Okubo Bar, an Italian dining establishment near Tokyo’s famous Koreatown in Shin-Okubo, recently caused huge controversy by sharing an image online of the shop’s entrance with the declaration that it wouldn’t be serving Chinese or Korean customers. According to the proprietor, people from China and Korea have been unpleasant when visiting the store in the past, so those nationalities are now prohibited from entering. In a separate post, the restaurant owner wrote, “If you don’t spend money and have a bad attitude you’ll be banned. The Koreans who came today are out because it was their second time.”
Disgust at the Restaurant’s Decision
Unsurprisingly, the restaurant’s posts sparked quite a reaction on X, with many outraged by them. “I am Japanese, but I would never go to a discriminatory store that refuses entry to people because of their nationality or ethnicity,” wrote one user. “I think that not respecting diversity or being tolerant is just a sign of stubbornness and a twisted personality. There is absolutely no justification for a business to blatantly discriminate against its customers and spread discrimination,” posted another. Someone else wrote, “If Asians see this, they will be scared to enter. Decent Westerners will hesitate, and in the end, some of the regulars will be disgusted.”
Support for the Restaurant
There have been messages of support for the restaurant, though, with several people writing that they would now like to go there. Others stated that the establishment is within its rights to ban people it doesn’t want to serve. “Just as customers have the right to choose a restaurant, restaurants have a right to choose customers,” posted one user. Another wrote, “I think it’s important to protect the store.” There were similar responses earlier this year when a shrine in Tsushima put up a sign saying Koreans were banned from entering following a string of complaints.
