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{{Short description|Pejorative English abbreviation of "Japanese"}}
{{About|the abbreviation/slur|other uses|JAP (disambiguation)}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:GI's at the Rainbow Corner Red Cross Club in Paris, France, whoop it up after buying the special edition of the Paris Post, which carried the banner headline, 'JAPS QUIT'. August 10, 1945.jpg|thumb|Headlines announcing [[Surrender of Japan|Japan's surrender]] in [[World War II]]]]
'''''Jap''''' is an English [[abbreviation]] of the word "[[Japanese people|Japanese]]". In the United States, [[Japanese Americans]] have come to find the term offensive because of the [[Internment of Japanese Americans|internment they suffered]] during [[World War II]]. Before the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], ''Jap'' was not considered primarily offensive. However, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the [[Japanese declaration of war on the United States and the British Empire|Japanese declaration of war on the US]], the term began to be used derogatorily, as [[anti-Japanese sentiment]] increased.<ref name="Fussell">[[Paul Fussell]], ''Wartime:  Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War,'' Oxford University Press, 1989, p. 117.</ref> During the war, signs using the epithet, with messages such as "No Japs Allowed", were hung in some businesses, with service denied to customers of Japanese descent.<ref name="jref">Gil Asakawa, [http://www.jref.com/nikkeiview/jap.shtml Nikkeiview: Jap], July 18, 2004.</ref>

==History and etymology==
[[File:Alaska Death Trap.jpg|thumb|WWII [[propaganda]] poster using a rhyming slogan in its text]]
According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', the earliest recorded use of ''Jap'' as an abbreviation for ''Japanese'' dates to 1854, in the diary of [[Edward Y. McCauley]], a member of [[Matthew C. Perry|Commodore Perry]]’s expedition to Japan: "The Commo: gives a Grand dinner to the Japs on the 27th".<ref>{{Cite OED|Jap (n.1 & adj.)|5975345312|accessdate=2025-09-01}}.</ref> An example of benign usage was the previous naming of [[Boondocks Road]] in [[Jefferson County, Texas]], originally named Jap Road when it was built in 1905 to honor a popular local rice farmer from Japan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=1034|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050914115436/http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=1034|url-status=dead|title=Tolerance.org: Texas County Bans 'Jap Road'<!-- Bot generated title -->|archivedate=September 14, 2005}}</ref>

Later popularized during [[World War II]] to describe those of Japanese descent, ''Jap'' was then commonly used in newspaper headlines to refer to the Japanese and [[Imperial Japan]]. ''Jap'' began to be used in a derogatory fashion during the war, more so than ''[[Nip]]''.<ref name="Fussell"/> Veteran and author [[Paul Fussell]] explains the rhetorical usefulness of the word during the war for creating effective propaganda by saying that ''Japs'' "was a brisk [[monosyllable]] handy for [[slogan]]s like 'Rap the Jap' or 'Let's Blast the Jap Clean Off the Map'".<ref name="Fussell"/>  Some in the [[United States Marine Corps]] tried to combine the word ''Japs'' with ''[[ape]]s'' to create a new description, ''[[wikt:jape|Japes]]'', for the Japanese; this neologism never became popular.<ref name="Fussell"/>

In the United States, the term has now been considered derogatory; the ''[[Merriam-Webster]] Online Dictionary'' notes it is "disparaging".<ref>[http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/jap "Jap"], Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://languages.oup.com/|title=Oxford Languages &#124; The Home of Language Data|website=languages.oup.com}}</ref> A snack food company in Chicago named Japps Foods (for the company founder) changed their name and eponymous [[potato chip]] brand to [[Jays Foods]] shortly after the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] to avoid any negative associations with Japan.<ref>[http://www.cookcfb.org/History%20of%20Potato%20Chip.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725194855/http://www.cookcfb.org/History%20of%20Potato%20Chip.html|date=July 25, 2011}}</ref> [[Spiro Agnew]] was criticized in the media in 1968 for an offhand remark referring to reporter Gene Oishi as a "fat Jap".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,905825,00.html |title=The Nation: Fat Jap Trap |date=February 28, 1972 |magazine=Time |access-date=April 22, 2014}}</ref>

In Texas, under pressure from civil rights groups, [[Jefferson County, Texas|Jefferson County]] commissioners in 2004 decided to drop the name Jap Road from a {{convert|4.3|mi|adj=on}} road near the city of [[Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont]]. In adjacent [[Orange County, Texas|Orange County]], Jap Lane has also been targeted by civil rights groups.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.genocidewatch.org/JapRoadinTexas16July2004.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092303/http://www.genocidewatch.org/JapRoadinTexas16July2004.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2007-09-29|title=Texas Community in Grip of a Kind of Road Rage|date=September 29, 2007}}</ref> The road was originally named for the contributions of [[Kichimatsu Kishi]] and the farming colony he founded. In Arizona, the state department of transportation renamed Jap Road near [[Topock, Arizona]] to "Bonzai Slough Road" to note the presence of Japanese agricultural workers and family-owned farms along the [[Colorado River]] there in the early 20th century. {{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} In November 2018, in Kansas, automatically generated license plates which included three digits and "JAP" were recalled after a man of Japanese ancestry saw a plate with that pattern and complained to the state.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.univision.com/noticias/racismo/por-que-en-kansas-estan-retirando-las-matriculas-de-automoviles-con-las-letras-jap|title=¿Por qué en Kansas están retirando las matrículas de automóviles con las letras JAP?|last=Noticias|first=Univision|website=Univision|language=en|access-date=2018-11-28}}</ref>

