What happens if a non-Japanese person (or maybe of mixed decent like half Japanese half caucasian etc) is born in Japan? Is he still a foreigner amongst the Japanese people? What about here in America? All those Japanese that emigrated from Japan. Should they still be seen as foreigners even though they have lived here for numerous years, speak English etc?
Yes, they would still be looked at as a foreigner no matter how long they lived in Japan, if they were born, or how well they speak Japanese. It doesn't have to be "Oh, that person is 100% foreign." As long as that person looks a tad bit different, a foreign connotation is applied to them. Please read this about being of half-descent (
http://www.hafujapanese.org/). I have a 4th grade student who is full Indian but was born to two parents who live and work in my city. He speaks Japanese with a obvious accent. He is accepted, have friends, and does well in school but, when I went into class, the teacher pointed out almost immediately that is is a foreigner despite being fluent in Japanese.
Comparing foreigners in America and Japan is technically impossible. That is because in America, there are so many diverse cultures and generations of these immigrated cultures where as in Japan, it is still predominately Japanese. A lot of the Asian countries (South Korea and Japan especially) still have a predominately homogeneous population. In America, asking someone's descendants is a common question. I'm part Irish and German or I am part Native American, English, and Dutch, etc.
In Japan, they say "Oh, my family is from the Kyoto prefecture". They are Japanese and only Japanese and only relate to Japan. In fact, when I say "I am part German, Italian, and Japanese", people say I am very American because I have so many nationalities. In Japan, being of mixed blood is still a huge minority, often overlooked, and at times, discriminated against.
So, to answer your question: No, Japanese and descendants from Japan (unless newly emigrating from Japan), should not be seen as a foreigners because they aren't. America is a very internationalized and diverse country with many different types of people therefore it is hard to draw that lines between being American and being a foreigner. And technically, all Americans are foreigners if you think about it
However, in a country like Japan that is predominately Japanese in ethnicity, you are a foreigner even if you look somewhat Japanese. It even applies to people who are actually Japanese but look a bit foreign. This is because Japan being such a homogenius population.
And sadly, there is racism/discrimination thrown along with it.
As well, this is for a different topic and, if people are interested, we can talk about it in another thread.