Why Do Japanese Stare at Foreigners?

While the average Japanese person on the street may think there are "a lot" of foreigners in Japan, in reality the number of gaijin here is ridiculously low, only representing around 1.6% of the population, compared with 11%, 8.5% and 13% with the U.K., France and the U.S., respectively. This 1.6% number is even lower, though, because 400,000 of the 2 million registered foreigners in Japan are "special permanent residents," which means people born to ethnic Korean and Chinese families who maintain separate citizenship for cultural reasons yet are totally acculturated to Japan's society and language. (Interesting tidbit: Lynn Minmei from Macross fell into this camp, an ethnic Chinese born in Japan.) Because (Western) foreigners are such a rarity in Japan, it's not all uncommon for the occasional Japanese person to find themselves staring at you on the train. They're not intending to be rude, of course -- you're just the only non-Japanese face they've seen in a while and they might be fascinated with you, wonder where you're from, etc. Kids also sometimes stare because, well damn, you're like the only black dude they've ever seen in Portland, Oregon. A DJ and music student from Iceland named Arni Kristjansson has come up with an interesting way to handle this problem with it crops up, with a fake book cover that turns the book you're reading into one entitled, "Why do Japanese stare at Foreigners?"

This lack of foreigners in Japan is actually a big problem, and one that the country should take very seriously. While the subject of immigration can be a touchy one, the basic idea of individuals chasing their dreams by traveling to a new place and putting down cultural roots has many benefits. Immigration is important for business, and companies like J-List couldn't function without the our talented foreign staff to augment our hardworking Japanese employees. Foreigners may be more entrepreneurially minded, too, as evidenced by the fact that 25% of tech start-ups in the U.S. are founded by people born elsewhere -- I can certainly vouch for the fact that giving up your old life to come to a new country makes you more open to taking risks. Japan is trying to entice foreigners to come here, for example through a program that hires nurses from Indonesia to work in Japan. Unfortunately the requirement that they speak and read Japanese perfectly has made it difficult for more than a handful of the women to transfer their credentials over.

Sometimes Japanese stare at foreigners, but here's a way to get them to stop. Or wierd them out even more.

Confusing English in Japan: Office Lady Edition

The other day I was riding my bicycle past a steakhouse, and I noticed a sign that promised "Steak & Salad Viking." I had to smile at this: the English word "viking" is one of many the Japanese have changed in meaning so that it's no longer identifiable to native speakers. The process is called called wasei eigo or "made-in-Japan English," and it's no different from the way nihongo-derived words like honcho, tycoon or "hairy carry" wouldn't be understandable to the Japanese anymore. In addition to "viking" (which refers to an all-you-can-eat buffet), other words I've puzzled over include "recycle shop" (any shop selling used goods), "fancy shop" (shops that sell cute character goods like Hello Kitty), "NG" (an abbreviation for "no good" used for TV bloopers), "OB" ("old boy" meaning an alumnus of a school), "American dog" (a corn dog), "skinship" (an awesome term for the skin-on-skin feeling of a parent lovingly putting their child in the bath), and "free size" (aka one-size-fits-all, like some of the Japanese fashions we stock on the site). Another term I didn't understand at first was "office lady" (abbreviated OL), which superseded the old term of BG ("business girl") in the 1960s to describe a professional female office worker.

It took me a while to figure out what an "office lady" was.

