Slang Expression #2 - FWG (Flying While Gaijin)
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The introduction to this series of articles can be found here
Definition: Being on the receiving end of extra-diligent inspection from Japanese Customs Officials on account of being non-Japanese
Example sentence: “I was lucky to avoid the full body cavity search bearing in mind I was FWG”
Related expressions: RWG - Riding While Gaijin
Explanation: Last month I came back to Japan from an overseas trip only to receive my usual welcome from Kansai Airport’s Customs officials. Every time I’ve entered Japan through that airport I’ve had my bag searched, apart from the one time I was travelling with a Japanese friend. On that occasion the Customs Official quizzed us about where we’d been, how long we’d known each other and how we met for what seemed like ages, until finally - clearly desperate to search my bags but unwilling to offend my Japanese travel companion - he allowed us through.
Of course, the Kansai Airport staff I’ve encountered have always been polite and courteous when I’ve been searched but I can’t help but feel that I’ve been the victim of racial profiling, especially since I’ve never seen any Japanese passengers being searched. The only reason I’ve been searched, it appears to me, is because I was ‘FWG’ - ‘Flying While Gaijin‘.
The expression ‘FWG’ is derived from ‘DWB’ (Driving While Black), African American slang used to describe the frequent instances where police officers stop Black drivers for no other reason than they suspect them of being more likely to be criminals than White drivers. From this comes ‘FWM’ (Flying While Muslim) - which describes the suspicion of Muslim aeroplane passengers of being terrorists that has become commonplace since 9/11 - and subsequently FWG, referring to non-Japanese aeroplane passengers flying to Japan.
In the Post-9/11 climate of fear, people of all developed nations have become more suspicious of ‘outsiders’, and perhaps it’s even more natural for this to occur in a country as homogenous as Japan. After several years of using Kansai Airport I’m now used to the idea of FWG (in fact, maybe it’s the anticipation of being searched that makes me more self-conscious and therefore more suspicious-looking) but I’ve continued to wonder what exactly it is these customs officials are looking for.
Maybe it’s WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction), maybe it’s illegal drugs or perhaps it’s simply because they think foreigners have a tendency to break the rules and are therefore more likely to exceed their duty free allowance? Before flying out of Japan on my last trip, I had some time to kill in the Departures area of Kansai Airport and stumbled across a room filled with information and displays detailing some of the things (other than skin colour that is!) that Japanese Customs Officials are looking for, some of which were quite interesting:
An ivory dildo and other products made from endangered animals are among the contraband seized at the airport.
Unsurprisingly, illegal drugs are high on the list of priorities for Customs inspections.
Look more closely at the display though and you’ll see two Vick’s inhalers! Apparently anyone with enough chemistry knowledge can transform the chemicals in one of these into speed, meaning that if you are caught bringing them into Japan you could technically do jail time!