Re: Air Japan/ANA & expat pilots
No other airlines in Japan employ F/O's who fly only with Japanese Captains. The JALways F/O's fly with predominantly gaijin skippers, and the other airlines - such as Sky Net Asia, Sky Mark, And Air Do, fly Captain with Captain (Japanese Cap:Foreign Cap as F/O, or Foreign Cap:Japanese Cap as F/O), or Captain (Japanese or Foreign) with local F/O.
We had done the same thing in JAL Express for a couple of years (when the were "getting used" to us), and presently the Japanese Captains on the MD are flying Captain with Captain, because ALL of the F/O's were upgraded and their replacements are still in the sausage factory.
I doubt that the Air Japan foreign F/O's are getting NO handling, unless they are flying outbound with one Captain, and return with a different one.
As someone who has been here for just coming up to 7 years, I would have to say that I did notice it took some time for us to be (partly) accepted. Undoubtedly, the cultural and language barriers were (and occasionally still are) played a not inconsiderable part in this.
However, Japan has been the sole territory of the Japanese pilot, and seeing us (gaijin) here, taking up some of that territory, and doing more work on lesser conditions, has not given them any reason to embrace us.
Upon reflection, I would say that to a certain extent, we were used as a "tool" by the companies to try to alter the incumbent pilots' conditions. And THAT is the reason for the offshoots of the mainlines, which is possibly the reason the mainline pilots who are seconded to the "Air Japans", have little time for the contract foreign pilots, and the new recruit Japanese.
They see THEM as a threat to THEIR conditions.