Tokyo-Yokohama Information Source

After a long day of travelling around Tokyo showing relatives the beautiful sights of Tokyo, my husband decided to sit down on a vacant seat next to a middle-aged woman on the subway. To his horror, the woman stood up and went and sat down on the opposite side. Why did this woman take that action?
My husband couldn't have been smelling as he washes himself everyday (and he doesn't smell of the horrible green tea which so many Japanese smell of). He wasn't wearing anything "reveling" which could have made the woman uncomfortable. No he isn't "big" either and didn't require the extra seat space. Was this racism or was the woman trying to "make the journey of the foreigner more comfortable" by making more space for him (this reason was given in a Newspaper article recently)? This has never openly happened to us so far (in the past 2 years we have been here) and it was quite a shock. Answers are welcome.

It comes as a surprise to read an article where foreigners are not openly blamed for the rise in crime in Japan. The latter is done very often and therefore I was surprised to read an artcile, about a Chinese woman who had killed 2 kids in Japan, where her nationality was not blamed for the rise in number of murders here. Usually this is done so and though at times sad there is no colloration between an increase of foreigners in this country and the rise in crime. One often reads about Japanese doing some horrible acts as well but their race is not much of an issue in the media. Sure I enjoy the security in Japan but foreigners - me being one - are not always to blame for the ills in society.

I would like to take this opportunity to comment on a number of issues which are somehow related to each other. The Japanese appear to be very friendly to Gaijins like me (well, I don't speak the language and they may have been swearing at me all the time!) and yet I was shocked to see a copy of Gaijin Hanzai when it was still in circulation. I have heard of second-class foreigners like Africans, Chinese, Koreans and other south east Asians having problems with housing for instance but I always thought it was because of "financial reasons" that they were discriminated against and not because they are all classified as evil muggers, robbers and terriorists! Japan is still a very safe place and it is a shame to label foreigners as breaking into houses. What about all those corporate scandals involving Japanese nationals at higher levels where millions of yen are pocketed? Maybe it is all ignorance; like the Governor of Tokyo not knowing that West Africans - who he thinks are ruining Roppongi - speak perfect English.

The Japanese love to apologise; you kill someone, apologise and the years you are sentenced to are reduced. You ruin a company, apologise and you are forgiven. So how come it is so difficult for Abe - despite all the evidence - to apologise to the sex slaves (sorry comfort women!) in China, Korea and other S.E. Asian countries? Is it racism or not wanting to admit guilt? It can't be difficult to say sorry, even though many of the women who suffered aren't around to hear it. Sad.