The people defending this as ‘not racism’… way to miss the point. If this was some BBQ joint in Texas with a sign that says closed in Spanish but open in English you wouldn’t be posting these comments
The odds of a Texas BBQ joint not having any Spanish speaking employees is exceedingly small.
And yet they are cheering for ICE to arrest them all. No matter the status or paperwork. If they’re arrested then they are guilty. That’s how it works down here.
There are for sure racist fascists and bootlickers here, but don’t paint us all with that brush.
https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/protests-against-ice-scheduled-across-texas-this-weekend/
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/us/student-protests-walkouts-ice-texas.html
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/14/texas-ice-shooting-houston-city-council-protest/
lol what? Have you ever been to Texas?
Have you‽ I was born in Texas. Lived here the last 24 years, and 32 of the last 34. Even asian restaurants here have kitchens full of Spanish speaking people.
Yes, i lived on the border of TX and NM for fifteen years and i can tell you with certainty that i misread your comment. lol
It’s been years now, but are you saying that BBQ joints don’t have Spanish speaking employees? Is that a Texas only thing?
Mac is mistaken. There are Spanish speaking employees all over the food service industry in Texas.
Most of the US in fact, especially any decent sized city.
Having lived in Texas for 40 years, I can confidently tell you you’re full of shit
I mean, it’s also racism. Those people are just stupid.
Its called Xenophobia.
Xenophobia and racism are distinct forms of prejudice: xenophobia is the fear or hatred of foreigners, while racism is the belief in racial superiority and systemic oppression based on race. Though they overlap, they target people for different reasons.
It would still not be racism
Xenophobia at worst, only hatred of tourists at best
Xenophobia is inherently racist.
Arent they different things? Racism is about race, xenophobia is about country of origin
Probably a venn diagram but with a large overlap.
Yeah let’s start calling it racism when Barcelona locals spray tourists with water guns and see how quickly these same people scream “THAT’S DIFFERENT!”
It literally isn’t racism though. You can disagree with it and think it should be banned, but there is no interpretation that it can realistically be called racism
I lived in Japan for a while. I’ve seen a couple places with a sign like this. In my experience every place like this is perfectly willing to have foreigners that speak Japanese. They simply don’t want to deal with the hassle of a language barrier
I should also note these places were always in touristy areas. If they don’t have a sign like that, they’ll end up with majority English speaking customers, because Japanese customers prefer places without rowdy tourists that can’t speak the local language. I did too. Going out for an after work beer, you want an entirely different atmosphere from tourists getting hammered
Why not just post the truth then? They could say “We’re sorry, we’re unable to accomodate non-Japanese speakers due to…”?
It doesn’t say “if you are of that race we are open”. It says you must understand the language. So learn it - you’ll need it anyway to live there - or go elsewhere, where staff can serve you on your language, provide a menu on your language etc.
A hate system where you can upgrade your status by learning is not racism. Also not necessarily a hate system in the first place.
If an American moves to Europe and doesn’t attempt to learn the local language, then by a few months to a year in with zero effort people will say they’re in the wrong for not making an effort to integrate and expecting everyone to speak English for them.
Clearly “Americans expecting foreigners to speak English” is different from “Other countries expecting Americans to speak the local language” from a moral point of view. So why is Japan then lumped in with America as the “Local people must accept and accommodate foreigners who can’t communicate in the local language” bucket, when anywhere else it’s “If you’re traveling there and you didn’t even try learning the language, then you’re ignorant and entitled.”?
If an American moves to Europe and doesn’t attempt to learn the local language, then by a few months to a year in with zero effort people will say they’re in the wrong for not making an effort to integrate and expecting everyone to speak English for them.
My American cousin lived and worked in France as an engineer for several years. This is absolutely not true. He did make an effort to learn some French, but it wasn’t because of any pressure. He just wanted to.
that’s absolutely not the case in places like the netherlands and the nordic countries, people dont really give a fuck cus everyone speaks english anyway (unfortunately)
i think the dutch and the scandinavians have hit their head or something cus their languages are so easy to learn but in iceland and finland it’s possible to never get fluent even with a lot of effort, cus the languages are damn hard, so people are understandably more forgiving
I used a bus in Japan to go to Mount Fuji. Seats were assigned like on a plane and I was sitting next to some Japanese guy. I did my best to respect their customs and remained silent and kept to myself for the two hour ride. The inside of the bus was as silent as a church for the entire drive even though it was full.
