What’s it like being Half Japanese in Japan ?

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[KG-fwwk]

My father is half-Japanese and was born not long after WWII. He grew up between the East Coast of the United States, as well as in Japan. Both sides hated his guts for being born, and everyday at school was another fight waiting to happen. Moving to Hawaii was a blessing for him because native Hawaiians found no problem with people who are mixed. He married a Native Hawaiian, my mother, and have lived there since.
My Hawaiian family and community were the first people/culture to judge him "by the content of his character, and not by the color of his skin."

[brawndothethirstmutilator]

I felt bad for the last guy :(. People often won’t sit next to him. He even said he didn’t really have many Japanese friends, and he’s lived there half his life.

[CaspianKhazar]

The first girl had two personalities, it's fascinating. When she started speaking Spanish it was like a different person.

[vincentchan]

The second girl's mannerism is soo calming and soothing. She has such a positive outlook in life.

[ksuhdilla]

I like what the first lady had to say. She doesn't judge people by their looks OR nationality only cares about their personality. Those are words to live by. Give everyone a fair chance, and let their actions speak for themselves.

[lastdays]

Speaking more than one language or being from two cultures really gives you more than one mind and one personality. Especially when the cultures are very different.

[fazole]

The last guy brought up something interesting I noticed while I was in Japan. Japanese staff working in the restaurant hardly talk to each other. I was at a simple place where the kitchen was in view of the dining room and everyone just worked silently. In the US there would have been a lot more banter.

[LLsunflower]

I'm mixed, half Japanese and half German, and I really agree with how the first woman said it, that having two different cultural backgrounds makes it easier to see people for who they are, and not for what race they are. It's definitely the best part of being mixed. Sometimes it does feel lonely but there are positives and negatives to everything, and I wouldn't give up my mixed heritage if I could.

[我那覇セロシアプリスコス]

My sister and I relate so much. We were both born and raised in Japan and grew up speaking Japanese as one of our languages at home. We're both Greek/Japanese and inherited most of our father's features. Tall height, wavy hair, green eyes, and a majority of his facial features. The only thing we really inherited from our late mother was hair color and her eye shape. Our whole lives we both get mistaken for foreigners and one time I was on my way to work and someone asked me if I was lost! I know that me being a woman over 190 cm with long, wavy hair and green eyes Japanese people would naturally be curious to know about me so I never take much offense when they come up to me and ask questions. They're very rarely of ill intention so I'm usually happy to answer whatever they ask. I know it sounds weird but whenever I get asked questions it always makes me feel seen and recognized. I've never felt like I was anything special or had any good qualities about myself. However it always gets a bit tiring hearing the same old "Oh, your Japanese is very good! How long have you lived here/how long have you studied Japanese?" and when I tell them I was born and raised here and have lived in Japan for pretty much my entire life, except for when I went overseas to attend university. A couple of my work colleagues who don't know me personally thought I was a foreigner working abroad for the company! 

The only time I really faced discrimination was being told I wasn't a "pure Japanese person" and that I never would be because I'm half and it made me really struggle with my identity being Japanese. I would sometimes feel more at home in Greece when I visited relatives because they didn't care as much that I was half. When I went to university abroad, I was in California and I surprisingly felt very comfortable there. Since the people are taller I didn't stick out in the crowd as badly and I felt more blended in with the people there. Instead of people asking me about my status of being Japanese they would just tell me I should be a model because of my height! I always found that strange because I don't see myself as a beautiful person or anyone who stands out. I did love how little people really cared about knowing my ethnicity and rather wanted to get to know me more as a person. If people asked me about my ethnicity I would tell them and they just thought it was cool and sometimes would ask me more about it which I didn't mind explaining.

University for me is years ago and now I'm in Japan and I won't lie when I say I miss being overseas but I also know I'd miss Japan severely if I moved! The younger generation of Japanese people seem to be a bit more tolerant of mixed people and I think it's the older generation that are a bit more reserved and have the questions. One experience that touched me was when I was sitting at a park in Tokyo and a group of kids maybe middle school age, walked up to me and one of them said "Hey, miss, my friend said she thinks you're super pretty! She likes your eyes!" and I thanked them and the friend was a bit shy so the other girl asked me if everyone in my family had green eyes. I told her it was just my sister and father and since he's foreign, he had green eyes. She seemed very interested and asked where he was from. After telling them he was from Greece, her face seemed to light up and she said "Greece? Like Athena?" Turns out she was extremely interested in Greek mythology! The three of us spent maybe a couple of hours talking about Greece before it started to get late and they had to return home before curfew but it was very heartwarming to see younger people so interested in my Greek heritage and it's culture and history. This experience happened about four years ago but I still think about it!

Sorry this was so long but this topic really hits home for me since it's really relatable. It also feels so validating to see other people in the comments sharing their experiences and hearing about the experiences from people in the video too!

[matheussales]

The half Colombian guy was funny, how a Brazilian I can confirm that's his way of thinking is pretty accurate for Latin Americans in general, of course It varies from person to person but the way we are educated to behave in society is certainly different from the Japanese. I personally admire both cultures

[bfc]

The last guy was funny. When he said he had no japanese friends I was confused. But when he started talking you could tell he was different lol. The hand gestures, the energy. What a character

[Rekken]

Being half is definitely a double edged sword for most of us. More so in Japan where the ideologies were grounded in xenophobia for sooo long. But I think recently it's finally gotten better, so there would be more pros than cons in everyday life.

[claudiafuchs]

I´m half Japanese and half Austrian, I live more than 30 years in Austria. I was bullied when I was a child. They pointed at me and shouted "Chinese". Treated me like a foreigner. I was scared to go to school or going outside alone. Now it´s better, but often feel like a foreigner the way they treat me. I can relate much to the people in the video. Thanks for sharing.

[Vava-yfzr]

As someone whos Half Japanese, Half Puerto Rican growing up in the states I've always wanted to visit Japan, but I've been a little nervous. it's nice to get an understanding of what it's like for local mixed Japanese people. Thank you for sharing!

[audgepodge]

I just adore the last guys energy! He seems really kind and fun to be around.

[joseluis]

Hi, it's said that "who speaks two languages has two souls". Ive noticed this can be confirmed with the people you interview.
It's amazing how the body language changes when they switch from English to Japanese or v.v.
You are doing a great job.
Keep upo the good work.

[internetgirl]

It is interesting to see the second girl is the most integrated into Japanese culture as she barely even speaks Persian or English and yet she is the happiest among them. Growing up in multiple cultures can really be a double sword as it makes people more open minded yet inevitably makes them doubt their own identity and how they fit into one society.

[ricepredator]

"No one wants to sit next to me on the train" Where can I acquire such power for NYC subways?

[CarlosWashingtonMercado]

8:53 the half Latino guy was hilarious. Hahaha… I’m Argentinian, and I can feel his vibe. Probably too much for average Japanese. The interviewer was even a little scared at the end. But trust me, he’s a good guy, that’s just the way most people is down here.

[Kareem_Alcindor]

The half Colombian half Japanese guy's experience is incredibly sad and goes to show that beyond the Neon Lights, the cool Animes and the obsession with cuteness that Japan has, its Xenophobia (and other social problems) is deeply rooted which horribly affects the lives of innocent individuals. Dude has been there since 12 years old, high probability of him being a citizen and gets accosted with "This restaurant is for Japanese only, please leave!" SAY the heck WHAT?!