Along with globalization, immigration has become a big issue in many countries. In Japan, the population perceives itself to be racially homogenous, therefore government policy has been resistant to accepting immigrants. The government has accepted only foreigners who possess the specific skills needed by Japan and been hesitant to issue working visas to laborers. However, as there were labor shortages during Japan’s period of accelerated economic growth in the 1980s, the reality was that unskilled workers were allowed into the country under various pretexts. In those days the term “gaijin,” an abbreviation of “gaikokujin” was commonly used by Japanese people. Some people, mainly foreigners of non-Western descent, caused a stir by claiming that the use of this term was discriminatory. There is some historical background to their reasons for feeling discriminated against. As an island nation, the Japanese have aspired to emulate developed countries and as such were keen to adopt their culture and technology. In ancient times, these countries were China and in modern times, Western nations. Japanese people respectfully made contact with people from these nations. The reason that Western personalities and models are more often used in TV and magazine commercials is due to this fact. Most Japanese people have a tendency to lump people, say Americans, the French and Indians, all together as gaikokujin (foreigners). However, they commonly call people from neighboring countries by the name of their country with the suffix jin (person) added after, for instance, Chuugokujin (Chinese) and Kankokujin (Korean). And it is true that some Japanese looked down on laborers from Asia and the Middle East. These Japanese attitudes may be a factor in why non-Westerners, including Asians, feel discriminated against. Though not many people are aware of this, Japan submitted the world’s first racial equality proposal to the International League in 1919. At that time many nations supported this, but it was not adopted due to opposition from powerful nations that were propped up by a system that exploited the weak. Many feelings of discrimination against foreigners are created by the era, social structures, cultural differences, and national character. At present, rapid economic growth is underway in Asia and other developing countries. Discrimination against citizens from these countries seems to be gradually disappearing, not only in Japan, but in other nations.