Japanese shadow warriors work to “eliminate corona discrimination” in its tracks.

As the coronavirus continues to spread in Japan, fear of contracting the illness is also spreading throughout the country. Worrying news reports are now surfacing, with one commuter pushing the emergency button on a passenger who coughed without wearing a mask on a train and business owners flatly denying entry to people who aren’t Japanese.

With everyone on edge at the moment, one business in Tokyo is putting a smile on people’s faces with a refreshingly friendly approach to foreigners in the midst of the current health crisis. As one of the city’s most popular tourist spots, Ninja Castle in Asakusa is used to welcoming foreign visitors through its doors, and now they’ve decided to take a stand against “corona discrimination” with an all-inclusive message that’s caught everyone’s attention.

▼ Twitter user @MAD_adnap snapped this photo of the message outside Ninja Castle.

https://twitter.com/MAD_adnap/status/1232181949218770944

The message reads:

“We welcome everyone. So foreigner (sic) and of course Chinese too. The bad thing is the virus not you who come to Japan. So come in with ‘peace of mind’. Eliminate corona discrimination. Ninja Castle.”

This level-headed approach towards foreigners at a time when many are labelling them as possible high-risk carriers for the virus is a welcome change to some of the sad stories of racist behaviour floating around online at the moment.

In light of the massive drop in tourist numbers from China and other places around the world due to coronavirus fears, many businesses in Japan are currently facing an uncertain future as they struggle to stay afloat. Down in Kyoto, a city that’s usually weighed down by problems related to overtourism, merchants have even started an “empty” tourist campaign to encourage more people to visit the area.

While Ninja Castle relies on its foreign customers in the same way Kyoto does, it’s nice to see them acknowledge their customer base and proactively create a message to make them feel at ease. As they say, “the bad thing is the virus not you who come to Japan”. 

Coronavirus doesn’t discriminate, people do, so hopefully we see more of these welcome messages in the future as opposed to fear-based signs denying people entry to businesses solely on the basis of race.

Source: Twitter/@MAD_adnap 
Top image: Flickr/go.biwako
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