Cool Products Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Megami Magazine Deluxe vol. 17 This "deluxe" edition of the popular Megami Magazine comes with an amazing set of K-On!, Strike Witches 2 and To Aru Majutsu no Index 2 omake! We love the gorgeous full page pin-up illustrations and all the cute anime girls! View products »
	Puella Magi Madoka Magica Production Note Fans of the Madoka Magica will want to quickly grab this special boxed collection called "Production Note" before it becomes impossible to find.
	Smart Oct 2011 Always keep yourself looking sumaato ('smart') by checking the fashion and trends from one of Japan's leading men's magazines.
	Japanese Fashions Restocked Harajuku girls, they've got wicked style. We like they way they are, we are their biggest fans! Tour Bus Shirt, Red Star One Piece, more restocked.
	Yuko Ogura's Panties, Others Restocked Check out the wonderful fashion lineup of Yuko Ogura, now available at J-List! Plus lots of other sexy pantsu from Japan.
	Totoro Plush Keychains, Other Items Any day we can bring more Totoro plush goodness to the world is a good day. Several kawaii Totoro plush keychain/charms restocked.
	Ore no Imouto Guide Book While the front cover looks like it should be placed in the "adults only" section, this very detailed guide book to the popular anime Ore no Imouto shows you everything you wanted to know about. From the character designs down to the production notes -- leaving the anime series 'bare' for you to see, hence the 'bare' title image. Haha, those wacky Japanese. View products »
	Tiger and Bunny Roman Album Yet another terrific anime guide to the new series Tiger & Bunny, making a big splash this year. Packs with mountains of info and images.
	Gorgeous Artbooks Restocked Some great restocked artbooks, including Chaos;Head, Arakawa Under the Bridge and many more.
	Traditional Photo & Art Calendars In Stock! Want to spend a year in Japan? It's easy with the gorgeous 2012 calendars J-List carries. We've gotten our first photo & art calendars in stock!
	More 2012 Japanese Idol Calendars We've posted even more 2012 Japanese idol calendars for preorder, including some awesome women as Haruhi voice actress Aya Hirano.
	2012 Calendars ~ Rewrite, Little Busters *Preorder* Cool desktop calendar preorders with characters from Rewrite and Little Busters, with gorgeous artwork. Preorder now.
	Japanese T-Shirt ~ Sakamoto Nyan For fans of our Sakamoto Nyan parody T-shirt, some good news -- we now stock the shirt in XXL size in San Diego! (nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan)
	Awesome Anime Figures In Stock Lynette Bishop from Strike Witches is just one of the many amazing figures we have either in stock or ready for preorder. Take a look.
	Awesome New Disgaea Figures *Preorder* Then: a cute figure of Etna Daioki from Makai Senki Disgaea. So cute and super deformed, we love her. Order quickly!
	Huge Restocking of Touhou Games Touhou isn't just the best "bullet curtain" shooting game ever made. It's the new source of Japanese popular culture, and J-List has restocked the games today.
	LEGO Style Earphone Holder, Pill Case LEGO fans, you might think only the best products come from Denmark, but Japan has some cute LEGO or LEGO-like items as well.
	Card Mini File Folders Have a collection of trading cards you want to keep safe, or perhaps some flash cards that need a home? Totally awesome!
	More Amazing Erasers From the Finger Fit Egg Eraser or the 5-Way Smart Eraser and awesome Dekado-Keshi, geometric design eraser, we carry the best Japan has to offer.
	Fun 'Nori Punch' for Deco Bento Cut your pressed dried seaweed sheets (nori) into the perfect Hello Kitty shapes, for making deco (decorated) bento lunches. Kawaii!
	Hello Kitty Face Towel ~ Big Apple  Also, Hello Kitty is so cute, I'm sure she'll go perfectly inside your bathroom as a cute, and 100% cotton, face and hand towel. Great for working out!
	Delicious New Snacks from Japan Now that we are finally in the chocolate season, we're free to send some delicious Japanese treats all over the world, today with Meiji's Fran, a Pocky-ish taste experience (yum!), although truth be told I like it a bit more than most Pocky flavors. Also, Chelsea Biscuits, awesome Pucca fish-shaped baked snacks and more! View products »
	Restocked Caffeine Gum and More Enjoy Ramune Bottle Candy, Morinaga Chocolate Caramel, Hi-Chew, Seedless Ume, One Piece Bubble Gum, awesome Lotte "No Time" Gum and Black Black Caffeine Gum!
	Restocked Snacks from Japan Enjoy the Furidama gummy ball from the makers of Popin' Cookin,' Meiji Poiful (these are delicious!), Morinaga Koeda and other awesome snacks, and more.
	Amazing Traditional Bento Boxes Also, talk about back to basics: this bento box is made of curved natural wood that's simple and functional. Also see "jubako" stacking bento.
	NATURAL LUNCH TIME Affordable Bento Restocked A great starter set for anyone curious about bento lunches, this series includes excellent design while keeping the cost low. Click to browse.
	Stainless Rice Omelet Mold  Serve your rice at home like its done at fancy restaurants in, especially for the dish omuraisu or curry rice. Yum!
	More Miso Soup Bowls Drink your soup like a samurai, with an authentic Japanese miso soup bowl. Our large collection is mostly dishwasher safe as well!
	Traditional Items Restocked See fun traditional items from Japan, including our Yokobue (yoko-boo-eh) flute, plus 3 Lucky Cats Strap, Lucky Frog and more.
	Aria. H Kanzaki 1/10 Figure *Preorder* The gun-wielding Aria is coming out as an amazing figure in January, something fans of Aria the Scarlet Ammo should probably grab.
	Gorgeous Nude Calendars In Stock! Show off the babes of Japan, baring their beautiful, sexy figures for your pleasure all throughout 2011. Now in stock!
	Great Restocked Photobooks We have some outstanding photobooks, including Tsubasa Amami's popular release plus the fiery Yuma Asami's glossy photobook too.
	Restocked Ecchi Artbooks Lots of cool, slightly "H" artbooks are back in stock, plus our great selection of eromanga that we've got for your pleasure.
	Panchira Office Lady ~ Scented OL Pantsu For yourself or your friend, check-out this pair of OL underwear, already scented with the perfume of a Japanese office lady.
	Bakujuu Musou Ikkitousen Parody Toys The Ikki Tousen stress toys are popular because they're large, realistic and based on our favorite H-anime characters. See fresh stock of the series today.
	Can an Onahole be 'Art'? See the awesome tsundere toy for Kagami fans, plus the most amazing Evangelion-themed toys ever, featuring "art" of Rei and Asuka.
	Plug Suit Rei! ~ Evangelion Parody Doujin Software This erotic image collection and 3D video of a parody edition of one of our favorite plug-suit pilots, Rei, is something not to be missed.
	Packaged Games from MangaGamer Remember, you can find great eroge in English at J-List, and support the creation of future games by buying now. They're covered in our sale too!

