# "Jap" Offensive/inoffensive Term.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [December 3, 2007, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628 "2007-12-03T05:32:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/1 "2007-12-03T05:32:01Z")
In [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=446182) locked thread about national nicknames it was said that the term Jap is offensive. I think it might have come up before on this board but in Ireland the term isn’t considered offensive (sign near my house “Jap Cars For Sale”. Anyway, [This](http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage/2007/1201/1196375108237.html) obituary from Saturday’s Irish Times mourns the loss of “Matt The Jap”, Matteo (Masahiso) Matubara, who was a former student of and character around Dublin’s Trinity College.
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### Author:  [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/2 "2007-12-03T05:47:35Z")
To me the term itself is neutral because it’s just an abbreviation. Here in the US it’s associated with racist World War II propaganda, so it’s considered offensive. I wouldn’t use it.
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### Author:  [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/3 "2007-12-03T05:58:54Z")
Wow. It’s so weird to see that term used so casually.
I’ve taken a lot of classes on Asian American literature and as a result have read a lot about how the Japanese were portrayed (and mistreated) during WWII. Pretty nasty stuff. So for me the term is most definitely offensive; on par with calling someone a chink or a gook. I would never refer to anyone as a Jap.
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### Author:  [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/4 "2007-12-03T06:05:55Z")
It’s considered racist by Americans of Japanese descent, and by most Americans in general. I remember the thread being a long pissing match, with a particular Englishman being rather adamant about the fact that it was not. I came to the conclusion that you have to consider the culture you are in when using racial terms. This being a primarily American message board, I’d say that it’s probably not the best idea to use the term. I do recall doing a double take when seeing an advert for “Jap bikes parts” in Australia, but realized that the term is not considered racist there.
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### Author:  [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/5 "2007-12-03T06:40:26Z")
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict]
I do recall doing a double take when seeing an advert for “Jap bikes parts” in Australia, but realized that the term is not considered racist there.
[/QUOTE]
I’m not completely sure about that. While i think it’s probably not considered quite as offensive in Australia as it is in the US, i don’t know too many people who would use the word.
Also, where it’s used as a shortened adjective to refer to inanimate objects (e.g., Jap Bike Parts), most people probably don’t take too much issue with it. But it would be much more unusual and offensive to hear it used to refer to a person, or to Japanese people in general.
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/6 "2007-12-03T07:07:21Z")
[QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee]
Wow. It’s so weird to see that term used so casually.
I’ve taken a lot of classes on Asian American literature and as a result have read a lot about how the Japanese were portrayed (and mistreated) during WWII. Pretty nasty stuff. . . .
[/QUOTE]
–and \*before \*WWII. In fact, anti-Japanese racism in America was one of the factors that fanned the flames leading up to the conflagration that was Pearl Harbor. One of many, of course. I’m just sayin.
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### Author:  [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/7 "2007-12-03T07:14:09Z")
“Jap” isn’t often heard or used in NZ these days – but it is still there. Mainly in tandem with the word “bloody” as used by war veterans in our returned servicemen’s clubs. Even those having a go at drivers from that part of the world tend to use the term “Asians” here in Auckland, rather than “Japs” – mainly because the Chinese seem to be more to the forefront here, and using a generic term is just easier when you’re annoyed with someone.
To me, “Jap” is an anachronism. I associated with WWII media and histories. Today, they’re Japanese. To me it isn’t offensive – just out of date – but I do recognise that it is offensive to others. It isn’t a term I’d use in general conversation though.
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### Author:  [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/8 "2007-12-03T07:14:24Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo]
I’m not completely sure about that. While i think it’s probably not considered quite as offensive in Australia as it is in the US, i don’t know too many people who would use the word.
Also, where it’s used as a shortened adjective to refer to inanimate objects (e.g., Jap Bike Parts), most people probably don’t take too much issue with it. But it would be much more unusual and offensive to hear it used to refer to a person, or to Japanese people in general.
[/QUOTE]
In my experience, due to the negative racist connotation about people, it is not used as an adjective describing Japanese manufactured items, at least in the circles I travel in.
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### Author:  [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/9 "2007-12-03T07:18:08Z")
“Jap” was a derogatory term used in America during WWII. We’re pretty nervous as a society about people figuring out just how bad we were to Japanese-Americans during that time, so we try not to remind ourselves of it by using that word.
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/10 "2007-12-03T07:20:44Z")
Just by way of [illustration](http://www.authentichistory.com/ww2/music/19420218_Were_Gonna_Have_To_Slap_The_Dirty_Little_Jap-Lucky_Millinder.html).
