Nankai conductor apologizes for the presence of “foreigners” on a commuter train. The main caption reads, “This was the first time this has happened and was not intended to be discriminatory.” Image widely shared on social media. Earlier in October, a private railway company in western Japan came under fire after one its employees apologized for the presence of “foreigners” on a train. The incident was widely reported in Japanese media, providing insights about how non-Japanese residents and visitors are perceived. According to the Japanese news agency Kyodo, a conductor on a Nankai Electric Railway train traveling from downtown Osaka to Kansai International airport apologized in Japanese over the train's intercom about the number of “foreigners” on the train. Later, a Japanese passenger reportedly complained about the incident to Nankai. The company then made a public apology and reprimanded the train conductor. The incident was widely discussed on social media and in the mainstream media. While some were upset with the announcement itself, others were taken aback with how the media reported on the incident. Nankai train conductor chided after apologizing for presence of non-Japanese passengers https://t.co/BJRdDoVxAa — The Japan Times (@japantimes) October 11, 2016 One Twitter user was on the train when the incident took place, and may be the one responsible for attracting the public's attention. 南海電鉄空港行き急行なう、なんだが「日本人の乗客の皆様にお詫び申し上げます」って車内アナウンス。なんだろう？と思ったら 「本日は多数の外人の（外国人じゃなくガイジンって言った）お客様にお乗りいただいており、大変ご迷惑をおかけしております」 って本当に意味がわからなくて激怒してる。 — ちえぞう (@tchiezinha) October 10, 2016 I'm on the Nankai express train bound for Kansai International Airport, and I just heard announcement (over the intercom) say, “We would like to offer an apology to all of our Japanese passengers.” “What could it be?” I wondered to myself. “Since there are large numbers of “gaijin” (he didn't use a more polite word for “foreigners,” but said “gaijin”) we would like to sincerely apologize to everyone for the inconvenience.” I felt really angry since I couldn't figure out what the announcement was intended to communicate. In Japan, using the term gaijin (外人) to refer to non-Japanese people or “foreigners” is considered extremely rude, and even discriminatory. Gaijin literally means “outsider,” and the term gaikokujin (外国人) is generally used instead. Apologizing for the presence of non-Japanese people on a train is extremely unusual and perplexing. The Twitter user @tchiezinha immediately complained to Nankai Railway: 南海電鉄へ質問メール送った。もちろん回答必要にして。降りたら抗議する。 https://t.co/PEF5ZIiGAy — ちえぞう (@tchiezinha) October 10, 2016 I've just emailed Nankai with a question (about the announcement). I've also stated that I expect them to reply. When I get off the train I'm going to lodge a complaint. She then learned that the conductor made the announcement “after he heard a Japanese rider say in a loud voice, ‘There are too many foreigners and they are annoying.'” 抗議の電話をしてくれた友人より報告がありました。外国人観光客の荷物を「邪魔だ！」と蹴った人を見かけ、なんとかしなきゃと思ってのアナウンスだったと本人も認めたそう。本人のみならず会社全体にも二度とこのようなことはしてはいけないと指導します、とのこと。素早い対応に感謝します。 https://t.co/ekrzBHstYq — ちえぞう (@tchiezinha) October 10, 2016 A friend, who phoned in a complaint on my behalf has given me an update. The conductor explained that he made the announcement after observing a Japanese passenger gripe that suitcases and luggage brought on the carriage by (presumably) foreign tourists were “in the way.” Nankai said that both the employee and the company itself would see to it that such an announcement would never happen again. I'm really thankful there was such a prompt response. The incident didn't stop with the apology by Nankai Railway. The Japanese media's handling of this story also provoked discussions online. When reporting on the incident, Morning Show, a daily cable program, used rather unflattering images of “foreigners” in its graphic. In those images (see the featured image above), the mountains of luggage that sparked the incident were nowhere to be seen. Instead, a lone Japanese woman is surrounded on the train by several evil-looking foreigners. The Morning Show commentators, one of whom is Hatori Shin'ichi, a “shock jock” personality who has made controversial comments about ethnic Koreans in the past, also seemed to reinforce negative stereotypes about “foreigners on trains.” Twitter user C.R.A.C. noted: #モーニングショー 玉川さんの発言も羽鳥さんの発言も「外国人はうるさい」がなぜか事実認定済の前提になっており、それこそがまず問題だと思うのですがこの絵はさらにダメ。こないだの「受け手が差別と感じたら差別」も併せもう少し頑張ってほしい。pic.twitter.com/FMMX6CPqhT — C.R.A.C.