On the way back at the end of the day, the bus had dropped a few passengers somewhere and stopped at a station for a toilet break. When we boarded again the driver went to see the passenger beside me and moved him to another seat on the bus to sit in a seat that had been freed up next to another Japanese person. It looks like the passenger went to see the driver to request the seat change during the break.
I’ve spent the rest of the ride wondering what I had done wrong. It’s really a fucked up feeling and it must be horrible to be experiencing this sort of passive aggressive racism on a daily basis in your own home.
It probably wasn’t anything wrong you had done wrong. From what I’ve been hearing from some family who do business in asia. As they explain it, Japan has had an economic whiplash from the 80s and a lot of those cultural and economic policies that gave them initial success were not sustainable long term. And since Japan is a VERY proud culture, they’ve found it easier to blame outsiders than their own miscalculations.
they’ve found it easier to blame outsiders than their own miscalculations.
Enough said, round the world
Yep, xenophobia went up globally following the financial crisis of '08.
Sure America was the big trigger, but no country did anything to guard themselves from the risk ongoing at the time - And in Europe mena immigrants was the bogeyman written about in the media…
The inside of the bus was as silent as a church for the entire drive even though it was full.
Is that not the case where you’re from? Genuinely almost never heard anyone having a conversation on an intercity bus
It’s pretty common for long haul routes to feature chatter, the chatter goes up exponentially if something goes south. As we’d then have a shared experience of sitting in queue on the highway together
It’s really nothing you did. The people there just randomly decide to stand up in crowded trains if you are a foreigner and sit beside them. Or this time I was just walking down the street and the lady who was walking towards me just randomly crosses the street and walks past.
Still racist
It wasn’t saying it wasn’t tho
I mean, genuinely, how? It’s not saying you need to be Japanese to enter, just that you need to be able to read Japanese. IMO, learning the local language of a country you plan to visit is a basic courtesy that too many people don’t bother with.
“I’m tired of all these immigrants coming over here and not even being able to speak the language. This is [country] and we speak [language] here!”
That’s what you sound like.
“This is [Barcelona] and we speak [Catalan] here!”
Is this suddenly a different situation?
It’s their country. Aren’t they entitled to make rules?
If you tie the availability of housing to whatever language someone speaks instead of something tangible related to the respective person, it’s racism.
I used Google Lens to translate the bottom text. Do you think that if i would go in there using my phone to translate i would get a room for the night?
This is a restaurant, not housing
I realized my mistake, but i think i wouldn’t get food either.
racism
Language is not a race.
Not being able to communicate, participate, doesn’t help either side. Buying a house, without being able to communicate is on its way to forming and insular community and not simply being denied service that is otherwise open to the public.
But this sign is for a restaurant, not for buying property. This is simply racism because they don’t want anyone outside of their cultural circle intruding…
It was your example
Culture is not a race.
Do you believe that anyone existing in America must speak English and only English? If a couple next to you at a cafe are speaking French to each other do you tell them to go back home?
I’m not an expert on Japanese culture, but I don’t think they have the “melting pot” cultural identity that America has had historically.
So it’s not xenophobia if you’ve been consistently xenophobic from the start.
Was it xenophobia for Algeria to reject French-speakers?
Do you believe that anyone existing in America must speak English
Yeah, eventually. If I’m going to live in a country indefinitely, I’m going to try to learn their language. If I’m in France for more than a year, I’m going to try to learn French. I’d expect the same of friends and family. It’s not racist to expect people living in a place long term to be able to converse with the locals.
If they’re working here for just a summer or two and spending most of the year in another country, no.
and only English?
No?
Yeah, eventually. If I’m going to live in a country indefinitely, I’m going to try to learn their language.
