Izakaya in Okinawa To Refuse Entry to Foreigners by Hanging “Japanese Only” Sign

An Izakaya in Naha City refused entry to foreigners by hanging a “Japanese Only” sign at their entrance. 

The sign says: “It is because our staff can only speak Japanese,” and “We don’t allow customers from overseas to enter our bar.” A customer of foreign nationality who was denied entry to the izakaya a year ago posted this on the Internet, saying how he felt extremely sad due to the situation. 

The manager explained: “We only have one person in charge of the hall and another in the kitchen, so there is no spare time to look after customers. We have no intentions to discriminate.” 

However, refusing entry to a restaurant solely on the basis of nationality is a violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 

Two members of a citizens’ group went to consult with various city departments and the Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau after becoming aware of the sign at said Izakaya. In response to this, a member of the Okinawa Counters said: “We can’t imagine how hurt foreign visitors must have felt seeing this sign. We also wanted to resolve the issue amicably by working with the government instead of suddenly setting the issue ablaze.”

After consultation, the city’s Tourism Division visited the store back in August, asking them to take down the sign in light of the increasing number of tourists, but the store remained irresponsive. A city official explains how they can’t take any further actions due to a lack of authority and that they can only make requests to the izakaya. 

The Izakaya manager finally took down the sign when this newspaper visited the store for an interview in September, saying: “The content was incorrect,” and “I want the government to also convey the Izakaya culture to foreigners rather than just inviting them here.” 

Source: Yahoo News