Africans are afraid of going to Japan! You don't even see Black people in Tokyo, so wouldn't they stand out way too much in the countryside? 😆

The way we think about immigrants and foreign workers has been debated in Japanese society for a long time. Especially for those who have little direct contact with them in their daily lives, it is easy to form images like "immigrants are dangerous" or "crime will increase" based on fragmented information from television and social media. However, when you actually interact with them, that impression changes significantly. In the high-rise apartment building where I live, there is a Ghanaian man who is in charge of cleaning. Before he arrived, the trash area was messy and the sorting was inadequate. However, since he took over, even when residents didn't follow the rules, he would say, "It's okay, it's my job," and clean it up immediately. Seeing that, we residents felt guilty, and we naturally started sorting our trash carefully. As a result, the trash area became very clean, and the illegally dumped bulky waste disappeared completely.

Through experiences like this, I have come to support immigration. There are things you can only understand by actually interacting with people. People who have never interacted with foreigners are more likely to judge that "immigrants are dangerous" just by looking at incidents reported in the news or anxious videos circulating on social media. However, the same can be said for Japan. Incidents and accidents happen in Japan every day, too. If you only focus on those, you could conclude that "Japan is a dangerous country."

When I asked a Ghanaian person about this, they said, "This is Japan, so it's natural for it to be Japanese-first. But if you come to Ghana, it's Ghanaian-first." This is a very natural and healthy way of thinking. I suspect that many of the people who strongly advocate against immigration have never even spoken to a real African or Ghanaian person. Distorting reality by only showing "scary scenes" without knowing the actual situation is wrong.

Furthermore, there are articles in African newspapers about immigrants who came to Japan feeling anxious, saying, "We were sent to a rural city whose name we had never even heard of, not a big city like Tokyo or Osaka, and it's like a prison." In other words, while Japanese people think "immigrants are scary," the immigrants themselves also feel that "life in Japan is scary." In this way, things should not be viewed from only one side. Only by thinking from both perspectives can you see the true picture.

The presence of immigrants brings many lessons to Japanese society. The accumulation of small daily events changes the consciousness of society as a whole. And there is value that can only be understood by "living together."

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10 Points
1. Immigration issues are better understood through direct involvement in daily life.
2. It is dangerous to judge based solely on fragmented information from social media and news.
3. The trash area was dramatically improved by the Ghanaian person in charge of cleaning.
4. Residents also started following the rules voluntarily, and a sense of coexistence was born.
5. "Japanese-first" and "Ghanaian-first" are natural ways of thinking.
6. People who have no experience interacting with foreigners are more likely to have prejudices.
7. Incidents and accidents happen daily in Japan as well, and they are not special.
8. Life in Japan is also full of anxiety for African immigrants.
9. Things need to be viewed from both sides, not just one-sidedly.
10. Coexistence with immigrants improves rule compliance and awareness throughout society.

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10 Terms and Explanations
1. Immigrant: People who cross borders to move, live, and work. They bring new culture and labor to society.
2. Trash Sorting: A system for separating trash by resource type. An important rule directly linked to environmental protection and recycling.
3. Multicultural Coexistence: A way of society where people with different cultures and values live together. Mutual understanding is a prerequisite.
4. Prejudice: An inaccurate way of thinking formed only by information and images, not by actual experience.
5. Governance: A mechanism for operating organizations and society fairly. Appropriate system design is also necessary for immigration issues.
6. Local Community: A resident society rooted in a region. The foundation of life that immigrants first face.
7. First-ism: A way of thinking that prioritizes the people of that country, such as "Japanese-first" or "Ghanaian-first."
8. Media Bias: The tendency for media information to distort facts or emphasize only a part of them. It influences the formation of images of immigrants.
9. Fairness: Treating everyone with the same standards. An important element in the discussion of accepting immigrants.
10. Mutual Understanding: Respecting each other's positions and backgrounds. It is the foundation for building a coexistent society.
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