To live abroad may bring excitement, knowledge and personal growth. However, it can also expose us to national stereotypes and issues concerning international relations. Japan and China are two countries that share a rich, complex history. Japan and China remain closely connected trade partners despite ongoing diplomatic tensions. What is it like to live as a Chinese person in Japan today?

The Japanese View of China

Japan and China have a long history of cultural, academic and political ties. Thriving business, growing tourism and a constant flow of goods have brought Japan and China closer. Japan-China relations have suffered due to a history of high-casualty wars and ongoing political disputes.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, public opinion of China in Japan remains largely negative, though it has shifted slightly in recent years. Favorability reached a low of 9% in 2020 but rose modestly to 13% in 2025. At the same time, unfavorable views remain high, with around 85% of respondents expressing a negative opinion.

Perceptions of China’s global role have shifted in recent years. Around 29% of Japanese respondents said China contributes to global peace and stability in 2024. This figure remained relatively stable into 2025. Confidence in China’s leadership, however, remains low. Only about 8% of respondents expressed confidence in President Xi Jinping’s global decision-making.

The negative view of China among the Japanese public has resulted in stereotypical images of Chinese people’s character and behavior.

Tianyu Zhao, a graduate student from Jiangsu Province, China, has noticed several stereotypes targeting Chinese people. She highlights the role of social class, noting that people often view wealthy and well-educated Chinese more positively, while they tend to stereotype those who are more vulnerable or visiting temporarily.

“For Japanese people who only know Chinese people who work part-time in convenience stores or who come to visit and buy many products in areas such as Ginza, the stereotype might be that Chinese people talk in a loud voice and are noisy, don’t flush toilets properly or that they are wealthy but bad-mannered,” she says. 

As for her own experience, Zhao remembers a class in literary theory at college:

“During the class discussion, the professor kept asking about the situation in China or my opinion as a Chinese person as if I was the representative of 1.4 billion people.”

“If I have some opinions, that is not because I am Chinese but because I am an independent individual who will not be defined only by my nationality. The professor didn’t ask other Japanese students about their opinions.”

Zhao doesn’t think of this particular situation as discrimination but rather as essentialism and a representation of a less-obvious nationalism. “It made me very uncomfortable.”

Cultural context

Bertie Coningsby, scholar in Chinese and Anthropology, confirms that there are some heavily negative stereotypes of Chinese people in Japan. He points out the contrast in how Japanese people tend to define China and Japan, respectively. Some Japanese people describe China as chaotic, loud and energetic. In contrast, they often describe Japan as clean, orderly and centered on politeness.

“It’s interesting to me as someone who has lived in China and Japan because each country, each place, each person has a completely different idea of what is right and wrong, what is socially acceptable and unacceptable.”

After living in Hong Kong, mainland China and Japan, Coningsby has noticed that the stereotypes of Chinese people that exist in Japan also occur within China itself. He illustrates this with the Chinese concept of suzhi. Suzhi (素质) refers to the moral quality of one’s character; how “civilized” one is. People who see themselves as having a higher moral standing often use the term suzhi to speak negatively about others.

Language as a key to social acceptance

Rasiki, a Chinese artist living in Tokyo for several years, mentions Japanese language skills as a key to being treated as an equal in Japan. “When I was new in Japan it often happened that I was treated differently because of being a foreigner. However, as my Japanese improved, those moments became fewer. Now it barely happens at all. To pick on the smaller one is something that is common, but if you’re strong it should not affect you too much.”

Rasiki says she has not experienced racism but notices that people view her differently from her white, foreign friends. “My white foreign friends are very popular among Japanese people.”

Media Coverage

One contributing factor to the creation of Japanese peoples’ impression of China can be traced to television. Media coverage, combined with limited direct contact with Chinese communities, can lead to misunderstandings. These conditions often reinforce simplified views.

Shuk-ting Kinnia Yau is an Associate Professor in the Department of Japanese Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her research focuses on transnational Asian film and depictions of WWII in visual media. In her latest research paper Yau highlights television as the main source of China-related information in Japan. Japanese TV dramas, variety shows and films also shape these impressions. Many people rely on media rather than direct experience. Only 3.5% of respondents reported having conversations with Chinese people, and just 1.5% had visited China.

Based on his research on Japan, China and WWII, Coningsby believes that the region’s violent war history continues to shape how people in both countries view each other.

“When I see China related media coverage in Japan it’s similar to the type of media coverage that is aired in other places of the world. It shows the images you expect to see: Big red communist slogans, Xi Jin Ping looking out over thousands of people; authoritarian images that may seem frightening to a lot of people.”

War history

Of the armed conflicts between Japan and China, the two Sino-Japanese wars, the later one in particular, are still fresh in the collective memory of both countries. Territorial disputes and competition over natural resources continue to shape tensions between the two countries, particularly in the East China Sea.

For a broader overview, see the Council on Foreign Relations’ analysis of China’s maritime disputes.

Bertie Coningsby is convinced that both former and current political disputes greatly hinder the building of healthy relations between the east-Asian neighbors.

“That (war) history has never been publicly opened up in a way that has allowed both countries to accept it on equal terms and move on. Especially Japan has never really publicly, on a diplomatic governmental level, dealt with what happened in the past.”

He adds that neither governments appear motivated to erase the resentment that still lingers against “the other.” Coningsby stresses that the resentment is less among the younger generations. Except for the fact that today’s youth never experienced the war themselves, one explanation to their rather positive view of each other may be the exchanging stream of pop-culture consumed.

Hope for the future

Rasiki describes the art scene as a safe sphere where she doesn’t have to fear unequal treatment. She expresses the hope that this sort of safe environment will eventually become reality for all people around the world.

“I wish for a loving society in which race and nationality will not stand in the way of mutual understanding and tolerance among people.”

Also read:

• So I Married a Japanese Man…and These Are the Questions I Get
• Does Japan Allow Dual Citizenship?
• Japan: The White Man’s Last Refuge?

Originally published in February 2025, and updated in April 2026 for accuracy.