On the weekend hubby and some Japanese friends of his were here and they were discussing me, but referred to me as a “gaijin”. I was quick to correct them and tell them “i’m not a gaijin, this is MY country!”. To which they replied that they knew that, but couldn’t help referring to non-Japanese as gaijin, no matter where in the world they are.

The Japanese characters for "gaijin"

I found this somewhat offensive. The term “gaijin” or “outside person” is somewhat derogatory, they could have used “australia jin” to refer to me.

What gets me is that, once you go out of your native country, YOU become the foreigner! The Japanese people i have spoken to seem not to realise this!

So how do Japanese people feel about being referred to as a “gaijin” themselves? According to our friends, it’s not a word they would use to describe themselves. How about “Jap” then? As alot of people in Aus seem to call them that, unbeknownst to them.

I don’t know about you but it’s just one of those things that really ticks me off. All these double standards. It makes it seem like Japanese people think they are higher than other races because they never refer to themselves as “gaijin”.

What are your thoughts?

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