You can try to argue any way you want, but here in Japan, the use of the word gaijin (外人
is
explicitly banned for use in broadcast and news due to its possible implications.
source:
http://monoroch.net/kinshi/
The "offensive" word
gaijin is 外人. The "acceptable" word
gaikokujin is 外国人 (how acceptable? So acceptable that Japanese textbooks published by The Japan Times teach English-speakers how to write and read the word "foreigner".) Literally, "gai"/外 = foreign, "koku"/国 = country, "jin"/人 = person. So in other words, the difference between what you find offensive, Sou, and what is acceptable is just one character.
Foreign-person is offensive to the japanese, according to you, while
foreign-country-person is a-ok.
In fact, if you wanted to discuss any alleged xenophobia present in Kamiya's tweets, you'd be talking about
外国人排斥 = "
gaikokujinhaiseki". Literally,
"foreign country person rejection/ostracism". Nearly the same word for "foreigner" is present in the word for "xenophobia" as the one Kamiya used.
Right, and adding the word "foreign" to it is what makes it not unlike the examples I brought up about my neighbors or women. Just because someone IS acting stupid and IS foreign doesn't mean you need to say "Damn stupid foreigners" as your reply. That puts the two of you on the same level. If my wife and one of her friends ask me some dumb shit over and over again, if I say "Ugh, stupid freaking women," that is not cool, even though they are in fact women and "women" is not an offensive word. There's no need to bring their gender into things. I can mock them without resorting to that. Also beat them so like....
No, I don't think that's a good example. Merely saying "Listen, woman!" is offensive and rude too in English. And "move, lady!" is also rude, even though "lady" is an honorific title for women. So what's happening is the impersonal and categorical nature of the word when applied to a stranger is what can make the word offensive, not just by placing "stupid" in front of it. After all, "listen, miss" doesn't sound as offensive as "listen, woman".
The word "woman" doesn't carry any inherent meanings aside from adult femaleness. So when you use it as part of an insult, you're indicating that you think it carries other implicit meanings - sexist ones - which makes things like "ugh, women!" and "stupid women" come off as sexist.
But "Foreigner", on the other hand, actually does carry more inherent meanings than just being from a different country. It implies unfamiliarity with local customs and tastes and places, a potential communication gap where the person isn't able to fully understand what locals are saying, and of course, the possibility that the person is still looking at your country like an outside observer rather than being immersed in society. Why did that person need to ask you for directions? They were a foreigner. Ah, I see!
What Kamiya said wasn't racist because "foreigner" already carries the implications that he was trying to get across: this person is unfamiliar with customs and tastes, doesn't understand what I'm saying, and is looking at me and my country like an outside observer - almost like an anthropologist (or more like a zoologist). These things are not bad in and of themselves, which is why Kamiya answers twitter questions people ask him in English. By adding on the "stupid" and other epithets, he was modifying these neutral traits to express that this particular foreigner, unlike others, was being rude, ignorant, and obnoxious with their unfamiliarity and lack of understanding. Like someone who doesn't care to learn and thinks they know exactly what kind of person you are and what you think just by knowing your nationality and race.
Actually, ironically, if he had just said, "ugh foreigners!" that would have been more racist than the things he did say, because it would indicate that he thinks the word "foreigner" itself carries all the negative implications he was trying to get across - that foreigners are inherently bad. But he didn't. He felt the need to tack on a whole bunch of epithets to modify the word "foreigner" in order to get across the negative feelings. To him, "foreigner" alone didn't convey disapproval.