"How Half Blooded People are Perceived in Japan"

[Mulboyne]

[Behan]

An interesting essay. Thanks for posting that.

A friend of mine(but not a 'half') studying at a martial arts here told me simiilar stories of being excluded. The other students didn't know how to fit him into the hierarchy.

[james]

yeah, a very good read. makes me wonder what half-japanese children of today might be writing in 15-20 years time.

[FG Lurker]

A good read.

I too have also wondered why the hell some gaijin want to be "accepted" into Japanese society. I love my status as an outsider and I would never want to be totally integrated.

Though I am pure-blood barbarian I've been here long enough that I can play both sides of the coin -- play it "Japanese" when that works best but be the barbarian when required. It's grrrrreat.

[alicia454]

Gee, that is one of the most pathetic racist posts I read in quite a while. Who cares what individuals think about your racial status, and be proud of who you are. In Portuguese and Brazilian societies, being mixed raced "Mulatto" is desirable, since it is typically associated with getting the best traits of each side and being more attractive.

Case in point: the handsome baseball player and model Yu Darvish who is half Japanese and half Iranian is highly respected in Japan with numerous fans.

All that matters is having legal protection against discrimination by people in a position of power, such as police, civil servants, bosses, landlords, etc., and protection against public hate speech. (Unfortunately, Japan does not have any anti-discriminations laws or anti-hate speech laws yet, but hopefully The Diet will someday decide to join the 21 century.) As a foreigner in Japan, I don't give a damm about any racist slurs I hear against me by individuals on the street or in a train. Their racism is their problem not mine.

[Midwinter]

Who cares what individuals think about your racial status...

Obviously he does.

[FG Lurker]

I don't give a damm about any racist slurs I hear against me by individuals on the street or in a train.

Yeah, you only flip out if it's on a video screen, right?

[halfnip]

Due to obvious reasons, I will not comment...

[Behan]

Alicia, what I was interested in was hearing about prejudice towards someone who doesn't look (so) foreign and has (some) Japanese blood.

[TFG]

Don't you just hate how the Japanese openly and quite innocently call people of mixed heritage "HALF". One would get murdered for calling people that in some countries.
And quite rightly as it suggests being incomplete, missing something.

Also, perhaps it is not wanting to be accepted that causes the problems but the feeling of automatic rejection.

[Iraira]

The Japanese mathematics system is very simple.

You are 100% or you are not. Black and white, yes or no.

And, I also dig on the concept that it's great to be an outsider, as nothing "Japanese" is expected from you. If you do something remotely considered a "Japanese" character/behavior, you get a nice pat on the head and maybe a hummer. Otherwise, you can be a freak and still get laid doing so.

[Gilligan]

I think the problems this person face are, at least in part, a function of the fact that he (?) grew up in America, not Japan. My kids, who have an American father and a Japanese mother seem to be perfectly accepted by other kids their ages, and have been in the number of different cities that we've lived in. But I'm not so sure that they wouldn't stand out as different if we went back to America. Americans interact with others differently than do Japanese people and they're expectations and interpretations of situations are different from Japanese people; these differences stand out and mark one as different far more than racial differemces. It's easier to accept someone who looks different but acts the same than to accept someone who looks the same but acts differently. Even in Japan.

[Kagetsu]

I think he worded that quite well (the blog entry). I'm not one who reads a lot of blogs (only Vincent Laforet's) but can certainly see what he's describing.
I'm very fortunate to have some very good friends in Japan, some who are full blooded Japanese, some who aren't, but all are open enough to be 'real' with me. What he's said there, holds true with what I've heard a lot of my half blood Japanese friends say, as well as my full blood Japanese friends say.
I've also seen it in person, though can't say I've experienced it.
As a foreigner, I do feel 'different' there... and maybe that's what I like. I love Japan, but I don't know if I could ever be 'Japanese', at least not in mind and thought anyway... One day I'll know why I like Japan so much (as a barbarian) but for now, I like the blissful feeling I get walking through the country side even considering the sometimes though rare, racism, which I brush aside (to me it's more racism for the sake of racism, then say the racism which is directed and sharp attacks at specific ethnic groups we have in the US and Aus).