We’re not talking about eventually or indefinitely we’re literally just talking about visiting a restaurant for a meal
So shouldn’t all Americans speak (or at least learn) native American languages? You know, on the account that English isn’t native to America. Neither is Spanish for that matter. Nor French.
America is a country founded upon immigration, so it’s not a comparable example. In broad terms, Japan is historically a fairly homogenous nation ethnically, culturally, and linguistically (and yes, I know those are very broad terms, I’m talking relative to North American countries like the US and Canada).
If the 1600s-1700s had gone differently, and North America remained predominantly populated by Native peoples speaking Native languages, then yeah I’d say it’s totally within their rights to expect visitors to either learn the local language and attempt to integrate, or be left out of certain parts of society such as restaurants that want to cater exclusively to people who speak Algonquin or whatever.
Show up in Algiers and try saying “Sorry, I don’t speak Arabic. Do you have a French menu?”
.world btw
It’s not their fault which Lemmy server they were born into
Yeah, team sports!
/s
… How many countries have you ever visited to say that
Like, being able to speak the very basics I agree. Numbers, hello and goodbye, thank you, etc.
But “If you can read this, you may come in” is pretty advanced. Like, probably requiring weeks of daily study level advanced to be able to understand.
Solidly A2 (European system) with that grammar(English translation) so 3-6 months (1-2 terms of university course).
Exactly
You’re right, in Barcelona they write “Tourists go home” in plain English in order to accommodate foreigners who aren’t fluent in Catalan!
Jim Crow literacy tests have entered the chat
Ah, yes, everyone whould spend months to learn the language of every country they visit even though they might be there for only a few days.
How are you this dumb? I highly doubt you’ve ever been outside the country you were born in, and if you have you certainly didn’t follow your own thought here.
Christ Almighty dude, calm down. Yeah, maybe my comment was ignorant crap, but why jump straight to ad hominem? Do you think you’re actually going to change anyone’s opinion by calling them stupid straight off the bat?
Japan is one of the most xenophobic countries on the planet. This is just one example.
Despite having population crisis and financial loses, they are still committed to xenophobia. They are master of that.
Sure would be a shame if they also had an abysmally low birth rate which will result in their societal collapse.
Probably on my list of reasons why I don’t want to visit Japan
Ive been to Japan a few years ago and they always felt very friendly and welcoming. They’re somewhat shy and awkward, but can’t say I had any negative experience.
If you want to feel bad, go to Italy, especially Rome. Many Italians are super racist, hate tourists and are not afraid to hide it.
You’re going to face it anywhere you go. Don’t let it hold you back. There’s always a slight feeling of unease around those that are different from yourself. But not everyone turns it into a justification to hate. I saw this video 5 years ago about a guy going to Japan trying to track down the location of a meme image from the early internet. They ended up heading off to a smaller town that wasn’t very touristy. Something that could go very badly. As some of the small towns like anywhere else can be very insular. But instead when they got there. Ended up spending the night chatting up an eager bar owner about Kurosawa and star wars.
I’ll never prejudge an individual from Japan or any other nation.
I will however judge the polity as a whole.
Mfs still pretending like they never did any warcrimes.
Literally every country on the planet is xenophobic, people only make a big deal out of it when it’s a western or western-aligned country.
The entire idea of inclusivity, tolerance, and multiculturalism is primarily a western idea sprung from western humanist values and honestly only even taken seriously in secular democracies which tend to be aligned with the west.
And then people act like the west and west-aligned countries are so depraved for not perfectly living up to those values, when hardly any other nation even tries or has any desire to.
It’s honestly kind of amusing once you stop giving a shit.
I don’t know. I told people in North Iraq that I grew up in Turkey, and despite my country spending better part of the 20th and 21st century massacring and displacing their population, these people were saying shit like “yeah government is bad, but people are good.”
This, tbh. The less you expect your own government to cater to your preferences, the less you tend to judge foreigners by their nation’s foreign policy.
