Biracial Discrimination in Japan

For years, Japan has been regarded to be an ethnically homogenous country. The former Prime Minister, Nakasone Yasuhiro, quotes, "Japan has one ethnicity, one state, and one language”. However, this sense of monotonous attitude can been perceived as overly uniform which has resulted in a continuous struggle over issues of racial discrimination within Japan. With only 1.95% of Japan’s total legal resident population being foreign citizens, it is clear that racial discrimination continues to be a controversy that Japan has failed to confront. Discrimination in Japan does not only apply to non-Japanese people, but also within people of Japanese roots as well. In particular, hafū’s (a common word in Japanese to describe an individual with a Japanese parent and non-Japanese parent) have been a minority group who have faced years of prejudice and racism. This racial segregation ultimately results in a discrimination that not only affects individuals at a global scale, but also affects Japanese individuals within their own communities.

Origins of Biracial Japanese Discrimination

Racial Supremacy in Traditional Japanese Culture

Since the beginning of Japanese colonialism, Japan has always regarded themselves as racially superior to other ethnic groups. Their ethnically superior perspectives, especially in comparison to other Asian races, are fundamental values associated with Yamato-damashii (translated into “Japanese Spirit”). This Japanese term is used to describe the cultural values and characteristics of Japanese people that supports the idea of Japanese racial supremacy. Yamato-damashii, dating all the way back to the Heian period (794-1185), has been passed on for generations and has engraved itself in traditional Japanese culture. Being that Japanese culture is taken with extreme respect and earnest among Japanese people, Yamato-damashii is not taken lightly and acts as an underlying explanation for the causes of Japanese racial attitudes towards minorities and ethnic diversities.

Introduction of "Hafū" Term

The Japanese term “hāfu” is directly translated in English as “half”, which is commonly associated by Japanese peoples as a person who is not “whole” – used as an expression to identify an individual who is half-foreign. This reference to refer an individual of a mixed-Japanese heritage can be traced back to the origins of Japanese-mixed racial children in Japan.

During the mid-17^th century, biracial Japanese children were first introduced as a result from Japan’s first contact with European foreigners due to trading purposes. However, the increase of biracial children grew significantly towards the end of the Second World War, where an estimate of “5,000 to 10,000 babies had been born to American servicemen and Japanese women by 1952”. As relationships between Japanese and foreigners were strictly prohibited, these children were often a subject to abandonment. This abandonment due to societal values can be seen as the origination of a negative connotation associated with the term “hafū”.

Miss Japan 2015

In 2015, Ariana Miyamoto was crowned the title of Miss Japan and became the first hafū woman to represent the country. Miyamoto’s mother is Japanese and her father is African American, identifying herself as half-black, half-Japanese; bi-racial. However, due to her mixed-racial appearance, many Japanese people were furious with Miyamoto acting as a representation of their nation. The Japanese society perceived her as not “full” Japanese which resulted in a discriminatory rejection within her community and an uproar of numerous abusive comments. Miyamoto was subject to extreme racialized names and comments, “She should be shot to death by one of America’s racist cops. She doesn’t deserve to live”, and even faced acts of violence, such as trash and a blackboard duster thrown at her.

Progress Towards Racial Awareness

The Rainbow Project

In efforts to gather an overall sense of the perspectives on hafū individuals, Kimie Oshima, from the University of Kanagawa in Japan, conducted a group session to analyze the difficulties that the individuals confronted due to their multi-ethnicity, their experiences of being perceived differently, and the Japanese society’s perception of hafūs as a whole. 13 individuals, ranging from ages of 19 to 22, completed a questionnaire where they were asked numerous questions based on their experiences from childhood, school life (up to high school), and present life (university life). The overall outcome of these questionnaires was divided into two stages throughout their development. The first stage was categorized as the difficulties in childhood and early school life as they felt rejected by peers due to their cultural and racial differences, resulting in a need to be like other Japanese people. The second stage was placed on a present-day timeline which was proceeded with a positive acceptance towards their identity and a comfortable adaptation to society’s perspective of themselves. The change of attitude from society has evolved into a perception that hafūs were viewed as uniquely advantageous rather than simply “out-ed” and foreign; one of the participants remarked that due to his bi-racial appearance, he was hired at a better hourly wage because he “provided a good atmosphere in the place”. This positive adjustment in perspectives among hafū individuals of themselves and by Japanese people as a whole is a progressing contribution to the exploration and acceptance of diversity in Japanese society.

The Hafū Project

The Hafū Project started in 2008 as a collaboration between social researcher, Marcia Lise, and a German-Japanese photographer, Natalie Willer, as an initiative aiming to promote awareness of racial diversity in Japan and the issues facing those of mixed heritage. Lise compiled interviews with groups of half-Japanese people while Willer took photographic portraits of the participants – in which together, they held an exhibition in London to promote these individuals.

Two filmmakers, Megumi Nishikura and Lara Perez Takagi, became involved in the project and began a collaborative work that eventually turned the project into a film titled “Hafū”. The movie was filmed in a documentary-style, with supporting voice-overs by the hafūs themselves, where they explored the lives of five mixed-race Japanese individuals who have either lived most of their lives in Japan or are visiting for the first time in an effort to further educate themselves on their Japanese culture. With the film being a huge success, it was showcased at independent cinemas everywhere from Madrid to Tokyo. The popularity of the film resonated with a large population and ultimately succeeded in their goal; bringing a greater awareness of biracial diversity in Japan.