IS JAPAN EXPELLING TOURISTS?

[ShazzieB]

3. High expectations?

These days many claim that all foreign residents, workers, and visitors should speak Japanese, follow Japanese customs, and respect Japanese culture.

I think expecting foreign visitors to respect Japanese culture and at least try to follow Japanese customs is quite reasonable, and it makes sense for foreigners living and working in Japan to learn and use the Japanese language to the best of their ability. But expecting all visitors to be able to speak Japanese is a tall order. It's really hard to even find a beginning class in Japanese in America outside a major city or a college campus that's strong in Asian studies, and i suspect that's probably true of many other non-Asian countries as well.

I understand the frustration. I'm sure some of those tourists must seem very rude by Japanese standards. But I don't see any way to keep out all non Japanese-speaking tourists unless they start requiring people to pass a language test in order to get a visa to visit the country. Which they could certainly do if they want to, but it seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to.

I hope the Japanese can find some way to deal with tourists without losing their minds. I'm sure it must be very stressful for them, but it doesn't help for them to have such high expectations of foreign visitors that no one can ever reach them.