A new survey highlights the reality for foreigners in Japan

I came across an article in The Japan Times yesterday about a new government survey on discrimination faced by foreign residents in Japan, and it felt like a bit of a wake-up call. It was a reminder that while Japan can be an amazing place to live, life here isn't always as effortless or idyllic as sometimes people portray it to be.

The survey found that nearly half of foreign residents here said they'd experienced some form of discrimination in daily life. Housing was the biggest issue, with many people reporting trouble finding apartments because they were foreign. Workplaces and job hunting were also mentioned as common problem areas.

For a lot of expats, that probably won't come as much of a surprise. Stories about being turned down for apartments, needing extra paperwork, or feeling treated differently at work are things many foreign residents have mentioned to me. When my family and I moved out to our rural area of Niigata, we had a choice of two houses, although there were seemingly lots of others available online...so make of that what you will!

One of the tougher parts of the survey involved hate speech. Around 44% of respondents said they had either personally experienced it or seen it directed at others, mostly online. Some people reported seeing comments telling foreigners to "go home" or worse.

What really stood out, though, was that despite all of this, more than 90% of respondents still said they were satisfied living here overall. Safety, cleanliness, and daily quality of life were some of the biggest positives people mentioned, and many said they hoped to stay in Japan long-term.