I touched on this in my post about cultural appropriation and Japan studies, but one of the reasons I got irritated in Japan with the constant “where are you from?” questions, was less for myself (I’m not from there) and more because it’s a burden that the children of my friends and coworkers raised exclusively in Japan have to bear (who may not “appear” to be “Japanese” at first glance, particularly if they’re multiracial). Addendum: I realize this post probably comes as flippant and ignoring the greater issues of being non-white and Japanese or multiracial and Japanese in Japan, especially given that time has passed since I originally wrote it and more people are now discussing this topic in relation to Ariana Miyamoto, Miss Japan 2015. In addition to her story, I’d like to also share some more recent articles on this: this article on “passing” and multiracial erasure in the US, and this one on the film Hafu: Mixed Race in Japan. And to note that, while there are negative stereotypes about white and white-appearing people, that white-appearing people often are associating with “benevolent” stereotypes, which, while problematic, are not nearly as damaging and dangerous as the negative stereotypes about Black people and people of Korean, Filipino, and Chinese descent (regardless of nationality) are.
Including stereotypes like this, from Toshiba’s line of bread makers. Because white folks love bread, have huge noses, and speak in katakana! Image via Japan Trends.
Kanadajin3’s “White Japanese People – 白人系日本人” is video with commentary from several white people raised in Japan and the challenges they face as racial Others. The video is bilingual and very well done, highlighting the perceived connection between race and nationality in Japan. Don’t think that Americans and other nationalities don’t do this, too–see “What kind of Asian are you?” for a great response to Americans who do this. That still doesn’t make it okay in Japan–it means we need to think more seriously about how subtle and insidious racism can be.
I’d love to see more stories, especially from non-white minorities in Japan, who are by far more marginalized. Also, don’t read the comments.
Via Hikosaemon.
“Also, don’t read the comments.”
Almost universally applicable life advice, that.
Oh….
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Haha, well, at least comments on this blog are moderated?
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Wait, I thought Japan prohibited immigration except for those on army bases. Are they actually japanese citizens or do they believe they’re Japanese because they were raised there? Since I see the author wasn’t born nor raised there, but still considers themselves japanese?
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Japan does not have a ban on immigration. In addition to working and spouse visas, Japan has a permanent residence system for non-citizens, typically long-term residents and spouses of citizens, but permanent residents are not full citizens, and the children of permanent residents are not citizens. Applying for citizenship is possible, but even if you gain citizenship, the concept of being a Japanese citizen is so tied to the concept of ethnicity and race that if you are perceived as looking foreign, you may be treated as such.
In the video, the interviewees explain their backgrounds. Most were raised entirely in Japan and are white. Accordingly to ideas of race and nationality in Japan, even a person who is born in Japan and lives their whole life in Japan cannot be truly Japanese if they are not ethnically Japanese. (Compare to the relative disassociation of race and nationality in the US, Canada, and Australia–though there are still racists.) A good example is of the Japanese people of Korean descent (“zainichi”) who have lived for 3-4 generations in Japan but are still permanent residents, not citizens.
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Reblogged this on dashkeepingtabs.
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“it means we need to think more seriously about how subtle and insidious racism can be.” — I have yet to live anywhere less likely to begin this conversation.
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At least in the US, we have the melting pot metaphor in school; people get mad if you call them racist or sexist because they know it’s bad but continue to be racist and sexist. In Japan, however, reactions seem more like, “That’s not racist!” because racism is either something Americans do (welp) or because the comment or action wasn’t lynching Koreans in 1923. There seems to be zero training at schools about this, too.
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Yup. I realized after I typed that I should have said “than Japan,” but left it off in a pre-coffee fog.
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Greatly appreciate this post, although I’m half Japanese and American most people in Japan think I am a complete foreigner. I often get comments regarding my Japanese as “very good for a foreigner,”amongst other comments. I still can’t get used to it even though I’ve been living here for a decade now!
Thank you so much for sharing this perspective and the video, I feel I do have the right to (for lack of better word) complain after watching this.
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Thank you for the comment! You reminded me of some good links about precisely this subject, so I posted them, too. I’m really glad more people are talking about the problematic association of appearance with nationality.
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[…] got a great comment from Maya on “Video: ‘White Japanese People – 白人系日本人’” about how […]
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That “What kind of Asian are you?” video is brilliant.
Once while making a purchase in a zakkaten I frequented I was told by the cashier, “We’re giving these to visitors [お客さん] as a thank-you.” I said thanks but couldn’t really see what the item was. Once home I saw that it was a green pin that said “ありがとう Thank you for visiting Fukuoka!” On the one hand I was glad for the freebie, on the other, I thought, “I’ve been living here for two years!” Of course, there’s no way for them to know that, so I wasn’t angry. But I did attach the pin to my bag in a visible spot and left it there for about a year in hopes the store people would stop and think for a minute.
That fun stuff aside, the irritation at constantly having people I worked with assume that I couldn’t speak/read/write/understand Japanese, and all the behaviors that assumption created, contributed to my decision to leave Japan. While I know that in the U.S. the whole multiculturalism thing didn’t happen without struggle, I didn’t feel like I was a part of anything in Japan to justify dealing with the stress of being one of the foreigners–for lack of a better word–integrating it. To those for whom leaving isn’t an option, the stress must be magnified to a degree I can’t imagine.
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[…] knock off the scare quotes and remember that Japan’s relative lack of racial diversity is not an excuse, especially when this keeps happening. Or, did you mean that ANA is “sorry” about the […]
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[…] My main beef is that the people claiming that the commercial isn’t racist is that, in Japan, racism against white people, Black people, non-Japanese Asian people, and multiracial people, and well, literally anyone who doesn’t appear “Japanese” enough,” is a real, institutionalized and socialized thing that actually affects people, particularly long-term workers, permanent residents, and their families, especially their children (see: Half/ハーフ: Mixed Race in Japan and “White Japanese People”). […]
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[…] Racial stereotypes are not funny, they are harrowing. Credit: The Lobster Dance […]
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