Comments by "Gordon Graham" (@gordonbgraham) on "Why Are You Leaving Japan?" video.

I've lived in Japan since 1988 and am both fluent and literate. I'm not Japanese. Why would I want to be? I'm happy being a gaijin. Not one of "them" is an odd take though. Am I not my Japanese kids' father, my Japanese wife's husband, my co-workers' co-worker, my friends' friend? I'm all of these things. I don't need to be Japanese to be one of "them".
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@leonheart7576 What do you mean by "advanced as human beings"? Identify your term "advanced". I'd like to know what your thinking is on that.
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@jonnygunz1370 "A friend that is as you a husband to a japanese wife a father to his japanese kids entered the all japan kendo competion in fluent japanese and got send packing.Why? He wanted to know! Because you are not japanese." This is 100% a lie. This is a big issue when discussing Japan. People tend to make stuff up to make a point about the Japanese. There are legitimate issues in Japan without having to lie about things that never happened.
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@patricia9854 I have plenty of Japanese friends. I'm Canadian
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You'll need a permanent residence visa to open your own business.
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@mrnekokittycatsaki1419 First you'd need to obtain a 3~5 year work visa, through a company that is hiring from overseas. I tried affixing a site that has jobs listed by the site shadowbanned it.
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@michaelbowen4275 I make 70K as a full time teacher in Japan (I made half of that as an ALT, so let's concede I have some idea about what I'm talking about). I think that's about the same as in my native Canada. What's not the same is the cost of housing. I paid $150,000 for a home on a 1/4 lot, 50 minutes from the centre of Tokyo. The same home would have cost me 10 times that in Toronto.
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You can run a business if you have a permanent residence visa. I've never felt their visa/work permit process to be inhibitive. The "you will never be Japanese" sentiment should be of no issue to anyone who doesn't wish to be Japanese. I've lived in Japan for more than 30 years and while I love it here, I've no desire to "be Japanese". 3)is pretty much 2) with different wording and the same solution...the "feeling" is yours, you control it. Skilled foreigners are a blessing and from what I've seen are welcomed with open arms. Japan offers 3~5 year work visas to foreigners who help address areas of need in the labour workforce and in areas where skill is lacking in sectors like engineering.
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@jonnygunz1370 I'm saying it's a lie. Seeing as it was "the all Japan" Kendo competition there is certain to be news of it. Perhaps you can cite the newspaper article that chronicled the absolutely egregious infringement on his human rights. I'm going to hazard a guess you can't find such an article because such a thing never happened. What year was it and in what age group? I'm fully literate so I can read Japanese newspapers. I'm sure I can find something on the national championship for Kendo. Certainly, such an exclusion would have made the news.
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@foo_fah The places that don’t rent to foreigners are few. It’s easy to find an apartment or house due to the huge vacancy rate. If you take it personally that some people are xenophobic then that’s on you. I prefer not to live in such a landlord’s place. There are so many more that are happy to rent to foreigners. I’ve lived In Kushiro, Tsuetate in Kyushu, Setagaya Ward in Tokyo and Chichibu in Saitama and have never had an issue renting. It’s really a non issue. It’s not like there aren’t a million other places to live besides some bigot’s place.
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@foo_fah Those incidents are the exception not the norm. There are 3 million foreign residents, residing in Japan in a residence.
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@glennscannell8802 No, sorry, I didn't. I had a small 14" TV that had 5 channels on it. I watched baseball, sumo, Chibi Maruko Chan and Sazae San, that's about all.
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Your pay would be commensurate with your human capital. That is, your skills and what you bring to the company. Many foreigners mewl about a lack of job advancement yet are functionally illiterate. Also, you are a foreigner in Japan. Why would you expect to be something else? You're not Japanese are you?
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@tetukabuto tech jobs being cut left, right and centre in the US
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@michaelbowen4275 Yes, I live in Kawagoe. 40 minutes from Ikebukuro on a 1/4 acre lot. You can see my home if you click on my face. 3 bedroom, 2 washrooms, new kitchen, two living rooms, one western style one tatami a separate study room, foundation immaculate with no cracks, no termites, no mould or wood rot, all tiles in kitchen and bathrooms immaculate with no mould...looks brand new. Kiwi vine and blueberry bush in the yard with several trees including Japanese Maple, Persimmon, Orange and tangerine trees. The home is 30 years old but in immaculate condition. You can buy a brand new home for under $300,000.
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Depends on the Japanese and the foreigner
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I've lived here for more than 30 years and have.Never.Felt.That.Way
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@mind-of-neo Yes, it is. Best decision I’ve ever made was moving here from Canada where I was told flat out at my interview for the Education Program at York University that they...and I quote...”weren’t currently accepting applications from white males. I ended up earning my teaching license at Rikkyo University in Tokyo. They welcomed me with open arms.
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@patricia9854 How did I become friends? Organically, through my hobbies such as snowboarding and motorcycling. At the local bar, through my ice hockey program etc. The thing is most friendships occur in childhood and through to high school. Making friends in adulthood is rare even in foreign countries because adults are already ensconced in their own lives. That said, there are opportunities to meet people and make friends, however, friendship happens organically, not because one wants a friend.
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If you have a permanent residence visa
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@pr1meKun If you live in Japan for 10 years without so much as a parking ticket, yes.
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@pr1meKun In Japan, yes. Not worth the wait? If so then you’re not worth giving permanent residency to. Come here and prove you deserve it and then perhaps Japan will consider allowing you to run a business on her shores.
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