Positive Discrimination

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from person to person among LTWs. The amounts of positive responses from the interviews were abundant and are detailed in the next section.

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being self-employed. This difference was also observed during the interview process, but it should be noted that different organizations will have cultures unique to that entity.

Joseph, who is an Italian employed at a Japanese company, told a story of his pay being scrutinized by a senior engineer at his company. He stated:

When I first started this job that I have now at the very beginning. There was a pay level issue because I was hired as a manager and my pay grade would be ... I was discussing this pay grade with the former boss. Of course there was all the older people that worked with the boss for many years before. And the company before was privately owned then entered in a group, international. So the pay grade was adjusted to the standards of the bigger company. For some reason, there was one older engineer that got to know my pay grade, he was upset by that. Because he felt that he had many years of experience and the boss was not looking after him. Instead, he was giving money to the new comer. And that was bad. That was very bad. But that's not discrimination issue because of racial discrimination. It's like a position kind of conflict that I would say in any company. (Joseph: 3)

Joseph‘s experience is positive from a compensation point of view, but it creates stress within the working environment. Japanese companies are often hierarchies, which reward time spent at the company versus experience. Joseph described the shift from being Japanese owned to an internationally based company as the determinant of the decision to compensate him at a higher pay rate. The international company recognizes contract workers from overseas with higher pay grades and lower employment security. Domestic staffs are allowed higher security but a slightly lower pay grade. The shift to an international ownership often presents many challenges for Japanese run companies. These challenges go beyond language as the corporate culture changes. Even though Joseph’s experience is economically positive, a latent result was how it socially disrupted the company environment. He said the feelings of discontent took time to blow over.

Roberto was quoted in Chapter 1 that he did not feel what he is experiencing in Japan is discrimination, but more a form of “positive discrimination.” He felt he was being treated special in some ways. Even as an Asian Canadian, he said he experienced positive discrimination.

Coming from Asian descent has been a source of many different experiences compared to other

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western foreigners, but when it came to positive discrimination he feels he benefits. Ann’s statements also agreed with Roberto’s. She said:

Well you stand out more, that's for sure. I think there are, I'm sure any foreigner would attest to this that being a foreigner in Japan gives you some definite advantages and some things that are, quite frankly you wouldn't be able to appreciate or experience in your own home. At the same token with it, comes dissatisfaction.... (Ann: 1)

Ann includes “any foreigner” in her statement, but clearly means western. It is common for western foreigners to leave Asian and South American foreigners out of their assessments when speaking on this topic. This is not to say they are not aware of the difference, but it is often left out when talking about the pluses of western non-Japanese status, even if these pluses come with some “dissatisfaction.” Barbara did bring the comparison of certain types of foreigners over others in her interview. She realized there was a separation or preference for certain types of teachers. She made her feelings about it clear in her statement:

...at work this really makes me mad. I experienced an advantage as a white foreigner.

The YMCA dispatched me to some kindergarten. I found out later that the kindergarten had refused some American teacher, because she was Japanese-American. They really weren't that interested. For the dispatch jobs, I'm talking about the crap dispatch jobs to go to kindergarten jobs or board of Ed. This is what I hear about it in the union. "These people; they just want a white person there." How do I say? I have mixed feelings about that, because I want these foreigners to do well but I don't want people to pretend, "Oh, this person is white therefore they are a native speaker of English."

...It's quite embarrassing to admit. Sometimes we get away with certain behaviors, because we, "don't know"...This was years ago. I was using my cell phone in the

designated, "Don't use your cell phone", seat. The conductor came up, and gave me words.

I pretended not to understand English....Yes, and I don't understand the English language either, because I'm (ethnic name). I can lapse into (language) ...Which then gets also infuriating, because they have to guess what country I'm from. "Are you Russian, are you German?" (Barbara: 3)

The other American teacher who Barbara spoke of was only judged on her appearance rather than her skill as a teacher which is not uncommon in Japan. As Roberto stated,

westerners of Asian descent will have different experiences. The case above is a clear example of how in some cases teachers are chosen by looks rather than skill. While being chosen over another teacher made Barbara upset, she then mentions how she uses her western status to

“get away with certain behaviors” which she isn’t necessarily proud of. She used the example of

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speaking a language other than English to confuse Japanese as to where she is from. In

Komisarof’s (2012) interviews, the term gaijin card was mentioned. This is a technique used by some in the western foreign group which consciously utilizes their western status in a favorable , but one-way advantage. Many westerners are embarrassed to say they have used it. They know using such inherent privilege creates an unfavorable image of creating self-initiated positive discrimination. Theresa explained it this way:

I like Japan. I think because I am a foreigner here that I can get away with a little more sometimes. There's a certain point where if you've been here long enough and people know you, I think you can't kind of use that. There are times when you can just pretend to be stupid about something or ... (Theresa: 3)

She states the ability to use the gaijin card wears down with people she has known for a long time, but the ability to “pretend to be stupid” is still an option at times. Some respondents use this to not only receive benefits but also reject work they do not want to do. Lee mentioned he has witnessed other foreigners using this ability in his company:

I've certainly experienced this. I've experienced it myself, but I've also seen other foreigners experience this. For example, the particular foreigner in question was not able to read certain documents due to the kanji that was in there, due to the difficulty of the documents and, therefore, rather than require the participation of this individual and have them participate in the work that would be normally required of a Japanese person, they overlooked that and said, look, that's okay, they can't do the Japanese, so we won't require him to do this particular work, it's okay. So, in that sense. (Lee: 5)

This is a good example of the difference between western and other foreign groups. While the western foreigner may be seen by Japanese as unable to fulfill this request due to language ability, a Chinese or Korean would most likely be expected to perform those duties or lose their job. Many westerners will use the inability to perform on a literate level as a positive action to minimize work duties. This is arguably an option only available to westerners. Positive

discrimination also seems to extend into the second generation. Cathy was asked if she thought her daughter’s acceptance into one of the best schools in the area was partly due to her western status.

Absolutely, especially being a white foreigner. You ask a person of color the same question and you'll probably get a different answer. We have, among foreigners, a kind of

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elevated status and I have opportunities here that I'm sure would never be available to me back in Canada, and that you get exceptions. Somebody will spend a little extra time with you at the counter to help you when you can't understand. One example might be for our kids, like when S---- was in 3rd grade, she had the teacher who was the person in charge of English at the elementary school, this is way back in elementary school, and I think the teacher was really glad to have an English speaker in the class and I think that she went easy on S--- in terms of grades. She was giving S--- really great grades which I don't think she earned, just because they're foreigners that they can even do as much as the Japanese as they can, it's spectacular, so it's an A. Fortunately, once they got on to junior high school, that was less a part of the equation. (Cathy: 5)

Cathy’s thoughts on the advantages of being a white foreigner have been referred to by many of the respondents. This effect even seems to continue into the second generation, which would make an interesting topic of discussion in future work. Cathy alludes to that fact that Japanese have a lower standard for the children of LTWs. This is a double-edge sword. While this lower standard allows for the use of the gaijin card, the low expectations of western

foreigner performance on the Japanese side can be discouraging over the long term. Being given high grades on performance, but in reality not having the skills to support such results may create deficiencies in certain academic or linguistic areas as time passes. Low expectation or stereotypical images of westerners can wear an individual down over time.