In a now-deleted post on Threads, a Malaysian man living in Japan shared a xenophobic note asking him to leave the country all over his home.
Describing himself as a 24-year-old, Mr Banden Tong made the post on 10 Nov and received over 800 supportive comments.
According to The Star, the man said he found the notes after returning home from work.
The notes were plastered to his front door and car. Although it was mostly written in Japanese, an English message at the bottom makes its intentions clear: “Go back to your country!”
Source: Meanwhile in Malaysia on Facebook
“To foreigners, please leave Japan,” the note said in Japanese. “You are not welcome here. Japan doesn’t need immigrants. Japanese taxes are not paid for you.”
The note was signed “Yokohama City Conservative Faction”.
According to Sinar Daily, Mr Tong said the note left him hurt. “It gave me a deep scar. I’ve always longed for Japan,” he said.
The Malaysian said he admired Japan ever since he was young and worked hard to make his dream of living in Japan come true.
“Last year, my dream came true. I bought a house and a car in Yokohama, and I work as an English teacher,” he continued.
He has since reported the incident to the police who said they would increase patrols in the area.
Many netizens left comments in support of Mr Tong before he took down the post.
“As a fellow Japanese, I apologise,” one said. “Not all foreigners are bad people. Judging people as a group is a sign of spiritual poverty.”
“I’m ashamed as a Japanese person. Please don’t let this drive you away – I hope you’ll continue to live in Japan,” said another.
On Reddit, some discussion was had over the authenticity of the note and whether if it was even from a Japanese person.
Some online observers claim there were grammatical mistakes present in the note that would be unlikely from a native speaker.
Source: The Asahi Shimbun
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Japan’s new prime minister vowed stricter measures on foreign nationals, but also told law-abiding foreigners to not worry.
According to Asahi Shimbun, PM Sanae Takaichi proposed a variety of measures related to foreign nationals in Japan including stricter screening of residency statuses.
But at the same time, she also said: “We must not create a situation where foreign nationals who abide by the rules find it difficult to live in our country.”
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Featured image adapted from Sinar Daily and Meanwhile in Malaysia on Facebook.