J-List Anniversary Sale Reminder & 2012 Calendars

Remember, this month is J-List's 15th anniversary month, and to celebrate the past decade and a half of bringing you awesome kanji T-shirts, unique Japanese pens and Hello Kitty "shoulder massagers," we're having a sale! For every $100 you spend on the site, get a $5 gift code to use with your next order. This gives you a great excuse to add a few more boxes of Pocky to your order and pur yourself over the next $100 point.

We've got good news: the first of our 2012 calendars has come in, and we've processed the orders for customers who have preordered them and have plenty of great calendars in stock now. Like our extremely popular Lucky Cat art calendar, or the gorgeous traditional photo and other Japanese calendars we've posted this year. We've even got some sizzling calendars for JAV fans...gorgeous! Why not browse all our 2012 Japanese calendars, ranked by order of awesomeness by our customers?

Ecchi! Fun with Euphemisms in Japanese

Japan is a subtle place, where people often substitute vague, indirect language when discussing things they don't want to talk about openly. This takes many forms, for example the omitting of sentence subjects entirely, allowing a situation where a boy who wants to confess his love to a girl is able to start to say the words but switch them to mean he was really talking about the cake they're eating if he loses his nerve. Then there's the word are (ah-ray), which means "that thing over there" and which can serve as a catch-all object for vague conversations, sort of like the word "they" in English. When riding the train in Tokyo, it's an all-too-frequent occurrence to have the trains stop suddenly, the conductor announcing a jinshin-jiko or "an accident involving physical injury" which is a roundabout way of saying that some troubled person decided to jump in front of the train. The most common way to refer to a woman's menstrual cycle is seiri, a word that means "biology," although there are many other alternate names, like Anne's Day (a bizarre reference to Anne Frank) or "Japanese Flag Day" (because, well, have you ever looked at a Japanese flag?). Finally, perhaps the most famous euphemism used in Japanese is the English letter "H," usually pronounced "ecchi," which stands for anything to do with sex (i.e. a person who thinks about sex to much is ecchi, to do the act is ecchi suru and so on).

Does this mean that Haruhi is "H"? Not that I'd mind at all.

Random Japanese TV Shows Provide Sushi for Me. No wait...

Japanese television is always interesting, and never fails to give me neta, a word which refers to the fish part of a piece of sushi, but in this case it means an idea for the J-List posts that I write. Yesterday I caught an interesting show in which a camera crew got on the Chiyoda train line in Tokyo and "randomly" went from station to station finding interesting people and businesses to introduce at each stop along the train line. These included a shop making Kyoto-style candy, a ramen shop run for over 100 years in the same location, a dance studio teaching Argentine tango and a shop making the most gorgeous Lucky Cat figures, including a service for creating realistic-looking Lucky Cat figurines of your own cat. I put the word "randomly" in quotes above because, whenever you're watching Japanese TV, it's a given that everything you see will have been pre-scripted and set up ahead of time. It's called yarase and it's a part of Japanese TV you can never get away from.

