The Problems of Xenophobia and the Teaching of English at Japanese Universities

The Problems of Xenophobia
and the Teaching of English at Japanese Universities
Alex Shishin (Kobe)


Japan has a long history of fascination and delight with things foreign. It has an equally long history of suspicion of foreign influences and foreigners themselves. This contradiction extends into every facet of Japanese life. It is significantly present in Japanese education. Since the Meiji Era - but especially in postwar era-Japan's need for learning English has created the need for importing foreign "native speaker" English teachers, most of whom teach part time at universities, companies and in private language schools. These foreign teachers, especially if they are white, may well be lionized almost like celebrities; but they are also likely to become throwaways, willingly or not. Virtually all foreign English teachers face workplace discrimination in Japan; in the interests of space, however, this paper will be limited primarily to xenophobia as it relates to Japanese higher education. Discrimination against non-Japanese in higher education has been dubbed "Academic Apartheid." The term was first used, to the best of my knowledge by this writer in a 1986 article in the Asahi Evening News. It was popularized by Ivan Hall's book Cartels of the Mind (1997). Read More