Interview with Mr. L
"When I first bought a house in Japan, I chose a neighborhood where there weren’t any other Chinese residents. The moment I moved in, the property management learned I was Chinese and immediately panicked. They didn’t know my background, so they called the police. Not just ordinary officers—an armed criminal investigation team showed up, guns at their sides, questioning me about why I was in Japan and why I bought the property. Even the police admitted it was over the line, a violation of my rights, but said they had no choice since the community demanded it.
Life in that community wasn’t easy. Garbage disposal in Japan is notoriously strict: plastics must be separated in four steps, and trash can only be taken out between 4 and 8 a.m. on certain days. Once, when I failed to follow every step with plastic bottles, someone pulled my garbage back out and hung it on my door with a note to redo it. Even worse, if other residents made mistakes, the garbage still sometimes ended up on my doorstep. That marked me in their eyes—the “Chinese neighbor” who didn’t follow the rules.
My family also faced scrutiny with our dog. In that community, there’s a rule that dogs can’t touch the ground in certain areas; large dogs must even be carried in strollers. My wife once struggled to lift ours, and a few times people saw us break the rule. Soon after, notices appeared in the elevators and around the complex—written only in Chinese—with photos of dog mess and warnings about hygiene. We were the only Chinese family there, so it was obvious who those messages were targeting.
These tensions don’t come from history, but from reputation. Many Japanese see Chinese tourists as rule-breakers with little public conscience. Some even think Chinese visitors act with a sense of revenge, misbehaving at sensitive places like Yasukuni Shrine. Others abuse credit cards before leaving Japan, damaging trust. Such behavior, even from a few, has tarnished the image of all Chinese living here.
Stereotypes linger. Many Japanese still imagine China as it was 30 years ago: impoverished, with people too poor to afford basic foods. Once, a neighbor gave me honey cakes and asked earnestly if Chinese people could eat honey back home. I was stunned. But these outdated ideas are fading. As China’s economy has grown, Chinese visitors and residents have shown immense spending power—one Chinese customer can outspend ten from elsewhere. The Japanese are slowly realizing that China’s growth isn’t just in numbers but in real wealth and purchasing power, though some still distrust the data because their media rarely portrays China in a positive light.
In the workplace, Chinese people often do well. Businesses run by Chinese—especially restaurants like Lanzhou noodle shops—pay higher salaries than Japanese establishments. Jobs that require bilingual skills in Chinese and Japanese also offer an edge. But there are complications. In the past, Japanese companies relied on Chinese agencies to recruit workers from China. These agencies often skimmed money from employees’ wages without their knowledge. When some workers were promoted to Japan headquarters, they discovered the fraud. As a result, Japanese set up their own agencies in Japan to replace Chinese ones.
There is some discrimination against Chinese, but much of it comes from our own community. Because Japan is close to China, some workers leave abruptly if they’re unhappy, breaking contracts and disappearing home. That makes Japanese employers cautious. Even so, discrimination against Chinese is less severe than what other groups face. For example, people with darker skin—Africans or South Asians—often encounter blatant rejection. Employers sometimes say outright that customers wouldn’t accept them in service jobs because of their skin color. For the Japanese, hygiene and appearance weigh heavily, and unfortunately this bias often shuts out those communities.
And yet, as a Chinese living in Japan, I feel pressure from both sides. In China, there’s a stereotype that those of us here are hanjian—traitors to our own country. In Japan, many still carry prejudices simply because we are Chinese. It leaves us in an awkward position, never fully trusted by either side, and constantly having to prove ourselves."
