And when it came to me
for some reason he was trying to kick me out of the store
Being Half Japanese, are there some types of good and bad things happening to you?
They ask me "why do you speak Japanese?"
Thank you so much
I am happy thank you so much thank you
She just told me I'm pretty and she wanted to take pictures
And that stuff makes Japan awesome
Hey guys and girls it's your flashy fashion reporter CathyCat and today
We are gonna go hit the streets of tokyo and ask the foreigners here in Japan
If they have experienced some sort of racism
Let's go find out and ask foreigners in Japan
Alright where are you from? -I am from Melbourne
And why are you in Japan? - I came here for work
How long have you been here now? - Nearly a month
Is it your first time? - I have been here 3 times
I am gonna be honest, you are like the ideal, you got the light hair, the blue eyes
the tall good build - Thank you
Not quite sure but have you ever experienced any racism in Japan?
Yes surprisinly
I was at a pet shop in Kobe
I was with a Japanese friend and there was an old guy who was like...
inviting people in to hold and play with the pets
When it came to me for some reason he was trying to
kick me out of the store
There was this bad vibe and he was staring me out the whole time and then
My friend was like dont worry about him let's just go to another place
I was like, whats up with him, and she was like he probably thinks you're American or something
So that was... I guess you could say that's discrimination but
It's interesting how those moments stay with you
It could have pearled off but you still remember it
I came here expecting some people to be like that
It is what it is - Any other incidents?
Maybe some people would like to mistake me for an american at first
That happens
Is that a good or a bad thing or just a thing?
I guess it could be baad if they don't like Americans for some reason
I am not sure - Because of Japan's history?
In the end who cares... those people are losers right
Racist people are losers - Mostly old men
Ah older people? - Yeah
Have you had a "I am glad I am a foreigner in Japan" you might have some advantages there
Probably when I forget about social rules
I say "I don't understand Japanese"
Now that I met some beautiful half Japanese girls like you
Is it ok if I interview you about that? - Sure
Have you experienced good things and some sort of stigma for being half Japanese?
My friend is half Japanese half German and they said they had some problems
How was it with you?
I am the opposite, my life got enriched by it. Many people will envy that
When I say "France" people here have an image of beautiful cityscape and such
I get positive reactions, and actually no prejudice
You feel the benefit? - Right
I only had positives
I was raised in Nagoya and there are not many half Japanese kids there
I was quite lonely at times
And also... it is not that tough of a prejudice but
I did feel like the other kids did not want to include me in their groups
At school? - Yes
But now I am working as a model thanks to it
I am glad that some Japanese admire half Japanese kids
So you have to first make it though school?
....Well nowadays... - The times have changed
Now there are more half Japanese kids, before that people would say "why can you speak Japanese?"
Now people take a normal note of me being able to speak the language, before people were like "what?!"
Some asked "Which country are you from?"
Now it's more normal and there are less problems
People don't seem to see it as odd anymore
Before was different? How long ago?
When we still were kids
Old people were surprised by you speaking English?
"Why can you speak Japanese?"
I know you said you are doing well, can you name good and things for us?
I have been raised in Japan
I had to learn English by myself
The more I focus on English, the less good my Japanese skills get. That is trouble
Similar. I lived most of my life in France.
I am not very confident in my Japanese language skills
I sometimes worry if my Japanese is right and people understand me
I speak Japanese and French but I am not quite sure which language I actually speak 100%
And the good parts?
The good parts... are the same! I can speak two languages!
In Japan that's a big thing, and I hope to be using that in my future
It is also great to know differences in culture due to it
We can make friends with a lot of people and culturally get along
We got aa deeper understanding in culture.
Bye bye (waves)
So
Maybe not so much racism but some stereotypes is something people have to fight with
A lot of people will assume you are from america that seems to be a thing
even I got that and
another thing is, if you say where you are from you might hear some sterotypes about your country
But you probably get that anywhere.
For example "sausage, beer, how much beer do you drink?" I get that a lot
But i kinda got the same thing in the UK too
You will probably have to deal with this
The best thing you can do is roll with it and bring some nice goods from your country when you come to Japan
So when people say "It's the country of - for example canada - Maple"
Bring some Canadian maple sirup with you and people are gonna love you they are gonna be like
"oh gosh this is authentic maple sirup"
Even if you can buy it here, people will appreciate these little gifts
Yes it's a stereotype but people will love it and it will make them quite happy
if you give them that as a gift. Just a little side note here.
There's another video that you might want to check out if you are curious about living or just coming to Japan
We also have some socials, so please check out down in the message box
The director's instagramm or my instagramm with some cool pictures
Twitter Twitch all of that is down below thanks so much for hanging out and I catch you soon on Ask Japanese bye