==Reaction in Japan==
[[File:Salvage Scrap propaganda poster crop2.jpg|thumb|WWII propaganda poster showing a snake representing Japan being bombed by an eagle.]]
[[Koto Matsudaira]], Japan's Permanent Representatives to the United Nations, was asked whether he disapproved of the use of the term on a television program in June 1957, and reportedly replied, "Oh, I don't care. It's {{sic|nolink=y|a|expected=an}} English word. It's maybe American slang. I don't know. If you care, you are free to use it".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-pc-29-31/|title=Protest envoy acceptance of 'Jap'|date=2 August 1957|website=Densho|publisher=Pacific Citizen|volume=45|issue=5|access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref> Matsudaira later received a letter from the [[Japanese American Citizens League]] (JACL),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-274-130/|title=Reply to letter regarding use of term "Jap" on a television program|last=Miyakawa|first=Wataru|date=9 July 1957|website=Densho|access-date=9 July 2018}}</ref> and apologized for his earlier remarks upon being interviewed by reporters from [[Honolulu]] and [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-pc-29-32/|title=Matsudaira sorry on acceptance of 'Jap'|date=9 August 1957|website=Densho|publisher=Pacific Citizen|volume=45|issue=6|access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref> He then pledged cooperation with the JACL to help eliminate the term ''Jap'' from daily use.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-pc-29-33/|title=Matsudaira to cooperate in JACL campaign to depopularize 'Jap'|date=16 August 1957|website=Densho|publisher=Pacific Citizen|volume=45|issue=7|access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref>

In 2003, the Japanese deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Yoshiyuki Motomura, protested the North Korean ambassador's use of the term in retaliation for a Japanese diplomat's use of the term "North Korea" instead of the official name, "Democratic People's Republic of Korea".<ref>Shane Green, [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/05/1068013255536.html Treaty plan could end Korean War], ''The Age'', November 6, 2003</ref>

In 2011, after the term's [[wikt:offhand|offhand]] use in a March 26 article appearing in ''[[The Spectator]]'' ("white-coated Jap [[wikt:bloke|bloke]]"), the Minister of the Japanese Embassy in London protested that "most Japanese people find the word 'Japs' offensive, irrespective of the circumstances in which it is used".<ref>{{cite web|author=Ken Okaniwa|date=9 April 2011|title=Not acceptable|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/letters-9-april-2011|access-date=22 July 2012|work=[[The Spectator]]}} His brief letter continued, noting that the term had been used in the context of the then-recent [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami]], with the [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster]] still-ongoing; "I find the gratuitous use of a word reviled by everyone in Japan utterly inappropriate. I strongly request that you refrain from allowing the use of this term in any future articles that refer to Japan".</ref>

== Around the world ==
=== Asia & Oceania ===
[[File:Jap sign Singapore.jpg|thumb|right|Neutral sign advertising "Jap Rice" in Singapore]]
In [[Singapore]],<ref>Power up with Jap lunch, ''[[The New Paper]]'', 18 May 2006</ref> the term is used relatively frequently as a contraction of the adjective ''Japanese'' rather than as a derogatory term. It is also used in Australia, particularly for Japanese cars<ref>{{cite web |title=Home |url=https://justjap.com/ |website=Just Jap |access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref> and [[Kabocha|Japanese pumpkin]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://farminghow.com.au/growing-jap-pumpkins-in-australia/ | title=Growing Jap Pumpkins in Australia: A Comprehensive Guide for Gardeners – Farming How | date=16 March 2023 }}</ref>

In New Zealand, the phrase is a non-pejorative contraction of ''Japanese'', although the phrase ''Jap crap'' is used to describe poor-quality Japanese vehicles.

=== Europe ===
In the UK, the term is variously seen as neutral or offensive. For instance, [[Paul McCartney]] used the term in his 1980 instrumental song "Frozen Jap" from ''[[McCartney II]]'', maintaining that he had not intended to cause offense; the song's title was changed to "Frozen Japanese" for the Japanese market.<ref>{{Citation |title=PAUL McCARTNEY TALKS McCARTNEY II, SONGWRITING AND MORE! {{!}} 1980 Interview |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgP1H2c1nwA |language=en |access-date=2022-08-12}}</ref> "[[Nip]]" is the term that is usually used in the UK when the intention is to cause offence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vries |first=Paul de |date=2022-03-31 |title=The Welcome Death of a Derogatory Term {{!}} JAPAN Forward |url=https://japan-forward.com/the-welcome-death-of-a-derogatory-term/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=japan-forward.com |language=en-US}}</ref> In Ireland, Jap-Fest is an annual Japanese car show.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mondello.ie/race_events/shows/japfest/ |title=Homepage |publisher=Jap-Fest |access-date=1 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218155140/http://mondello.ie/race_events/shows/japfest/ |archive-date=18 February 2015 }}</ref>

