When non-Japanese people interact with Japanese people in Japan, they are bound to hear the word, “gaijin,” or the literal English translation, “foreigner.” To a Japanese person, the word, “foreigner” is used commonly to refer to anyone who is not Japanese. As a foreigner myself, I found this quote on this website very interesting.
Other people in the world may be outraged by the fact that the Japanese would be so disparaging towards people in other countries by lumping them all into one category. Coming from California, where there is an emphasis on ethnic and cultural diversity, the PC (politically correct) thing to do is to understand and embrace one another’s differences. However, ethnocentrism is not a phenomenon only in Japan but it is prevalent world wide. Even in my own circle of friends and acquaintances, there are many ethnocentric Chinese, Koreans, Canadians, Americans, and Japanese.
When speaking to Japanese people in English, in both casual and business situations, the word, “foreigner,” is used all the time. Sometimes it was used correctly, and most often, it was used incorrectly. In a business situation, such as a job interview, I would recommend Japanese English speakers to refrain from using “foreigner” and substitute it with another word that would better fit the sentence. And many times, the word, “foreigner,” has been used liked this: “I had a foreign boss and he was American.” This sentence can be simply put: “My supervisor was American.” Stating that your boss was a foreigner is totally unnecessary. It may also be offending especially if you had worked in the United States and called all your co-workers “foreigners.” When this word is used incorrectly, you may portray yourself as a bigot or an ignorant person. So please use extreme caution in the way you use this word！
JAPANTIMES has an article with two different opinions on the word, “gaijin.” Here is the link to the article.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/features/life2004/fl20041019zg.htm