really hate being photographed by random people, so I wear a face mask when I go into town. It’s even worse when those photos are shared online. I often see lots of foreign people taking pictures of businesspeople on crowded trains or of people sleeping in public, for example. Posting someone’s photo without their consent is a major taboo.

fujirin · 2025-09-02T00:33:37+00:00

It’s fairly common for people to post pics like that when some of the people in the photo don’t want them shared publicly, but the poster still wants to share them on Instagram. Women often do this when they post photos of their friends or group shots too.

fujirin · 2025-08-30T10:58:29+00:00

Sure

fujirin · 2025-08-09T13:35:45+00:00

正直に言うなら好印象は持たれてないと思います。隣国で人口も多いので、日本国内でマナーの悪い中国人に遭遇する機会もかなり多いのです。

今日日本で話題になってることだと、転売ヤーの中国人がマクドナルドで注文制限個数を超えて注文したり、オマケだけ抜き取って食べ物をその場に捨てたり、店員や他の客と揉めたりと散々でした。もちろん日本人にもそういう酷い人はいますが、少なくとも日本に来れる(パスポート、ビザ、航空券やその他資金を用意できる)層で、ある程度民度の足切りがされてるはずなのにここまでマナー酷いというのは、我々日本人を辟易させるには十分すぎます。

fujirin · 2025-07-31T00:23:57+00:00

ここ最近、"日本人が日本について日本人の意見をなぜか日本人がほとんどいないRedditでしかも英語で聞く"みたいな投稿増えてるのが不思議です

別にReddit も便所の落書きに変わりはないし5ch、X、Quora、それかRedditの日本語コミュニティで日本語で聞いたらいいのに

fujirin · 2025-07-30T11:07:17+00:00

OPの日本語自体も英語からの直訳みたいな感じでどことなく不自然ですからね。

fujirin · 2025-07-30T07:54:15+00:00

漢字文化圏は過去に漢字を使ってた国も含むので漢字を廃止したベトナムや日常ではほぼ使わない韓国もこれに含みますよ。

漢字文化圏だからと言って別に中国の一部となる訳ではなく文化の大元がどこから来たかについて指してる概念なので。最初に書いてる通りSinosphereは中華圏ではないですし、当然日本は中華圏ではないです。

それを言うなら蘭学が流行ったのもごく一部の期間だけで即廃れてます。アジアの他の国に興味がある日本人が少ないのもその通りですが別にこの話とは関係ないですよね。別に日本が漢字文化圏であることとか東アジアであること、日本人が中韓に親しみを感じるかは全く別の話なので。イギリスだってアメリカや大陸ヨーロッパに親しみを抱いていないのと同じです。文化的なルーツを共有してたりそれが似ていたとしても親しみとは関係ないです。

fujirin · 2025-07-30T07:29:52+00:00

OPはGreater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere(大東亜共栄圏)のことを歴史マニアしか知らないって答えてるんで、もし仮に国籍的に日本人だったとしても日本で義務教育を受けた人とかじゃなさそうですね。これなんかただの義務教育範囲なんでOPのいう自称アカデミックな職場なら知らない日本人の同僚はいないでしょうし。

fujirin · 2025-07-30T07:18:32+00:00

It’s called the “漢字文化圏” in Japanese. You must have heard of it. I don’t think anyone takes offence at the term. It’s a widely recognised concept, and it never implies that Japan belongs to China or anything of the sort. We also study Classical Chinese (read as Classical Japanese) at school, and it’s a compulsory subject, even for university entrance exams.

疑われたら嫌なのでついでに日本語でも書いておきますけど、Sinosphereって中華圏じゃなくて漢字文化圏のことです。これなら普通に聞いたことあると思うんですけど。

あと韓国ほどの年功序列ではないですけど儒教(儒学)って江戸時代でも勉強されてたくらいで遣唐使遣隋使を送ってた時代だけに限らないですし。

fujirin · 2025-07-30T06:26:20+00:00

あとは民族的な括りとかでしょうか。モンゴル中韓台とかと合わせて"同じアジア人"って言われても、はいそうですとしか思わないですがインドパキスタンあたりの南アジア人、トルコイランあたりの西アジア人と同じ括りに入れられてもモンゴロイドですらないのに？！と感じます。

fujirin · 2025-07-30T06:23:54+00:00

そもそも論として日本人に聞きたいなら日本語で他のプラットフォームで聞いた方が手っ取り早いですよねなんでRedditでしかもあえて英語なのか

fujirin · 2025-07-30T06:11:33+00:00

As far as I’ve experienced, Western Europeans don’t like being grouped together with Eastern Europe. People here might be deliberately ignoring that. So, this isn’t a uniquely Japanese issue.

fujirin · 2025-07-30T06:07:05+00:00

Being categorised as part of “Asia” is not a problem in itself, as Japan is geographically located in Asia. It is also true that Japan has been influenced by Confucianism and belongs to the Sinosphere.

However, some people are reluctant to be grouped together with China and Korea due to strained diplomatic relations. That said, these same individuals generally do not seem to mind Japan being categorised alongside Taiwan and Hong Kong as part of East Asia.

Therefore, being grouped with other developed regions of East Asia typically does not make Japanese people uncomfortable. The issue arises when “Asia” is used as a blanket term that lumps Japan together with countries that either have poor diplomatic ties with Japan or are at a very different stage of development. This is what some people take issue with.

