Tag Archives: racism

On Always Having an Empty Train Seat Beside You in Japan

Posted on May 23, 2012 by E.

On a recent trip to the near-abandoned coal mining town of Tagawa, I took the wrong train three times, taking me into the true inaka – Japan’s rural backwater.

Posted in Culture Shock, Thinking, Uncategorized, Zen | Tagged japan, mindfulness, racism | 36 Comments

Is Japan a “Racist Monoculture”? On Anders Breivik’s Japan

Posted on July 27, 2011 by E.

As I was leaving the train station, I heard the Japanese national anthem. People were waving flags. Some guy was shouting about “gaikokujin” (“foreigners”) through a loud-speaker. I stopped and stared until a young flag-waving woman raised her bullhorn, looked … Continue reading →