Japanese man unleashes at Australian tourists
A Japanese man has angrily confronted an Australian woman he said was ignoring smoking rules at a ski resort, prompting her male partner to step in and threaten the local.
Video of the confrontation was posted on social media on Tuesday and showed a woman on the slopes, smoking a cigarette and holding a can of beer.
The Japanese man approached her and said: 'Don't smoke, it's not polite.'
She said 'oh, sorry', but that inflamed the man further and he didn't accept the apology.
'Sorry?' he yelled back.
The woman maintained she didn't mean to light up in a non-smoking area.
'I beg your pardon, I did not know,' she snapped back.
As the local man got closer to the woman, her male companion stepped in to protect her.
'Don't yell at her. Don't yell at her, she didn't know,' he said.
'Didn't know?' the Japanese man asked in a stunned voice.
'No, it's her first time,' the Aussie said.
The woman stormed off muttering: 'F*****g crazy, man.'
'What, what?' he replied as her walked back over to her.
Her male companion stepped in again and said: 'You're going to touch her, I'll knock you out. You don't talk to women like that.'
The Japanese man was still enraged by the woman's actions, telling her how things were done a the ski resort.
'Look…you don't smoke, a***holes,' he said.
To get his point across the man ignored local cultural etiquette of avoiding talking too much or interrupting others.
An important concept in Japan is omotenashi, or 'hospitality', where locals are thoughtful and considerate of others so they can anticipate the needs of their guests and adjust accordingly.
Despite his temper, many Aussies on social media mostly backed the Japanese man's stern words.
'As an Australian who's lived in Japan for years, the locals get pretty sick of our s**t when we break rules and act rudely,' one posted.
'When I first started travelling in the early 2010s, everyone I'd meet would be so excited to meet an Australian, but as it got closer to 2020, I'd hear more and more stories about crappy Aussie tourists causing trouble abroad. Sadly, we're getting the reputation we had in Bali worldwide now,' another said.
A fourth added: 'I'm 99 per cent sure this is the Oakley lookout at the Happo One Resort in Hakuba.
'If so, there are clear signs that smoking is only allowed for 'heated tobacco' and that's in the smoking rooms. It's well known that smoking in public is not allowed in Japan.'
Another said: 'She's in the wrong for smoking, and visiting Japan it's very clear you can't just smoke anywhere so she probably knew she was in the wrong' but argued "he was way too aggressive in his approach, and should have left it after she apologised".'
Japan has implemented stricter laws regarding smoking in recent years, including a near-complete ban on indoor smoking in most public places.
'I don't smoke but when I went to Japan I did notice how clearly smoking and non-smoking areas are signed, in both Japanese and English. This is absolutely deliberate ignorance on the tourists' part,' one Aussie said.
'Let's be real, he's probably aggro from having to deal with a million clueless bogans going to Japan and f*****g things up (intentionally or unintentionally) every day,' another posted.
Surging tourist numbers in Japan post-Covid have triggered a backlash from locals.
'Many people are absolutely fed up here with tourists,' an Australian living in Japan said.
'Thing is, Japan doesn't really need tourism, yet it's so popular and brings in a lot of cash to their economy so it works out well,' they said.
'But over-tourism here is a massive issue, it's at the point where it's affecting everyday people in Japanese society.'
From January to September 2024, there were record-breaking 637,300 Australian visitors to Japan, marking a 42 per cent rise compared to the same period in 2019, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation.
In an effort to combat overtourism, the Japanese government introduced Comprehensive Measures for the Prevention and Mitigation of Overtourism last year.
'We strongly encourage Australians to consider lesser-known destinations, as well as look at shoulder travel seasons, such as autumn, as well as Japan's summer — known locally as the 'green season' where the country's rural and regional areas really come into their own,' Naoki Kitazawa, executive director of JNTO's Australian office, said.
The initiative targets excessive crowding, promotes responsible visitor behavior, encourages regional tourism, and strengthens cooperation with local communities.
'Overtourism can trigger social tensions, evidenced by situations such as in Kyoto, where residents may feel marginalised in their own city, leading to conflicts and a breakdown of community cohesion,' Olesia Silanteva from the University of Tsukuba said.
