Job Discussion Forums

[Gordon]

Here is an interesting article about a woman who grew up in Japan with a Japanese mother and Australian father.
I'd be interested in anyone's comments about it who has children with a Japanese spouse.

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/features/news/20050929p2g00m0fe001000c.html

[Sherri]

I found it interesting. It is not often you get to hear the perspective of one of the kids. A friend of mine (with her two 2 British/Japanese kids) met the husband of the founder of AFWJ (Association of Foreign Wives in Japan). His best advice to her was not to let her children grow up in Japan. They had 3 children and all of them now live outside Japan.

I chose not to have my 2 grow up in Japan. I chose Hawaii because it is so culturally diverse. The comments, stares and special treatment all stopped once we moved here. Comments from the article about all the attention "haffus" receive like, "Flattering in some ways? Of course...but the attention gets distasteful." and "you never get full admission to the club" just add to my relief that we don't live in Japan anymore.

Regards
Sherri

[6810]

This issue really concerns me as my partner and I will likely have a child in Japan but return to Australia. Even before reading this article, given the racism I have seen in elementary schools I was reticent about a full education in Japan.

Everyone who is different in Japan, when they leave, or go to Europe, the States, Oz or wherever say the same thing.

"I felt free for the first time".

How disturbing.

[abufletcher]

I once asked my son if there were any other "foreigners" at his Japanese elementary school besides him (and my other son) and he said that there was one other foreigner. I was surprised and even a little excited and asked who it was. He asked that is was "Ikeuchi-kun" -- the son of one of my Japanese colleague -- his wife is Taiwanese!

One curious aspect of this is that my own children, seeing as their mother is Mexican and their father is (anglo) American, would technically also be "hafu" but here in Japan they were just plain "gaijin."

[PAULH]

[abufletcher]

Paul, have you seen the documentary called "Doubles?" It's excellent and I use it every year in my cross-cultural awareness class when we work on issues of race and ethnicity (and nationality). BTW, one of the things that comes up every year in class is that the majority of the students believe in the traditional three-race division (Black, White, Yellow). However when asked if the Japanese are a race nearly everyone says yes. I then spend the next few minutes pointing out the inherent conflict in these two beliefs about race. We also spend some time desconstructing the idea of racial purity.

Basically I do my damnedest to decontruct the whole concept of race as anything other than a self-perpetuating and harmful social construct. The artificial nature of races becomes obvious to them when I point out than in the Arab world there are also "green people" ("al-akhthar") which refers to black-skinned Moslems. And that the "red people" ("al-ahmar") are ("white") Europeans. Then on a practical leve I offer them some viable alternatives to the overused "foreigner" label, for example "non-Japanese" or a nationality label. I point out that "foreigners" often feel that the label foreigner (even the polite version "gaikokujin(sama)") still feels pejoritive. I also point out the inconsistency in calling "white skinned" people "foreigners" while dark-skinned people get called "kokujin."

But you're right of course that "hafu" is used to refer only to half-Japanese. I wonder what the attitudes would be towards kids that are "half-Japanese" when the Japanese parent was in fact one of the many Korean ancestry Japanese around. And then of course there is the whole issue with "burakujin"

[fox1]

who cares what these f###ers call you. It's their problem. If they make up stupid damn words or need to define other people like that.. or use 'special' words or whatever, it's because they're so screwed up as individuals, and insecure about themselves. Just a f###n dumb word anyway

(I have known some cool guys grew up here with a parent from outside Japan)

(also... it's not like Japan is the ONLY place ever in the history of man to utter such words. It's pretty common around the place. I myself am half-this and half-that. Grew up with that (terminology).)

(also.. another thought. In the same vein, the term 'gaijin' is hardly unique. The word 'foreigner' means basically the same thing, and gets used a LOT of course in various parts)

So, I guess, my point is that I am not so lightning fast on the "Japan-bastion-of-racism" trigger

[Gordon]