Longing for a reason to discriminate other people, Japan simply invents one.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/05/29/un-true-blood-japans-weird-taste-for-discrimination-against-type-bsAt least since the 1920s, many Japanese have held a superstitious belief that there is a serious correlation between blood type and personality. Type As, (like Jake Adelstein), are supposed to be considerate, hard-working, and pay great attention to details. Type Os are good baseball players, happy-go-lucky, easy-going, and amiable. However, in recent years, according to a prominent critic of this pseudo-science, there is discrimination against certain blood-typesespecially the opinionated and extremely curious Type Bs.
The Japanese term for this is blood harassment or burahara when abbreviated.
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But even in a country like Japan where roughly 98 percent of the population is the same ethnicity, people still find a way to discriminate and group people into convenient molds.
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Masao Ohmura, personality psychologist at Nihon University, suggested in a Japan Times article, that because the Japanese are genetically quite a homogeneous people, grouping by blood was a way of achieving diversityif only the illusion of diversity.
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Negative stereotyping credits the B types as selfish, and ABs as eccentric and unpredictable.
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Japan has long been a country where the population is 98-99 percent Japanese, and discrimination against identifiable outsiders remains prevalent. Third or fourth generation Korean-Japanese who often do not speak Korean and are indistinguishable from Japanese people in appearance often are treated with disdain. Theres even discrimination against the burakumin, the former outcast clan of Japan who were once butchers and leather workers.
Blood type discrimination is an extension of these attitudes and the government is discouraging it officially. But, ironically, Japans governments have done little as yet to discourage more blatant forms of racism. If only there were more aggressive and courageous B-types or open-minded internationally inclined AB types in the government, perhaps wed see some change for the better.
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For example, if you look at old japanese video-games from the 1980s and 1990s, sometimes the character-description also mentions the blood-type. To the Non-Japanese this is just odd, but to a japanese player it tells him what kind of personality that fictional character has.
luvMIdog
(2,533 posts)JHan
(10,173 posts)kristopher
(29,798 posts)Quote
"According to professor Yamaokas studies, the general awareness of blood group stereotypes and peoples tendency to judge others on that basis have declined. But books on the subject are still being published and blood-type-based fortune telling is a regular on morning TV shows. Its commonly referred to when looking at relationship compatibility. The imprinting is on-going."
End Quote
Discussions around blood type are no more discriminatory than the banter that goes on between fans of rival sports teams. This article is pure bullshit - the paragraph I quoted above is even an admission of that fact.
DetlefK
(16,471 posts)In some cases, blood type becomes an excuse. In 2011, Japanese Reconstruction Minister Ryu Matsumoto was forced to resign because of callous comments about the areas devastated in the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that year. In a post resignation conference, he took the opportunity to blame his behavior on his blood group: My blood is type B, which means I can be irritable and impulsive, and my intentions dont always come across. My wife called me earlier to point that out. I think I need to reflect on that. He was politely pushed out by the administration for his gaffes.
kristopher
(29,798 posts)And did my undergrad at a Japanese university. The author was a classmate and friend. While I respect his work and like him personally, his view of Japan was biased with a sense of moral superiority from the day he arrived.
He is off base in this instance.
GeoWilliam750
(2,540 posts)It is taken about as seriously as star signs in the West. Jake's specialty has long been writing about Japan organized crime, and he did some interesting work at one time.