Alright, I'm settled on the racism issue. It's being removed.
And, by the way, who was it that proposed Noubu, because I've been unable to confirm that this an actual word in Japanese. If you know better, cite your sources... for now it's being removed.
Here are the replacement ranks:
Gaikokujin > Arate (fresh troops, newcomer, new method)
Noubu > Kikori (Woodsman/Lumberjack)
Shonin > Yokujin (Hunter/Archer)
These titles better reflect and integrate with the militaristic stylization of the system.
I'll leave the onigiri graphic issue with ptoing, since there isn't a clear consensus on it.