Japanese TV always provides me with random ideas for posts.

J-Lists 15th Anniversary

October is an auspicious month here at J-List. It's our birthday, and a special one this year since it's our 15th anniversary! It was a mind-boggling 15 years ago this month that I officially quit my job as an ESL teacher and started J-List, with one employee and two computers networked to each other directly. We started out selling Japanese music CDs in a big list made in Excel (which is where we get our name), and as each month went by we added new products to our lineup: anime figures, calendars, magazines, our first "Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend" kanji T-shirt. 1996 was very different from 2011. The web was much less developed than it is currently, with no social networking or viral videos or blogs, and Google (or as we call them, "the new kid") didn't even exist yet. One thing it did have plenty of was people with a fascination with Japan, and no matter what aspect of the country you were interested in -- anime or manga, music, JAV or H-games -- the web was the place to come to share it with others. J-List has been extremely happy to serve as a bridge between Japan and the outside world for the past 15 years, and we'll be here another 15 if we can! Arigatou gozaimasu!

Happy 15th Birthday to J-List

15th Anniversary Sale for J-List!

First, apologies for the downtime on Sunday evening, U.S. time. We were making some upgrades to our servers that will enable J-List to meet our customers' needs much better in the future, and the transfers to the new server took longer than we planned.

J-List has been around an incredible 15 years, but we couldn't have done it without you, the best customers in the world. So this month we're going to have a great sale. For every $100 you spend on the site we'll issue a code for $5 for every $100 you spend. This means it's a great chance to stock up on awesome bento boxes, 2012 anime calendars, or those six eroge you've had your eyes on. The timing is great for picking up cool items for Halloween or Christmas too! Thanks for making the past 15 years an amazing wild ride, and kore kara mo yoroshiku onegai shimasu (thanks in advance for your continued support).

