I wouldn't call Japan a country of racists... no, not hardly... but holy shit are the black vans frightening.

The black vans drive around at a ridiculously sluggish pace through the most crowded areas of Tokyo. The black vans never travel alone. The black vans are dark, loud, imposing and unbelievable.

I had heard about the black vans.

They spout incredibly loud rhetoric through roof mounted megaphones, blasting their propaganda at everyone within hearing radius--usually about a mile. Their goal is the same goal common of every nationalist party the world over: remove the Gaijins! That is, kick out the foreigners.

Since the vans are easily heard, I became well aware that they were in the area long before I was able to spot them; but when their caravan finally rounded the corner in Harajuku, I nearly fell over from the deafening force of their speakers. I was terrified. They wanted all foreigners dead.

But I still maneuvered close enough to snap about a dozen photos.

I don't really have anything profound to say, other than that the almost completely homogenous Japanese society puts up with their constant harassment with little resistance.

I wonder how the United States would react to something like that in downtown New York?