They seem like lovely people. :>
This is such an ignorant take. Multiculturalism is actually the norm in most of the world throughout history, and the rare instances of isolationism are more often a result of geography than culture. The current xenophobic and nationalist state of the world is an aberration resulting from rampant and ongoing colonialism in the past few centuries. Many nations that exist today encompass regions that were far more multicultural and politically complex prior to their colonization by Europeans.
As for the West, our current secular humanist values are the result of the enlightenment period in which European colonizers appropriated and synthesized the ideas of colonized peoples around the world. The reason we don’t live up to them is because we stubbornly refuse to reckon with our colonialist past and present, such that we just go on living with the contradiction to the detriment of the world and ourselves.
It’s honestly kind of amusing once you stop giving a shit.
Not caring doesn’t make you cool, it just makes you another cynical asshole among many. IMO the world could do with less cynical assholes.
Google Lens tells me that the description is accurate. Even though i love japanese culture, they are racist as fuck, so i am not ever surprised.
Guess who’s reading this, lol
Anyway, this is blatantly
racismxenophobia and don’t give me the “yes but what if they don’t have anyone who speaks english or chinese?” That’s fair but in that case you put something that says “sorry we don’t have any english speaking staff” or tell me directly but anyway, it shouldn’t be that hard to order tbh, yeah i can’t talk but we are in 2026 with such translation tools, i can scan, look at what it says and then point at the various menu entries with my finger, to pay i can just look at the numbers lmaoEdit: corrected racism in to xenophobia
“Lmao” your ability to use software to translate for you doesn’t change the intent behind this sign. Japan is racist AF despite their polite society, and there are a growing number of restaurants and other establishments with signage that outright says some version of “no foreigners/no white people.” You will probably get a frosty reception in this establishment if you enter it because you decide you were too clever to be deterred.
Well, what is the alternative? Not eat? It may not be a problem in bigger cities but smaller ones it probably is (but i have never been to japan so idk)
The alternative isn’t hyperbolic starvation, it’s to go to a different restaurant, or even one of their famous 7-Eleven shops. Barring a medical condition there’s nothing but some minor discomfort for the vast majority of us if you miss a meal. Obviously your poor planning for mealtimes isn’t an emergency on their part, but you’re welcome to try the restaurant in this situation. They may serve you and they may treat you coldly or offer the least service, or, they may not serve you, or even ask you to leave. But the sign is there for a reason.
your poor planning for mealtimes isn’t an emergency on their part
What does this even mean with regards to a tourist staying in a tiny hotel room? How much grocery shopping and meal preparation of their own are you expecting tourists to engage in?!
Your response in general is crazy. “If they won’t serve you, just don’t eat.”
“If Kim Davis won’t give you a marriage license, just don’t get married.” “If the school bars your children from attending, just don’t send them to school.”
I’m sorry you took it as personal, but you seem to be making this whole event surround your hypothetical ineptitude and personal inconvenience. Plan to eat. If you can’t, don’t expect sympathy. Christ, it’s like you expect to be catered to and spoon fed as a tourist. I’ve spent many a tourist evening having food like bread and cheese from the grocery store or convenience shop because there were no restaurant seats to be had. Grow up. That’s life.
I’m not sure what you think it means to take things personally? None of my response had anything to do with my personal experience in life.
And I could provide some! I’ve been on a road trip through the Spanish countryside where I was scoffed at and waved away at 3-4 restaurants for asking (as someone with Celiac!) if they had comida sin gluten. So I’ve definitely gone hungry as a tourist before. Didn’t love it! Wouldn’t recommend rural Southern Spain to anyone with Celiac!
I’ve done the bread and cheese thing in Paris back when I could eat bread. It was fine, you know, since I didn’t have to go hungry.
Due to logic like yours, I guess the most rational thing is to recommend against visiting Japan for anyone who isn’t Japanese? Or Japanese speaking at least. Save your money, folks!
I mean, if the Japanese text says “if you can read this, you’re welcome”, it does suggest that English or Chinese people who speak and read Japanese are welcome. It’s a real weird thing to pull, like they think they’re being cute.
It’s kind of a meme that Japanese people think only other Japanese can speak and read Japanese.
Can people really no longer differentiate between xenophobia and racism?