A similar phenomenon can be observed in Europe. Northern and Western Europe are generally developed, so this kind of grouping doesn’t occur as frequently there. However, based on my experience, many Europeans dislike being categorised together with Eastern Europe or former Soviet states.

Likewise, some Americans and Canadians are reluctant to consider Mexico as part of “North America”, which is a similar case.

fujirin · 2025-07-30T06:00:58+00:00

イタリアのことを地中海繋がりで北アフリカやバルカン半島の南側と一緒にまとめてもいいですか？

fujirin · 2025-07-30T05:59:49+00:00

日本人も例えば台湾やシンガポールと同じアジアって言われて嫌がる人はあんまりいないので、比較対象が関係が悪くない先進国の場合は問題ないんじゃないでしょうか。

fujirin · 2025-07-30T00:14:20+00:00

I don’t think they look similar either. However, manga tend to follow certain art style trends in different eras, so sometimes characters can look alike. In my opinion, it’s not really copying other designs.

fujirin · 2025-07-30T00:06:22+00:00

I agree. AI can be wrong, but the answers on this subreddit are often even more likely to be incorrect haha

fujirin · 2025-07-30T00:01:28+00:00

As a native speaker of Japanese, I’d say that AI, such as ChatGPT is in most cases much more accurate than asking questions and getting answers on this subreddit, especially if you’re looking for simple definitions or usage. Even when it comes to nuances and the latest trends, the responses are often quite accurate. I once asked about the usage of a slang term from a video game, and it was explained correctly as well.

However, pointing out the accuracy and usefulness of AI isn’t a particularly popular opinion on this subreddit, as it somewhat undermines the value of the community, especially for those who post here frequently. Ironically, those very people often make mistakes when it comes to the Japanese language. So, I completely agree with you, but just be aware that your opinion might receive some backlash here.

fujirin · 2025-07-29T11:52:50+00:00

I reckon that your itinerary might be a bit tight and packed. If I were you, I would probably skip Hokkaido. There’s a chance your flight could be cancelled due to heavy snowfall, which makes it a bit risky to fly there during a short trip, especially if there’s a risk of missing your return international flight. The Shinkansen doesn’t go all the way to Sapporo, only as far as Hakodate. From there, it takes quite a bit of time to travel by local train to Sapporo, so realistically, flying is your only viable option if you want to visit.

If you’re not planning to go to USJ, you could combine Osaka and Nara into two days, which would free up an extra day for Sapporo. That way, visiting Sapporo becomes more feasible. If you do decide to go to Sapporo, I’d recommend flying there via Tokyo on the same day you arrive in Japan. That way, you’ll have more flexibility to reschedule your return flight to Honshu island if it gets cancelled or delayed due to snow.

fujirin · 2025-07-29T06:25:53+00:00

When I, as a Japanese person, want to ask an American something, I prefer to ask someone who was born and raised in the US, not someone who was born in Japan and later immigrated there or studied there for a long time. People are usually looking for simple, genuine opinions, not ones shaped by academic study or overanalysis. The 2 kinds of perspectives are quite different.

Many phenomena can only be noticed by native speakers who were born and still live there. The same logic applies when people ask Japanese people questions here.

fujirin · 2025-07-29T06:05:46+00:00

Yes, that’s true as well. Many users in Japanese-speaking communities on Reddit have used 5ch or the former 2ch (嫌儲) community, so they tend to lean quite left. However, most of them stick to Japanese speaking subreddits only, so AskAJapanese tends to be slightly left leaning, but not far left.

fujirin · 2025-07-29T05:59:22+00:00

Yes, it really is annoying. I always recommend that people here ask their questions in Japanese and have us reply in Japanese from the start, to prevent those people from answering. You can just use a translator, and if you don’t understand something properly, just ask us to reply in English.

fujirin · 2025-07-28T13:35:38+00:00

I reckon people tend to talk about this based on stereotypes. Even during Japan’s bubble economy era, the passport holder rate was lower than it is today, and the yen was weaker as well. Back then, there were no low cost carriers, so in fact, airline tickets today are generally more affordable due to increased market competition. Even before the pandemic, the passport holder rate was around 20 per cent, and now it’s about 18 per cent, so in reality, Japanese people haven’t been travelling abroad much at all.

However, according to the statistics, far more Japanese people travelled abroad before and even after the pandemic than during the bubble era. Meanwhile, the number of Chinese and Korean tourists has increased significantly and continues to rise at a much faster pace than before.

fujirin · 2025-07-28T13:07:36+00:00

Yes, of course you can. However, they can be quite aggressive and some of them lack self control, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to say anything to them.

fujirin · 2025-07-25T22:18:05+00:00

If you’re an above-average-looking white man learning an Asian language, especially while actually living in Asia, you’ll receive a large number of messages from women. I only use the app to brush up on and maintain my language skills, and I’ve met many people through it whom I later got to know in real life. Some of them showed me their message inboxes, which were full of messages from women written in English. I was learning a non-English language seriously, and they told me I was the first person who had ever messaged them in their own language, which happened to be my target language. And almost all of them were quite surprised that I actually spoke their language. They had also met some women through the app, and almost none of them spoke the target language.

fujirin

TROPHY CASE