Do Japanese people attack people who appear weaker when pointing out rule violations?
Hi, I'm Japanese. I have a question for foreigners who living Japan. I'm a young, short Japanese woman. I had this experience:
- I was at a crosswalk, and the light was red, but NO trams or cars were coming. Since I was in front of the first station, there were no cars passing by. So I crossed. A young Japanese couple waiting on the other side were gossiping about me, and one of the men said, "Why do that person crossing even though the light is red?" He was speaking clearly enough for me to hear.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was watching a sports game at an arena. Eating and drinking in your seat was permitted, so I sat down to eat. Afterward, I took off my mask without saying anything, and stranger sitting next to me asked, "Excuse me, could you please put your mask back on?" She had been wearing her mask the whole time, but she was chatting with her son, who was about college-aged. Logically, since I was watching the game alone and not talking, I should have been less likely to spread the virus.And She didn't say anything to the foreigners in the arena. After this unreasonable reprimand, I moved seats.
-Today I went to a local festival. Riding bicycles on the sidewalks was banned for two days of the festival. Even though I'm a local, I didn't know this. There were so many people around, I naturally got off my bike and looked for a place to park. Pushing my bike took up the space of two people, making it impossible to move forward. (Do you understand?) So, to save space, I straddled my bike and kicked it like a kick scooter. As I was about to pass, an old man called out, "乗り入れ禁止だよ!" "はあ?乗り入れ?" "乗り入れ禁止!" A police officer then said, "Excuse me, please get off your bike," and I finally understood what he meant.
Am I being looked down upon because of my appearance? Or have others had similar experiences?
Posted Aug 3, 2025, 8:48 PM UTC