Similar to Australian, the analog Swedish word, {{lang|sv|japsare}}, is non-pejorative and particularly used for Japanese cars (singular and plural),<ref>{{cite web |date=2015-07-23 |title=Mest nya japsare på japankvällen |url=https://automobilsallskapet.se/arkiv/6782 |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=automobilsallskapet.se}}</ref> mirroring the term {{lang|sv|jänkare}} ("yankee") for American cars. The plural form {{lang|sv|japsar}} ("japs") is commonly used to denote the Japanese collectively, analog to {{lang|sv|jänkar}} ("yankees").<ref>{{cite web |title=BANZAI! |url=https://www.gamereactor.se/blog/miltiades/288961/BANZAI/ |website=gamereactor.se |date=6 June 2023 |access-date=2025-06-16}}</ref> [[Guling (derogatory)|Guling]] ("yellow-ian") is the term that is usually used in Sweden when the intention is to be racist. Similarly to Swedish, in Finnish, the term {{lang|fi|japsi}} (pronounced /yahpsi/) is frequently used colloquially for anything Japanese, with no derogatory meaning, similar to how the term {{lang|fi|jenkki}} ("yank") is used for anything American.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kielitoimistonsanakirja.fi/#/japsi |title=Kielitoimiston sanakirja }}</ref>

In 1970, the Japanese fashion designer [[Kenzo Takada]] opened the Jungle Jap boutique in Paris.<ref>William Wetherall, [http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/yosha/race/Jap_jappu_zyappu.html "Jap, Jappu, and Zyappu, The emotional tapestries of pride and prejudice"]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, July 12, 2006.</ref>

The word ''Jap'' is used in [[Dutch language|Dutch]] as well, where it is also considered an ethnic slur. It frequently appears in the compound ''Jappenkampen'' 'Jap camps', referring to Japanese internment camps for Dutch citizens in the Japanese-occupied [[Dutch Indies]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walsum |first=Sander van |date=2019-08-14 |title='In Japan zijn die Jappenkampen nooit een thema geweest' |url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/in-japan-zijn-die-jappenkampen-nooit-een-thema-geweest~b67a4788/ |access-date=2023-01-07 |website=de Volkskrant |language=nl-NL}}</ref>

=== North & South America ===
In Canada, the term ''Jap Oranges'' was once very common, and was not considered derogatory, given the widespread Canadian tradition of eating imported Japanese-grown oranges at Christmas dating back to the 1880s (to the degree that Canada at one time imported by far the bulk of the Japanese orange crop each year), but after WW2 as consumers were still hesitant to purchase products from Japan<ref>British Columbia Dept. of Agriculture, "Japanese Mandarins" [http://www.aitc.ca/bc/index.php?page=japanese-mandarins] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024030419/http://www.aitc.ca/bc/index.php?page=japanese-mandarins|date=2013-10-24}}, 2008</ref> the term ''Jap'' was gradually dropped and they began to be marketed as "Mandarin Oranges". Today the term ''Jap Oranges'' is typically only used by older Canadians.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

In Brazil, the term ''[[wikt:japa|japa]]'' is sometimes used in place of the standard ''[[wikt:japonês|japonês]]'' as a noun and adjective. Its use may be inappropriate in formal contexts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uol.com.br/nossa/noticias/redacao/2020/10/23/as-combinacoes-inusitadas-do-sushi-brasileiro-viram-tendencia-ate-no-japao.htm|title=Combinações inusitadas do sushi brasileiro viram tendência até no Japão|website=www.uol.com.br}}</ref> The use of ''japa'' in reference to any person of East Asian appearance, regardless of their ancestry, can be pejorative.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hypeness.com.br/2017/07/precisa-que-desenhe-para-entender-que-chamar-asiaticos-de-japa-e-dizer-que-sao-todos-iguais-e-preconceito-pois-um-estudante-desenhou/|title=Ele desenhou os motivos pelos quais não devemos chamar asiáticos de 'japa' e dizer que são todos iguais|first=Redação|last=Hypeness|date=July 7, 2017|website=Hypeness|access-date=February 12, 2021|archive-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101122847/https://www.hypeness.com.br/2017/07/precisa-que-desenhe-para-entender-que-chamar-asiaticos-de-japa-e-dizer-que-sao-todos-iguais-e-preconceito-pois-um-estudante-desenhou/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Nip]], a similar slur
* [[Anti-Japanese sentiment]]
* [[Jjokbari]] (Korean)
* [[Guizi]], [[Xiao Riben]] (Chinese)
* [[List of ethnic slurs]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}
* [http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/jshoaf/Jdolls/jdollwestern/jappy2.htm Jap in literature]
* [http://www.ep.tc/howtospotajap U.S. Government publication on spotting Japs]

{{Ethnic slurs}}

[[Category:Anti-Japanese sentiment]]
[[Category:Asian-American issues]]
[[Category:Anti-Japanese slurs]]
[[Category:Japan–United States relations]]
[[Category:English words]]