While in English, the word "gaijin" is far more common than "gaikokujin", I've heard that in Japanese [外人]{がいじん} has been replaced by [外国人]{がいこくじん} for reasons of political correctness.
What differences are there between the two words?
- Is it merely replacing one word with another, a case of a euphemism treadmill?
- Is the former perceived as a contraction of the latter, though Wikipedia claims that the former word pre-dated the latter? Contractions are often seen as derogatory.
- Does the latter emphasize that it's nationality that's being talked about, rather than race?
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