Take these examples:
Can you shout obscene language at my boss or co-workers without any reason? You may defend that it’s your freedom of speech, well you will get a serious warning or get FIRED! Free speech is limited by company policy.

You can say anything on the web, but can you take an amplifier and shout from the top of buiding? You will be charged misdemeaner.. . limitation of speech,

Can you tell your wife that she’s FAT and ugly? It’s your free speech, but I am sure you will get a nasty slap on the face followed by a nasty divorce!
Well you get the point. . .
Freedom ofsspeech has many limitations. we have to abide by the local laws, company rules, city law, county law, state law, federal law. It’s endless. So to say free speech does not come with any consequences or responsibilities is a absurd!

Please watch this.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=ROYhf8gUeNI
He wanted to be with his father.

The judge of Tiba court of family affairs was presented them as evidences.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=ROYhf8gUeNI
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=-NAWVtwVhDI
But he ignored them and permitted such child abuse.
Japan is a “right treaty ratification country of the child”.
However, a Japanese child does not have the human rights.

“Japanese people are generally xenophobic save Caucasians with blond hair and blue eyes.”

With all due respect, this is a gross oversimplification. Pointing to Ishihara does not prove your statement, it just establishes that such people exist, as they do in any country. The reality however is somewhat more complex.

I think China is great for its culture. It’s the first original country having the written language, no other nations around it having their own languages written, isn’t it? All their writings, including Japanese, were later invented after yours. China has one of the longest histories thanks to its written language. When I visited Beijing more than ten years ago for the first time in my life, I found all most everything I’d found in Japan in your country. I respect China and if free speech was established in Chinese society as a common sense, then I will more respect you.

Only some, definitely not as you say, many, Japanese politicians like to blame the problems on the people from China and other countries. The Tokyo’s mayor and some old generation politicians never won respect from general Japanese. I understand you tend to be attracted by such kind of people who are blaming you for problems. A Chinese proverb says that bad mouth runs for one thousand kilometers. A majority of such right-wing politicians are all only shabby popularists. They just want to earn Japanese people’s minds and by agitating people ill at ease into finding fault with people from outside of Japan for many problems.

I would also like to point out such popularistic politicians are all like the former militarists and nationalists who negated free speech to us years ago. Actually they are wishing revival of the failed leaders of ours. Any decent Japanese will not stand by them.

You see Japan is a country where free speech is established as a matter of principle. Many Japanese and I oppose such rightist politicians. They are entitled to speak, too, just like others and I. Nobody is to be hushed up in this country. You have to use your own good judgment about any opinions and speech expressed in Japan. Principle of the free speech is founded on the assumption that people are capable of correctly judging others by their own.

Then, why free speech, which does not look very practical? I would answer that all the people are borne, without an exception, equal and with free will, so that they are to take their own responsibility. If somebody is forced to speak and act by others, then he or she would not have any responsibility for such speech and doings. Free will creates responsibility.

Japanese people are generally xenophobic save Caucasians with blond hair and blue eyes. Do a google on Toyko’s mayor Shintaro Ishihara and you will find that there are many prominent Japanese politicians who like to blame all of their problems on immigrants especially those from China. I am married to a Japanese woman and I find that the way many Japanese view Chinese is not much different from the way Americans view Mexicans, or Taiwanese view Phillipinos.