I don't think they have disadvantages - Jealousy! - Yeah others are often jealous!
"Oh you're half American, speak English, do you eat burgers all the time" prejudices like that
Hi guys and girls on Ask Japanese it's CathyCat
Hafu is a term used for people here in Japan who are half Japanese and
whose other parent is from a different culture
well this is a topic we have brought up before many Japanese people say
they envy "Hafu" without actually thinking about the negative effects that it might have
and what kind of things people who are half Japanese might be struggling with in Japan this time
we're gonna go hit the streets of Tokyo and find out
what Japanese boys envy about people who are half Japanese and
what they don't. Let's see what critical opinions we might be getting and ask Japanese
Do you admire people who are half Japanese?
I personally don't admire them but they are so tall
and I envy that. - You are pretty tall boy.
He is already really tall. - I am 180 - I really admire half Japanese
people! - What exactly? - They have really defined
faces. I admire that. - What? -
Some have blue eyes and similar.
I try to wear colored contacts to look more like them. - I admire them.
They look so stylish. Their faces are totally different from ours right?
What ideal are you thinking of? - I personally
like half- Japanese half American. I like it buff. - You like strong
looking Americans? - Yes that is so cool. I think black people are the coolest.
I love people with black skin. - Europeans.
I admire their defined faces.
That's my ideal.
You said you admire how tall some are. What is your ideal?
Not 2 meters but over 180
I wish I had that. - You are 180! - You are tall already
What? - I want a little more. The taller you are
the better clothes will look. - If you have any friends
who are half Japanese, think of them and
think what advantages they might have in Japan
and what hardships? - An advantage is that their eye color is different
I think they are easier to remember with that trademark
Disadvantages... people might be prejudiced and treat them
like foreigners. I am not like that. I want to speak with them more. Half Japanese are cool
I don't think they have many hardships... - Jealousy!
True, people might get jealous of them. - Like how
do you think? - Because they are taller than most...
other will admire that and - Envy them for it.
You already stand out of the crowd being half Japanese
if you see them have a girlfriend you envy that. - They are more unique than others
I think.
Today we are asking everyone
if they envy half Japanese. - Totally. I wish I was half Japanese.
They are so cute. - What do you envy?
They can wear whatever clothes they want. They're so slender.
I envy that. - What style do you envy?
Their long legs and tall noses and deep features.
I admire that. - What do you admire?
I have black hair and look I have a very Japanese face but
I with I had the right opposite face, I wish I was cuter.
You wish you had a different face? - Well
Half Japanese have different colored eyes right
But if I was half Japanese I would also have another half
and that would be cute - You keep saying that
but what other country do you want to be from?
Something European like French or Italian.
I admire that. - I think somewhere in Europe too
You said foreigners have long legs, but yours are longer than this European's legs. - Nono
Your legs are longer than mine! - Its a tallness thing.
Let's keep it at that. - Now think please
what struggles and perks do half Japanese have in Japan
I heard from a friend who was half Japanese that
she struggled with people saying things like "you're half Japanese. Your dad is foreign"
and she struggled with that. Her advantage was that
everyone admired her. Because she was different she became the center of attention
I think there are good and bad sides. - Good sides
might be that half Japanese are so cool. Not just Japanese but
they are a little bit different. I think that's good.
Apart from that... because they have mixed heritage
some Japanese might only see the non-Japanese half of them
and focus on that too much. Like "You can speak that language right"
Do you think they won't be accepted as Japanese? - If they look too different
maybe. If they look Japanese that might not be
if they look foreign, people will treat them more like foreigners. Like for half US kids
"you speak English right? You eat burgers all the time!" things like that. - Stereotypes
will be expected of them? - Yeah - So
what did your friend struggle with? - She was my junior
and the had a religion she had to follow
from her other country, and had to practice it several times a day.
Because the had to do this, it would set her apart from everyone else
and she struggled with that.
She had to follow the customs of both countries but in the eyes
of Japanese that was too much. Others only knew how to live in Japan
and they wouldn't understand her for differences. - Also in sports
there is lots of discrimination. The half African kids were faster runners
people said "you only won because you're half African" when they won a game.
They blamed their loss on the heritage of the half Japanese students
I thought that was wrong. - Those students did their best! - They did!
that's why they won. People would say "Their heritage is too strong we can't win against that."
as a excuse.
I think Japanese should stop thinking like that. - You think that's jealousy?
They make excuses for themselves if they loose to Half Japanese students.
I think that's wrong.
I don't envy half Japanese. - I do. - Why so. - They have big eyes
I envy that. - The eye color? - Blue and green and such.....
Oh you picked up on that, thank you. What do you not admire then?
I think some must will get discriminated .... - In school
how did half Japanese students get treated?
There was a student of color in my school.
He got teased by others. - How? - I can't say
Do you have friends who are half-Japanese? - Yes.
Half Japanese and...? - Half American.
Did they struggle in school or have perks?
She was tall so people teased her for that.
"You are tall because you have American blood"
did they say that to hurt her or praise her? - Praise. - And about your school
with the student of color? - It was negatively meant.
That's why you said you don't envy Half Japanese?
So it looks like the boys are a lot more critical than the girls. We've done this interview with girls before
and they said "we don't really envy them that much because from experience there is quite a lot
of prejudice and being treated differently! Also we got a bit of jealousy going
round saying "you only won this because you are build taller than us" and stuff like that.
Couple of things have been mentioned before, I heard that before and again I like
the saying that people say "I am not a half I am a double. I have two cultures
with me" so there is hopefully gonna be some changes and people are gonna get a little more
accepted into Japanese culture now that many people from abroad are coming
over here and are building families together with Japanese people.
There will be changes. When I was still teaching here in schools I saw that there was
one girl or two who had dual heritage or at least had their parents
from a different country. But now it's changing so I am looking forward to seeing how it will be in the future here.
in Japan. So guys let us know what you think about the term "half" which
is also criticized quite a lot here because it's not the nicest way of saying
things to people. While others see it as a general term.
Let us know dual heritage or parents from a different country, do you have any friends
who maybe have a father or mother from a different country and how are they working
in your class, how are you getting along and do they have any troubles. Let us know
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