Rude behavior does not have a nationality

On Friday, when a Japanese brand launched its new clothing line, there was chaos at one of its branches in Nagoya. As some videos that went viral show, people did not stand in line, some glass panes were broken and shop windows vandalized.

Someone's comment on a social networking site, saying he thought this was happening in China before realizing it was in Japan, got the maximum likes. Others asked if some of those standing in line were foreign dealers buying in order to resell.

In contrast, there was no chaos as Chinese customers stood in line for the same brand's launch in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province.

Mainstream media outlets in Japan, that had a field day some years ago while reporting on Chinese consumers rushing to buy Japanese closet covers and rice cookers in Japan, were conspicuous by their silence this time. Only one local website and television channel in Japan mentioned it in passing.

Most overseas media outlets never tire of finding fault with Chinese people, painting Chinese consumers as a rude, noisy lot that does not honor lines.

Sure, some Chinese tourists overseas might have jumped the line or broken rules, but singling them out in media reports sometimes amounts to discriminating against an entire nation.

However, the Nagoya incident shows that such things happen with consumers in other countries, too. Worse, this happened at a time when Japan is facing the risks of a second wave of the novel coronavirus infections.

Some Japanese users on social networking sites actually asked why people always blame the Chinese, when similar incidents have now taken place in Japan.

Our intention is not to use this incident to demonize the Japanese, but some media outlets should reflect on what they reported in the past.