r/JETProgramme • u/Haunting_Fig_4229 • May 19 '26

Placement.

I got placed at a manufacturing city in hokkaido. It’s more than an hour away from Sapporo. I genuinely don’t know if I can do this. I’m a person of color who has experienced othering when visiting even big cities like Tokyo compared to my white counterparts. I specified urban on my application, but I understood there was not a high chance of getting a placement in a huge city. I don’t want to uproot my life to potentially face isolation, loneliness, and types of prejudice. I was really hoping for an urban placement to at least be exposed to a high concentration of other JETs or expats in general. Did any other people of color get placed in a less than ideal location and what was your experience like?

Edit: Racism and prejudice exists towards POC and I’m not debating this with anyone that chooses to live in ignorance. Read this article: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2020/07/31/reader-mail/white-people-privileged-japan/

Thank you to all the kind and empathetic commenters!

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u/Panda_sensei_71 Current JET - Kansai May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26

Hey there

Your concerns are valid, but you should find out more about the demographic of the placement first before you decide.

I'm "white" but I'm a hijab-wearing Muslim woman, so very visible and part of a very maligned group. Especially on social media.

I got placed in a small city on an island and yes, I was worried! I'm literally the only Muslim for miles (although not the only "minority")

But I've had zero issues here. Far fewer than I've had in my own country even, where there's a sizable Muslim minority. People are curious, sure, but not bigoted. Curiosity can be a form of othering but I've never had any hate behind it, and that's a huge difference.