French and Japanese users are beefing on X: What sparked the clash, explained

How the online clash began

Unrest in Paris has been fueled by frustration over rising living costs and struggling public services, with rioting and looting also reported in the streets. The Straw Hat Jolly Roger, a symbol associated with rebellion in the anime One Piece, has appeared at demonstrations in several countries, including Indonesia and Nepal.

Some Japanese X users connected France’s unrest to Black and Arab immigrants, using slurs and imagery linked to monkeys or the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The posts echoed anti-immigration arguments circulated by right-wing figures in Europe and the United States; the article also describes the protests as being about underfunded schools.

Replies target Japanese men

The exchange began with Japanese users attacking Black people, but the French replies also included racist material. The article cautions that these posts are no better than the attacks they answer, and that national stereotypes are not a fair critique.

Idealized images meet reality

Idealized images can leave out difficult realities. Japan is often viewed by Western audiences as polite, safe and quirky, while debates over immigration and foreign workers, a serious overwork problem, its justice system and contested wartime history receive less attention.

Sanseito won 14 seats on a “Japanese First” platform, and Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide in February while taking a tougher line on immigration. A Stanford survey found opposition to bringing in foreign workers had reached about 53 percent that month, roughly 17 percentage points above its 2022 level.