[Behan]

I don't expect anyone to accept me as 'Japanese' but hope that more people will start accepting me as an equal human.

[Iraira]

I don't expect anyone to accept me as 'Japanese' but hope that more people will start accepting me as an equal human.

[TFG]

I don't expect anyone to accept me as 'Japanese' but hope that more people will start accepting me as an equal human.

Hit the nail, Right on the Head there man.

[alicia454]

Yeah, you only flip out if it's on a video screen, right?

Yes, that is not the same as an individual's attitude. I do get very upset from discrimination by organizations, especially those controlled by the government, and from any type of media depiction that would violate the Canadian or EC hate-laws. Yes, I do get very upset when I see the KKK or Uyoku. Yes, I do get very upset when I hear those racist and sexist comments from Shintaro Ishihara (Tokyo mayor). All I want is equal rights for everyone in the world, enforced by anti-discrimination and anti-hate laws. I will never accept a government that does not think I am an equal, solely because of my race, regardless of what merits I have. I don't discriminate against other, so I don't want people to discriminate against me.

Keep in mind that in my short time in Japan, I had to set up a GodoKaisha company and office from scratch in Akihabara, which unlike the foreigner friendly areas in Minato-ku and Shinjuku-ku, has a very few non-Japanese companies. Countless landlords would refuse to lease, despite having a guarantor company, and offering to pay 1-2 years in advance.

Japan is a beautiful country, and most Japanese I encounter are nice decent friendly people who treat me well. But unless the government passes some anti-discrimination and anti-hate laws, I do plan on eventually leaving, once my business and economic circumstances allow me to so.

[kusai Jijii]

[quote="Gilligan"]I think the problems this person face are, at least in part, a function of the fact that he (?) grew up in America, not Japan. My kids, who have an American father and a Japanese mother seem to be perfectly accepted by other kids their ages, and have been in the number of different cities that we've lived in. But I'm not so sure that they wouldn't stand out as different if we went back to America. Americans interact with others differently than do Japanese people and they're expectations and interpretations of situations are different from Japanese people]

Spot on Gill. My kids also have had no worries fitting in into our local community. We have lived in three different cities since they were born. I'm not saying that some kids dont find it rough, by some accounts they clearly do. But IMOH and experience, the intermarried couples (and their kids) that have genuinely tried to become a part of the local communities in which they live tend to have far less problems than those that do not. Sometimes I'm more worried that my kids run the risk of 'special treatment' rather than discrimination to be honest. And at the end of the day, its something the kids themselves are going to have to come to terms with and deal with themselves. And it can be as difficult or as easy as one wants to make it.

Oh, and I am absolutely STUNED that Slim hasn't weighed in on this topic yet.

[FG Lurker]

Alicia, the best thing you can do is grow a thicker skin and learn not to worry about it.

Besides, why would you want to do business with someone who doesn't like you because of your race or sex? You're giving them money, giving them more power, making them richer. Passing a laws won't change the person or their thinking. I would much sooner know up front that someone doesn't want to do business with me. If they're that way then frankly I don't want to deal with them either.

[Takechanpoo]

According to my personal experiece, there is a tendency that half Japanese or half gaijin has stronger aggressiveness than "pure" Japanese has.
As you know, almost all of Japanese dislike and escape from aggressive people. And try to exclude them by group power.

[alicia454]

Alicia, the best thing you can do is grow a thicker skin and learn not to worry about it.

A thicker skin does help to cope.

But it is much easier to change individual attitudes than laws and institutions. In my experience, most people I've come across are decent, and since racism is primarily based on ignorance, positive interaction with people of different races helps soften negative attitudes. And for those despicable individuals, such as Shintaro Ishihara, who's racist attitudes do not soften, the best revenge is to marginalize them, and those have those that they dislike become successful.

[kusai Jijii]

And for those despicable individuals, such as Shintaro Ishihara, who's racist attitudes do not soften, the best revenge is to marginalize theml

Trust me love, fuckers like 'Ol Blinky' marginalize themselves over time.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I do get very upset from discrimination ... from any type of media depiction that would violate the Canadian or EC hate-laws.