Not being pedantic, but misnaming thins only adds to the woes of the world, to (mis)quote Camus.
But japanese people are not only xenophobic, they are also racist. There was a show that, if I remember correctly, made fun of a black person for making sushi. Like it was the funniest thing ever for them. Racism has been normalised in the japanese society, but there’s also blatant xenophobia.
However, if I were to chose between being victim of racism in the US or in Japan I would always chose Japan because there would be fewer threats to my life.
It’s both. I knew a guy who was half black, half Japanese but he was born and raised in Japan. Despite being native born and culturally Japanese, he still faced a lot of discrimination because he was black. Among the expats, we were all discriminated against due to being foreigners, but the black people got it the worst. Even among the Japanese people, there is colorism with lighter skin considered more desirable.
Your phone will be allowed in, but you have to stay outside.
On Okinawa, the red light area routinely used to refuse “chocolate men” for being “too strong”
Never heard of a restaurant posting a sign on the door saying they’re full.
Yeah that’s more of a hotel thing. I’m guessing this is that influencer trick of intentionally lying about a detail so people will make comments to correct you, giving you free engagement.
I agree. And I’m replying to this comment to skew the numbers.
I don’t see signs like this where I live either. But when I went to Japan I did see this a couple times. Not a racist sign like this one, but signs saying “we’re full” in Japanese, at restaurants. Different cultures do things differently, I guess.
Japan will put signs out saying they’re full and to queue from x position. Some will list an approximate time. If they take reservations and are full for the day, it will usually say that. Especially in urban areas, we can have some quite small restaurants.
Interesting. Thanks for explaining.
“No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish”
why no dogs…?
The amount if racism in Asian countries is very worrying
Probably not worth visiting them anyways…
Yeah thanks for filtering yourself out of places I would like to give my business to.
plot twist: I’m a Japanese
Im confused here. Its bad to not want to spend money at places like this?
I think they misunderstood your comment as directed to the person you were responding to instead of the restaurant
Found the weeb.
Would a weeb want to avoid racists? I think maybe the tone didnt carry in text there
Japan, where racism doesn’t usually get the same criticism it does elsewhere for whatever reason…
Japan cast cat girl, it was super effective. All knowledge of atrocities was erased from western nations.
They’re hateful, but they’re cute.
This. Also the massive online love affair with Japan and anime sure does a lot to distract people from the less savoy aspects of Japan.
That is because they have soft power.
I think it’s more so that what looks like them being polite to most is meant as something extremely rude. Also not to mention the love affair most have with Japan online.
Japan is too far away and too aligned with the west to receive criticism for racism
I’m not sure being aligned with the west means much while people are extremely critical in and outside western countries about racism.
Most westerners don’t care about racism beyond its utility to attack something they already don’t like. Same with homophobia. How much “tactical homophobia” did we just see against Lindsey Graham by people who probably think they’re allies because they don’t like a lot of people who are hostile to LGBT+?
Have you been anywhere? Racism is just a full on aspect of most places I’ve been west or not. Like anyone Asian whatsoever is just mchina or anyone white whatsoever from anywhere is mzungu and both get treated differently than wafrika. Same to locals, if you’re dealing with a hiring manager and you are in his tribe you’ll likely get the job, if you’re a different ethnicity then probably not.
They get an easier pass because their products are top-notch. Toyota basically invented Six Sigma/a globally used process for manufacturer defect elimination. A Japanese automaker invented QR codes. They have Nintendo, anime, etc. They changed and continue to impact the world in highly recognizable ways, not by merely cheap products (China), cheap labor (India), etc.
They get an easier pass because the US needed a vassal state in the Pacific.
lol Nintendo
Tldr if your good enough at engineering you can be as racist as you want to be unless you’re white.
I guess I should’ve said that I wasn’t dismissing it, but was trying to find possible explanations. My understanding is that their xenophobia is more from a sense of caution rather than a more traditionally racist view like, “Inferior being!” That’s just a total hunch, though.