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### Author:  [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/11 "2007-12-03T07:42:24Z")
It’s used a lot in Ireland in an innocent manner, and took me by surprise when I moved there, as it’s rarely used in the UK. This might be explicable because Ireland wasn’t involved in WWII, and the volume of people returning from the far east with negative associations with the word was minimal.
(Also the word “sambo” means “sandwich” in Ireland, whereas in the UK that is a racist word for a black person - imagine my amusement when I saw an ad for O’Briens Sandwiches on a bus stop that said “SAMBOS BUILT LIKE RAMBO”.)
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### Author:  [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/12 "2007-12-03T08:16:27Z")
Here on the US West Coast, I’d be shocked to see even a sign saying “Jap Bike Parts”. Granted, I grew up in a very liberal town, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard that word used in a non-offensive context. It’s interesting that there are English-speaking places where it can be used non-offensively, I had no idea. Ignorance fought, though I don’t think I’ll be changing my vernacular anytime soon.
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### Author:  [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/13 "2007-12-03T09:36:32Z")
I’ve always understood it as a racist term, coming from the US. I wish it weren’t however, the same way I wish “Paki” weren’t racist. We have so many abbreviations for things, yet I can’t think of a single ethnicity that people abbreviate. I really wish there were an abbreviation for “American.” 4 syllables is just too damn many. I’ve seen 'merkin on these boards, but not only does that make me think of something entirely different, has anyone actually used that term orally? All in all, “Japanese” isn’t so bad at 3 syllables, but lots of other countries have only 2 (or fewer): German, English, Irish, French, Scottish, Welsh, even 'talian sounds ok to my ear. And I never mind the extra syllables on Canuckistanian.
I dunno, I’ve taken to shortening Japanese to J. Anyone heard of any instances of that being racist?
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### Author:  [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/14 "2007-12-03T09:38:44Z")
[QUOTE=lissener]
Just by way of [illustration](http://www.authentichistory.com/ww2/music/19420218_Were_Gonna_Have_To_Slap_The_Dirty_Little_Jap-Lucky_Millinder.html).
[/QUOTE]
“Their alibi for fighting is to save their face
For ancestors waiting in celestial space”
Dig it!
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### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/15 "2007-12-03T09:53:00Z")
Doesn’t the “-stan” suffix in a country name signify “-country”, as in “Turkmenistan”, “Turkmeni country”? That would make Canuckistani a redundancy (and, I suppose, Pakistani too).
Open to correction here…
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### Author:  [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/16 "2007-12-03T10:46:56Z")
I’d never heard of the term being considered “Offensive” until I joined the boards; cars from Japan were all known as “Jap Imports” when I lived in NZ, and the term “Jap” was just an abbreviation of “Japanese”. It’s certainly not an “Offensive” word here in the traditional sense- but, then again, I do live in Queensland (unofficial motto: _Speak English or get the fuck out_), so it’s probably best not to try and extrapolate too much on the word’s offensiveness level here in Australia based on that…
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### Author:  [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/17 "2007-12-03T11:27:20Z")
I’d never considered it offensive, prior to joining the SDMB. Although, Wigan is hardly a multicultural sort of place.
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### Author:  [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/18 "2007-12-03T11:30:25Z")
In the US, Jap and Nip were both abbreviations and definately racist. My father, a WW2 Pacific Theater combat vet, used both and not in a nice way. (He also was very clear to use “Japanese” around his friends of Japanese descent. Although when he visited me in Tokyo about 12 years ago, someone bumped into him on the subway and he said in a very loud voice to me "I used to shoot Japs like that in the war. :o )
In the US, it’s not commonly used as a neutral dimunitive. It’s too bad because it is a pretty useful abbreviation if there was no baggage. People use J-town as a demunitive for Japan town in the Bay Area.
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### Author:  [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/19 "2007-12-03T11:40:47Z")
Definitely offensive.
(Daughter of Japanese man interned in WWII, in the British Columbia interior)
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### Author:  [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2007, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jap-offensive-inoffensive-term/428628/20 "2007-12-03T12:25:10Z")
[QUOTE=China Guy]
In the US, it’s not commonly used as a neutral dimunitive. It’s too bad because it is a pretty useful abbreviation if there was no baggage. People use J-town as a demunitive for Japan town in the Bay Area.
[/QUOTE]
So you’ve heard “J” and feel that it’s ok?
ETA: Sorry, I guess that could be taken as mildly combative, which wasn’t my intention. I was just wondering if in the circle you are aware of, “J” as an abbreviation is acceptable.
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