Cool Products Monday, October 3, 2011

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Megami Magazine Nov 2011 Another outstanding issue of Megami for you, which is loaded with awesome omake free stuff in the form of large original posters of all the latest anime series, plus other cool stuff We recommend a Megami Magazine monthly subscription to avoid missing any issues. View products »
	NyanType Nov 2011 Of course most great magazines, like the awesome NyanType, also have subscription options. Check out one, and if you like it collect them all.
	Dragon Age Oct 2011 At a massive 900+ pages, you will never get bored with Dragon Age, the monthly manga magazine that houses Highschool of the Dead and much more.
	Bicycle Life with KAWAII Girls With the theme of girls + motorbikes -- we can't get enough of this beautiful artbook, with illustrations from 40 different artists. Very cool.
	Sonicomi ~ Communication with Sonico Super Sonico fans rejoice! Sonicomi, the game starring Sonico is out. This is the fanbook, including artworks and a DVD full of exclusive content!
	Moe Zakka Catalog Dao Want something your favorite anime, but don't know what to buy? Moe Zakka has it all! Email us your favorites and we'll try to get them.
	Queen's Gate Artbooks Restocked With their gorgeous bodies and suggestive fighting techniques, we love Queens Gate, so we've restocked some delicious artbooks.
	Henrietta 1/8 Figure ~ Gunslinger Girl  It's been 5 years since its original release, but Henrietta is still the cutest girl we wouldn't mind being shot to death by.
	Fruits Oct 2011 NO. 171 No frills, just pure, honest fashion trends from the real streets of Harajuku. You will find styles that are truly unique and amazing in each volume.
	Popular Cosplay Products Restocked See fun anime cosplay and fashion products restocked, including our Eva-style Japanese Eye Patch or "Socks Glue" for holding up awesome Japanese socks.
	Panda Payan Bath Ball ~ Lavender  Make your bath full of panda love, with this bath ball with a secret. Inside there is a special panda secret we think you'll find adorable.
	Awesome Charcoal Products for Health Get your teeth sparkling clean with the power of natural charcoal (it works!), check out the charcoal soap and shampoo too!
	Totoro and Cat Bus Plush, Bento and More Make your home a magical world, like those found in the world of Ghibli, with some cute Totoro and similar plush toys. Always a favorite.
	Mamegoma Kuttari Plush Toys ~ Kawaii! These bean-shaped large plush seal pets are just what the doctor ordered for a fun, a great item for San-X fans. Kawaii deshou?
	Busou Shinki ~ Battle Masters Mk. 2 A twist on the mecha game genre. Train and prepare your personal robot-girl hybrid warrior in this awesome game for your PSP.
	Restocked PSP Anime Games, Too Enjoy the 2-disc awesomeness of Clannad on your Sony PSP, or the awesome Queen's Blade and Queen's Gate ecchi fighting games, ToraDora, Oreimo and more.
	Hello Kitty Stuff Restocked Say no to boring square-shaped sandwiches and yes to kawaii Hello Kitty shaped ones. This popular item is restocked today.
	Humania Rescue Chopsticks Rest 'orz' Will you save these poor souls by removing the chopsticks from their backs, or pin them down to die? Which path will you chose?
	Awesome New Japanese Snacks Just in time for the new season, we've got some u~mai (delicious) autumn snacks, like these roasted chestnut flavored "bamboo shoots" or the Japanese sweet potato flavored bamboo shoots (though they're really cookies). A great way to appreciate fall! View products »
	Traditional Food Drops from Japan We've got awesome Okonomiyaki flavored Food Drops restocked, plus Kobe Cheesecake and Kagoshima Shirokuma Ice Cream.
	Excellent Restocked Snacks Rice Crackers w/peanuts, Kompeito traditional star-shaped candy, UHA Shigekix gummi, Lotte gum, baked Toppo snacks and more!
	Hello Kitty Bento Boxes If you're more in the mood for a kawaii character box, check out this great Kitty-face box from Sanrio that will perk up your day.
	Navy Kasuri Bento Kinchaku Bag  Folding and using a traditional kinchakubukuro is now easier than ever with this very handy new design. Very classy.
	Microwave Safe Lid for Dishes ~ 2pcs Keep your food safe while in the microwave or refrigerator, no mater the size of your plate or bowl, with this innovative kitchen product.
	Easy Microwave Rice Cooker Our popular Microwave Rice Cooker is back in stock, which saves you from having to buy an expensive electric rice cooker. Great for bento enthusiasts.
	Books about Japanese Food See fresh stock of our popular cookbooks and Japanese food related books. I personally love the "Point and Speak" food phrasebook.
	Kanji Drill Workbooks We always have fun Japanese study tools, and today we're restocking the Basic Kanji Drill series. Study the way Japanese children do.
	Other Epic 2012 Calendars J-List is loaded with awesome 2012 Japanese calendars, incl. anime, JPOP, Japanese traditional art and more. Click to see the top selers!
	Restocked Wacky Stationery We've got doughnut tape rolls, sparkling kira kira decoration sets, fake sushi and many more cool items from Japan back in stock.
	Kanji Name Stamps, Stamp Pads Custom made Japanese hanko name stamps, legal for use in Japan, with your name in kanji. We've also restocked the ink pads today.
	Awesome Traditional Products Restocked From desktop and genkan decorations to adorable lucky cats, we've got a mix of amazing traditional items to take a look through.
	Kirino Kousaka 1/8 Swimsuits ver. *Preorder* From the hit show and anime Ore Imo comes the summer swimsuit edition of Kirino. She's looks extra moe in this one, wow.
	Busou Shinki Fubuki 3-Model Figures *Preorder* This ninja girl action model is sexy, mechanized, and ready to make a lethal take down with her bishoujo-based assassination attacks.
	Angel Hole! Parody Stress Toys Here's a great new series of anime-themed onahole stress toys for fans who love Angel Beats or The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
	Restocked Parody Onahole Toys Next enjoy fresh stock of some of our most popular stress toys, incl. Love Body Ren (who says love can't be inflatable?) plus Kirino, Kuroneko and more.
	Other Innovative Stress Toys from Japan A pair of panties specially made to hide a vibrating surprise inside, or with "love juices" inside, plus awesome Ramune Lotion?
	Awesome 'Cast Off' Figures Enjoy some now-in-stock "cast off" figures, which are so awesome you'll be able to stare for hours. Click to see now.
	Ero CG Collections Posted Nice. We've got some great digital collections of "H" CG artwork back in stock, like the always popular parody doujinshi series.
	Brave Soul, a great Ecchi RPG Looking for a really outstanding eroge RPG with magic items, real combat and great art by Mogudan? Then look no more!