Is It Really Something to Be Proud of When People Become Kinder After Learning You Are Japanese?

Recently, I came across a video in which foreign YouTubers living in Japan discussed the idea that Japanese people experience less discrimination overseas, or even the least discrimination among Asians.

The group included a Japanese participant, and several of the foreign participants made similar observations, so I do not assume that the entire story was invented. There probably are situations in which someone is treated dismissively at first as an Asian, only to see the other person’s attitude soften the moment they learn that the person is Japanese.

Japan’s reputation for good manners and the trust that earlier generations built over many years may help discourage discriminatory behavior to some extent. I have no intention of denying that possibility.

Still, being naturally skeptical, I cannot help wondering:

“Isn’t this simply designed to attract views?”

If those YouTubers were based in South Korea or China instead, would they be saying in exactly the same tone that Koreans are respected around the world or that Chinese people command special regard overseas?

Japan is a large market for foreign YouTubers. They know better than anyone that videos proclaiming how wonderful Japan is or how special Japanese people are can reliably attract an audience.

Of course, that alone does not make everything they say false.

But even if it is true that Japanese people face less discrimination, there is another way to interpret it. Within the broader structure of anti-Asian discrimination, people may simply be selecting one nationality for slightly different treatment.

The entire conversation about which nationality may be looked down on and which deserves preferential treatment feels like an outside ranking of East Asia. I find that deeply uncomfortable.

It amounts to saying, “Japanese people may rank below Westerners, but they are among the better Asians.”

There are undeniably complicated historical and political feelings among Japan, China, and South Korea.

But would that make Japanese people feel good about watching a Korean or Chinese person being discriminated against right in front of them?

I would not.

In fact, I would be more suspicious of someone whose attitude changes the moment they learn that another person is Japanese.

They were kind today because the person was Japanese. Tomorrow, they may be cold because the person is Chinese.

That is not respect. It is merely choosing whom to discriminate against, and there is nothing admirable about it.

The world, unfortunately, is still far from equal.

There is, however, one cold and unmistakable reality:

Money has value everywhere.

Wealthy travelers are welcomed. Large markets receive careful attention. Foreign YouTubers create videos for countries whose audiences generate advertising revenue for them. That is business, and I do not blame them for it.

This is why I keep some distance whenever I hear that Japan is special.

Strangely enough, I find someone who changes their attitude because of money more predictable—and therefore more trustworthy—than someone who changes it because I am Japanese.

At least the motive is straightforward and recognizably human.

Of course, a video explaining that reality will probably receive only a fraction of the views earned by one declaring, “Japan is loved by the whole world!”

People tend to prefer being told that they are special over being told that everyone should be treated fairly.