To clarify it's primarily a racist statement in America. Because back in World War II it was used as a blanket term for all Japanese. We threw the Japanese into intern camps because we were afraid they were liable to defect and leak information. Paranoia at it's finest. Plus on the actual enemy front there was the "sudden" (there's some debate on whether or not there was warning) attack on Pearl Harbor. So during that entire era the Japanese were referred to as Japs and the implication was they are not to be trusted, possible traitors, and wanton killers. Often times in America the only people that use that phrase are the ones from around the WWII era. Where they still use that term negatively. As in "those damn Japs." It should be noted that Americans hated the Japanese MORE than the Germans during that time until after the German intern camps were found.Kyber said:Yes but I was asking for what reason? And how does it differ from the countless other names I listed above.Pluvia said:It's universally known as a racist statement.Kyber said:How is it a slur? It's short for Japanese, same way Gerry is short for German, Brit is short for Brittish, Swede is short for Swedish, and the list goes on. Most Japanese people I know don't take offense to that.
It's typically a topic in US history but not always. Of course if you're from anywhere else, it's not as much of slur but try not to say it around an American.