The only time in Japan I can remember being turned away from a restaurant or shop because of being a foreigner was one night, back in the mid-90′s when I tried to get into a strip club in Mishima, Shizuoka. It didn’t matter really, because the tuxedoed doorman at the club next door tried to entice me into his place, but my nerves were shot I and went back to the Yokohama Tire dormitory where I was spending the week.

While foreigners in Korea have their own problems, at least they have a red light district to call their own. BootsnAll Travel’s Conor Purcell provides a graphic description of Seoul nightlife, focussing especially on the seedy Itaewon area that caters especially to foreigners who are looking for sex:

On any given weekend, from dusk to dawn and beyond, you will see parading US GI’s, Russian pimps, drunk Arabs, wasted Koreans and zombie-like English teachers swarming the main thoroughfare, all in the pursuit of pleasure. Violence is as frequent as it is unavoidable. The irresistible mixture of sex, testosterone and alcohol fuels a tense undercurrent that runs through Itaewon once the sun goes down.

Most of the action is centered around ‘Hooker Hill’, which, predictably enough is not somewhere for that Sunday afternoon family stroll. No, Hooker Hill is the main red light district in Seoul catering for Westerners, mainly US servicemen. Walking up the hill once the sun goes down is a trying experience. Heavily made up Korean whores literally try and drag you into their ‘bars’. Shouting things like “You want play?”, “Me want talk to you…two minute…come on baby…”

Getting back to Japan, the Foreign Correspondants Club of Tokyo has posted a number of articles in its No. 1 Shimbun section. While one article documents a press conference with the Japanese Society for Textbook Reform, there are other interesting posts as well, including one about why war criminals are victims too:

It is said that Japan surrendered unconditionally — I myself learned so at school. But Japan surrendered by accepting the Potsdam Declaration. “Unconditionally” meant that troops in the front line would “disarm with no conditions.” Counsel Kiyose pointed out that the Allied forces should have observed the clauses of the declaration, which doesn’t mention punishing “class- A war criminals” for crimes against peace — something not stipulated in international law. It is obvious, therefore, that the Allies did not have the authority to punish “class-A war criminals.” Nor did General MacArthur, who was appointed supreme commander for the Allied powers.

Other weekend reading: Earlier this spring, the Globe and Mail ran a series of articles (registration required) about “the Japanese recovery.” While this theme has been done many, many times before over the last decade, the series is still worth reading.

In a story titled Juggling Tension and TradeLeo Lewis says:

Tokyo and Beijing may not always see eye to eye, but managers in both countries have at least agreed on one thing — that it is a profound mistake to view the future relationship as a zero-sum game.

Japan’s recovery from long years of slump is coming because so much of what Japanese industry does well complements China’s staggering growth. As China’s middle classes splash out as consumers, Japan is ready to sell them high-end electronics. As China’s industry and constructors demand better and better components, machines and materials, Japan is perfectly placed to turn on the taps.