"“If You Come to Japan, Order in Japanese” Complaints at the Tavern Finally... "

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A tavern owner who insisted on using Japanese, telling foreign customers "If you come to Japan, order in Japanese," is facing public backlash. On the 20th, a post by Mr. A, who runs a tavern in Japan, was uploaded on X (formerly Twitter). In the post, he wrote, "Yesterday, a white couple came to the store, and I told them 'If you don't know Japanese, I cannot serve you,'" adding, "When they asked, 'No English menu?' I replied in Japanese that there was none."

A tavern owner who insisted that foreign customers "order in Japanese if you come to Japan" is facing public backlash. On the 20th, a person named A, who runs a tavern in Japan, posted on X (formerly Twitter). The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Pixabay]

Mr. A continued, "This is Japan. If I go to a country where English is spoken, I will speak English," and said, "In Japan, try to speak Japanese. If it's too difficult, bring an interpreter." As the post sparked controversy with over 17 million views, Mr. A declared he would maintain his business policy.

He explained, "In the past, our store also served foreign customers who didn't know Japanese. But it took time to take orders and was bothersome, so we eventually stopped," adding, "They don't spend much money compared to our effort. They don't tip, and it's not profitable, so we stopped serving them." He further stated, "If someone wants to serve foreign tourists who don't understand Japanese, they can do as they please. I just find it bothersome and only serve in Japanese. This isn't the US military occupation era, and this is a tavern business?do we need to serve in English? If you come to Japan, follow Japanese culture."

However, facing ongoing criticism, Mr. A eventually announced an indefinite closure. On the 21st, he posted again on X, saying, "I sincerely apologize to those who were very upset by my casual remarks," and added, "I am mentally and physically exhausted and will take a break from work." While the reopening date is undecided, Mr. A emphasized, "I will continue to operate a tavern that does not rely on foreign customers who cannot read or write Japanese."

Earlier in February, a Korean YouTuber was also kicked out of an accommodation facility for not speaking Japanese. The YouTuber arrived at the spa hotel 'Kattanoyu' located in Yamaguchi Prefecture and tried to check in after making a reservation in English. However, the front desk staff's first question was, "Can you speak Japanese?" Although the YouTuber, who did not know Japanese, used a smartphone translation app to say, "I can't speak Japanese, but I already made a reservation," the response was the absurd statement, "If you can't speak Japanese here, it's difficult to stay."

In the end, the YouTuber uploaded a video capturing this entire process on their YouTube channel, and the video spread across social networking services (SNS), causing a stir in Japanese society.
[Photo by YouTube channel 'Kkuzun']

When the YouTuber protested using a mix of English and Korean, another staff member stepped in but only repeated that staying was difficult. This staff member explained via a smartphone translation app that "If you can't speak Japanese, it is difficult to respond when problems arise with customers, so we refuse accommodation to tourists who do not speak Japanese."

Despite repeated protests, another staff member, apparently a manager, appeared. Even when the YouTuber argued that communication could be done through a translation app, the hotel asked unreasonable questions such as, "Have you ever used Japanese bathing facilities?" and "How much do you know about Japanese customs?" and ultimately did not withdraw their refusal to accommodate.

In the end, the YouTuber uploaded a video documenting the entire process on their YouTube channel, and the video spread on social networking services (SNS), causing considerable controversy in Japanese society. Opinions were divided over the facility that refused accommodation simply because the visitor did not speak Japanese despite having a reservation.

Most Japanese netizens responded with disbelief, saying, "It makes no sense to refuse someone who has a reservation just because they don't speak the language," and "As tourism increases and the tourism industry is reviving, discriminating against people who don't speak Japanese is an abnormal response." Some Japanese netizens expressed opinions such as, "Although it may be unreasonable, it might be an action to consider other customers."