HI Peter,
Not sure I can answer that in a satisfactory way.
There are a number of non-white English teachers so it is possible to get work although in certain sectors they would I suspect love every teacher to be blue eyed and blonde haired.
However, my Boss is Iranian American. Grew up in Iran. But he is doing pretty well for himself.
I asked an African American teacher once, what the difference was in racism in Japan and racism in America. She believed in Japan, racists are open and just plain ignorant rather than out right malicious, whilst in America, her home country, when they are racist they are a bit more sneaky and devious about it.
I would also say racism is probably prevalent more among the older generation. In my experience all the angry looks and stares I get come from men over the age of 50 years old. The younger genration don`t really seem to care.
The thing with Japan is people live in densely populated areas. A 5 or 10km area of Melbourne is probably crammed into a 1km area in Tokyo. It is pretty much guaranteed that there will be one crazy guy in your neighbourhood or on your train. Every once in a while you are bound to meet him.
Regards
Jason
jamaby.com