Fuck that thought police shit. Free speech rules. I fucking hate that kind of left-wing social engineering. Criminalizing people's opinions is the height of PC bullshit.

[Iraira]

Fuck that thought police shit. Free speech rules. I fucking hate that kind of left-wing social engineering. Criminalizing people's opinions is the height of PC bullshit.

You're right, opinions should not be criminalized, but going up to someone and expressing your opinion to them in manner or particularly in terms that have a history associated with them should also make it legal for that offended person to drive their foot up your ass.
note: I'm referring to "your ass" in a generalized form, not "your ass, motherfucker, your ass!" specifically.

[American Oyaji]

Fuck that thought police shit. Free speech rules. I fucking hate that kind of left-wing social engineering. Criminalizing people's opinions is the height of PC bullshit.

Sure. Freedom of speech.

One may feel free to call me a nigger to my face. I'm also free to cause the speaker to experience sudden and gratuitous involuntary teeth swallowing, swollen lips and lack of consciousness.

Truth is, there is no such thing as "Freedom of speech". One is free to speak their mind as they choose of course, but there are always consequences, good, bad or both.

[Gilligan]

Sure. Freedom of speech.

One may feel free to call me a nigger to my face. I'm also free to cause the speaker to experience sudden and gratuitous involuntary teeth swallowing, swollen lips and lack of consciousness.

Truth is, there is no such thing as "Freedom of speech". One is free to speak their mind as they choose of course, but there are always consequences, good, bad or both.

No offense AO, but the term "freedom of speech" is in direct reference to whether or not the government does or should have the ability to tell someone they can't say something. Contrary to what is a common misperception, it puts no restrictions on private citizens' or private institutions' ability to tell someone they can't say something.

[omae mona]

I am always amazed by how the term "freedom of speech", which used to mean freedom from government interfererence and regulation, always gets conflated (on the Internet) with discussions of political correctness and private citizens disagreeing with each other, which is a completely different topic.


Anyway, if I can bring us back to the discussion of our half-barbarian, half-Japanese children, I've experienced nothing negative so far. But I'm sure the reaction to a pre-schooler is different than reactions toward adults. Other than a distant relative refering to Omae Mona Jr. as a "mutt" or something along those lines a few years back, we see her by-and-large treated no differently than children of two Japanese parents.

The only exceptions I can think of have been positive. Not that I don't think my daughter is talented (like all parents), but I've been suspicious of her acceptance into a private school with very few openings. I think it's most likely due to the school's earnest attempts to attain some kind of "diversity". There is also the strange fascination by a large part of the population who seem to think that half-Japanese kids are automatically cute and feel obliged to comment on it in a loud voice. Today our kid finally noticed, asking why everybody says "kawaii" around her. Sensing a rare opportunity for behavior modification, I answered that it was because she was behaving well and being polite. But I think she's going to figure it out before long.

Still, I have no expectations that things will be the same when she gets older. In fact, I'm not certain what to expect. At the moment, her friends barely seem to notice that she looks a little different. But Mrs. Omae Mona & I are bracing ourselves for the day this changes, which we're sure is not too far off. No idea whether it will be a good thing or a bad thing. Would love to hear experiences of other FG'ers.

[FG Lurker]

My daughter is in grade 3 now, she'll be 9 in November. She goes to the local elementary school with the other neighborhood kids and we haven't had any problems at all. She seems to have lots of friends both at school and just around the neighborhood in general.

I have heard things can be more difficult in JHS and then get better again in HS. I don't worry too much about it though, the world is a tough place. Better to learn that when she's young than to have a big farkin shock later in life.

[hundefar]

When my wife (who is haafu) was a baby, a woman came up to her and her mother and said that she was a cute little girl, but it was too bad that she would only be able to work in show business when she grew up.

[vaultdweller25]

I have been reading these forums for over 3 years but very rarely post anything. I think this is the first thread I have read where everyone has ignored Takechanpoo's usual idiotic, antagonizing post. Congratulations all.