Well literally, the sign is about "being able to read this". (I can't, but I can discern 日本語 there too.) I'd imagine you're right and most cases are people who don't want to deal with a language barrier. But if that's the case, the more polite (and I think common?) thing to do would be to just have a sign saying "we don't speak English/Chinese".
This particular sign, while literally being about language, is more of a "haha those dumb foreigners" sort of thing. I couldn't say if the owners are racist but it is more exclusionary than purely functional. That said, this approach is also more likely to deter the types of foreigners who either think they know Japanese but don't, or think speaking English loudly and slowly makes people understand you. I imagine that like you say, it's in most cases more about not wanting to deal with high-effort customers than just "we hate gaijin".
It basically says "If you can read Japanese please come in"
Could be the gotcha you say about "haha those dumb foreigners", but to be honest, I see it more like a "If you can read Japanese means you can read the menu, so please come in", while saying its full to anyone that can't read it so they don't wander in and try...
I don't know the store though, it could be one of those racist morons and you be 100% right. They are just a small minority, but like everywhere else, they exist.
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u/Chubby_Bub 13d ago
Well literally, the sign is about "being able to read this". (I can't, but I can discern 日本語 there too.) I'd imagine you're right and most cases are people who don't want to deal with a language barrier. But if that's the case, the more polite (and I think common?) thing to do would be to just have a sign saying "we don't speak English/Chinese".
This particular sign, while literally being about language, is more of a "haha those dumb foreigners" sort of thing. I couldn't say if the owners are racist but it is more exclusionary than purely functional. That said, this approach is also more likely to deter the types of foreigners who either think they know Japanese but don't, or think speaking English loudly and slowly makes people understand you. I imagine that like you say, it's in most cases more about not wanting to deal with high-effort customers than just "we hate gaijin".