Jap

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For other uses, see JAP.

The term Jap is used in English as an abbreviation of the word "Japanese." Today it is usually used as an ethnic slur, though English speaking countries differ in the degree they consider the term offensive. Most people of Japanese descent in these countries consider it offensive.

In Japanese dictionaries, the term Jap is only defined as a disparaging term used against the Japanese people^{[citation needed]}; this is also the case in many English language dictionaries.^[1] In the United States and Canada, the term is now considered derogatory; Webster's Dictionary notes it is "usually disparaging."^[2] In the United Kingdom it is considered derogatory, and the Oxford dictionary defines it as offensive.^[3] In the past the term was not considered primarily offensive, for example the Boondocks Road in Jefferson County, Texas was originally named "Jap Road" when it was built in 1905 to honor a popular local rice farmer from Japan.^[4]

Meanwhile, in Singapore the term is used freely as a contraction of the adjective "Japanese"^[5]. In Japan itself, most Japanese are apathetic about the term^[6], and JAP.COM used to be run by Japanese^[7].

The three-letter and two-letter international country code (ISO 3166) for Japan, JPN and JP, are also commonly used for the abbreviation of Japan.

1 Wartime slur
2 Actions of civil rights groups
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Wartime slur

Image:JAPS QUIT.jpg

Newspaper headlines announcing Japanese surrender in World War II

The first recorded use of Jap was in 1860 to refer to members of the Japanese embassy in the United States. It was later popularized during World War II to describe those of Japanese descent, and was then commonly used in newspaper headlines to refer to the Japanese and Imperial Japan.

"Jap" was a derogatory term during the war, more so than "Nip."^[8] Some in the United States Marine Corps also tried to combine the word "Japs" with "Apes" to create a new description, "Japes", for the Japanese. However, this new word never became popular.^[8] Veteran and author Paul Fussell explains the usefulness of the word during the war for creating effective propaganda by saying that "Japs" "was a brisk monosyllable handy for slogans like "Rap the Jap" or "Let's Blast the Jap Clean Off the Map."^[8]

[edit] Actions of civil rights groups

In Texas, under pressure from civil rights groups, Jefferson County commissioners in 2004 decided to drop the name "Jap Road" from a 4.3-mile road near the city of Beaumont. The road was originally named Jap Road in 1905 in honor of a local Japanese rice farmer.^[9]^[10] Also in adjacent Orange County, "Jap Lane" has also been targeted by civil rights groups.^[11] The road was originally named for the contributions of Kichimatsu Kishi and the farming colony he founded.