As a Japanese person born and raised in Hawaii, having been to Japan many times, it is one of my favorite places to go for many of the reasons being presented by Jimmy (a person I cannot stand btw).
That being said, there is no ethnicity that does not have racist ideology. Have Japan’s government kept it from becoming more diverse? Sure.
Is it just to call that “racism” or “xenophobic” as a whole? I disagree. I think those characteristics are defined more by the actions of the people and less by federal policy.
There is absolutely some Japanese whom are racist, but because of honor and respect, you will never know they are racist towards you. Considering this, can they still be considered racist?
PS. I don’t look Japanese.