Not true but I love the apologist point of view you took. Japanese have always been clear they were the best up until white people showed up with advanced technology and showed them first hand they weren’t. Shits racist as fuck and you can suck their little jap phallice all you want but just admit it’s some racist shit in the same way you can understand that what I just said was racist. In short please stop being dumb.
Important to note that English is the global lingua franca.
So tourists from Mexico, Nicaragua, Sweden Italy, Syria, Tajikistan, and Mozambique etc also use English language while visiting most foreign places.
This is NOT an “American tourists litter” thing.
American tourists speak Chinese?
I do, right into a toilet ( term for throwing up while drunk)
Since when was “speaking Chinese” a euphemism for drunken hurling?
It’s a term my father in law uses
Sounds like your father-in-law is racist.
No, or would you say the term ‘Pardon my French’ is racist?
Are you American and embarrassed about it?
Your entire post screams so
No, not American. I just read a lot on newspapers about how another tourist got drunk and pissed at the local holy site and such.
I feel sympatethic to anti-tourism, but this sign is xenophobic rather than anti-tourist so wanted to mention that.
Also holy shit #7 from the tesseract list replied to me, I am saving this. So cool :3
If you dont have any staff who speak those languages I kinda get not wanting to provide service to people who only speak them, though it would probably be better to just say “no foreign language service available”
Is it inconvenient? Yes. Is it really that difficult, especially today with smart phones, to provide basic service at a restaurant? Absolutely not.
I spent my early life in the service industry, and I’ve served people who spoke zero English more times than I can count. Even before translation apps and services were so common, it truly wasn’t difficult enough that I’d feel comfortable as a human denying them service. We all worked together to get through it, and they enjoyed their experience from what I could tell.
I’ve also been on the other end and visited restaurants where our server didn’t speak English. We had a great time every time. It truly isn’t the big deal you’re making it, so it feels like you’re looking for reasons to excuse what we can plainly see is racism.
They are master of polite racism. They do it because they are xenophobic af.
Yeah but then I can’t be racist by generalising an entire country could I now.
My wife is southeast Asian. Going to Japan, I felt a lot of like… weird energy at times where they just kind of looked at me. I never felt unsafe, just judged. I told my wife this, who said she felt the complete opposite. People were normal to her. She blended in.
She was born and raised in the States, and we traveled to a bunch of States (fuck Missouri) where she really felt unsafe like if she didn’t leave town, they would make us. And Ive shared before how we got a “Go back to your own country” from other people, and even one showing off his gun.
Do I feel like Japanese racism is uncalled for? Absolutely. Again, I never felt unsafe. So it’s really interesting to see this perspective in the comments like this is the worst disgusting attitude in the world because someone snubbed them vs feeling like you’re not wanted/you should leave for your own safety.
I lived in Japan for 2 years. I had several expat friends with stories of going to the hospital, being told they were full, their Japanese wife showing up, and suddenly they have space. Other stories of legal disputes between a Japanese person and a foreign immigrant will always go to the Japanese person. Japanese culture is very non-confrontational, but don’t think their brand of racism is safer. If we’re comparing racism and deciding one is less bad than the other, we’ve already partially accepted that it has a place in society.
As someone in a similar situation, there are differences in the racism are stark.
They treat you differently but far more often than not, it is just curiosity or looking for entertainment from a zoo animal. They are not hostile or aggressive.
The “zoo animal” thing seems about right. Sometimes they look at you like they think you’re about to start flinging shit around. Sometimes they’re curious about how the zoo animal is going to do something simple like handle chopsticks. Often they don’t make eye contact or keep their space because they don’t want to have to interact with the zoo animal.
OTOH, part of their being polite is that if the gaijin actually asks them for help, they’re obligated to try to help.
Overall, I liked it. As an introvert, I don’t like countries where people approach the foreigner and try to practice their English on them. There are also too many countries where you’re frequently approached by someone who wants to scam you, or wants you to give them money.
They are not hostile or aggressive.
… until you try to open a bank account with them ad a foreigner. Tourists are fine and tolerated but become an expat and you’ll have a much steeper time.
Why do white immigrants often call themselves expats? I’ve never heard anyone who wasn’t a well-off immigrant white guy self-describe that way.
