Businesses in Japan are struggling to handle the huge influx of tourists. Some small restaurants, in particular, are finding ways to tell tourists they don’t have the staff and foreign language skills to accommodate them. One store in Kyoto found a clever way to communicate that. But is it legal under Japanese law?
We wrote in April about a restaurant in Kyoto that went viral after posting an explicit “Japanese language only” sign on their door. In May, another shop made headlines after the owner complained on X that foreign tourists to Japan should learn some damn Japanese already.
Another store in Kyoto, however, found an even more clever solution. They posted a sign on their front door in English and Chinese that reads “no vacancy.” However, in small red print in Japanese underneath, it says, “If you can read this Japanese, please come in.”
Many Japanese users called the sign clever and very “Kyoto-like” in its implementation. Others, however, allege this amounts to discrimination against foreigners.
Most locations that post signs like this aren’t trying to discriminate – they’re just trying to keep their businesses operating smoothly. In an article for Bengoshi JP News, one bar owner in Kyoto discusses how they have trouble resolving complex disputes over tabs and cover charges with visitors who don’t speak Japanese. Most of these businesses have at most one or two staff on most days; the time taken resolving issues with tourists hinders serving other customers.
A survey run by Tablecheck reveals some 22% of Japanese food service businesses don’t want to increase the number of foreign tourists coming to their locations. The language gap is the primary reason. However, others are concerned that hosting too many non-Japanese speakers will ruin the neighborhood vibe of businesses like snack bars.
But is it legal?
But is this method of addressing the issue legal?
Bengoshi JP News asked lawyer Sugiyama Daisuke, an expert in legal issues related to foreigners in Japan. His response? It may be discriminatory – but it isn’t illegal.
Sugiyama says that Japanese law is concerned primarily about whether an action is just and reasonable. In this case, “Because there is no legal requirement to serve customers in English or Chinese, saying you can’t accept non-Japanese speakers if you only offer service in Japanese isn’t unreasonable.”
Of course, Japan couldn’t make this a general policy countrywide. However, Sugiyama says, it’s not realistic to expect every individual restaurant and bar to cater to non-Japanese speakers.
Businesses need to be careful, though, says Sugiyama. If they refuse customers, not due to spoken language, but on the basis of their race or nationality, that violates the14th Amendment of Japan’s Constitution. It also violates the International Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to which Japan is a signatory. One store in Shinokubo may have crossed this line earlier this year when it posted a sign denying service to Korean and Chinese people.
Sugiyama ended by saying he wished more tourists to Japan would take the effort to master some basic level of Japanese. Commenters on Yahoo! News agree. One poster, who identifies as a train station worker, says they’ve been yelled at by tourists for not understanding their language. (The same tourists refuse to use translation apps, for some reason.)
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