Welcome to Gaia! ::

um what? many know ^^

its on tv, you have to do it in a few places to. besides, if the dont know it yet they will, because some places to work require you to sing it .

You dont have to because your not a citizen. its s not sung at schools.

Japans never been the same after you bombeed us. the government is so afraid that people will give up their japanese culture. no one minds the flag and anthem, Its is just so the goverment tries to hard to make people do it.

mrgreen

To make something clear off the bat, I view nationalists of any country with extreme disdain and ire, and I hold a general opnion of them to be ignorant, afraid of change and very -phobia centered.

Now, with that said, I think Gaijin from most non Asian countries have it a lot easier than most foreigners in Japan.

"Although some have become permanent residents or even naturalized citizens, they are generally perceived as short-term visitors and treated as outsiders to Japanese society. For some, it is hard to find the Japanese myth of "them and us" because of Japanese hospitality."

~Wikipedia entry on Gaijin

This is in contrast to how the Japanese treat Burakumin(The Japanese word for those from the ghetto), Chinese, or Koreans(which is basicaly the same view of a common street thug, ready to take what they can, by whatever means they have) Many outsiders of Japan are generally seen as a stain on the countries purity, and something to be cast out of the society. And even if they are hired for jobs, it is usually only became of their outside association, and is usually only for a role to poke fun at, or emphasize it(English teachers may, or may not fall into this category).

"In 1991 there were 1.2 million foreign residents in Japan, less than 1.0 % of Japan's population. Of this number, 693,100 (about 57 %) were Koreans and 171,100 (some 14 %) were Chinese."

~Wikipedia Entry on Japanese Demographics

As you can see, the foreign presence is overall small, and a target of many Japanese natives' anger over the state of the society. The fact that Article 14 of the Consitution of Japan does not apply to discrimination committed by private individuals or establishments or legal discrimination based on citizenship only further fuels whatever actions they choose to take against them. I personally find it appaling that calling someone a fool has more of a legal presence than any hate speech that gets thrown their way, but that's just me. I want to see a world where there's no hate, or discrimination, or anything thhat causes ire, or resentment. However, when I realize how much would have to be sacrificed, to make this reality, I know that this is nothing more than a fantasy, never to be attained, unless many basic human things are given up.

This has been Koiyuki's politically charged rant for the day. You may now return to your happy go lucky world, already in progress. xP

when i said you i meant america, geez, you take my english as good rolleyes 4laugh

(i hav to put most my japanese in translator to post in english, other wise i cant say anything in english. you see i am not that good at inglish, i use a translator!) sweatdrop

Ghetto-a place that's typically run down, with many undesirables making a home there, stereotypically bringing about social dissention, and violence, among other things. See Compton, and The Bronx