“We met through a mutual friend at a party. She’s Japanese and I’m half Japanese, half Filipino. I was born and raised in Japan. But even though I’ve never lived in the Philippines, sometimes I miss the vibe of my Filipino side, and of course the food. My mom’s Filipina so she’d cook dishes from back home. I brought my girlfriend here today at the Philippine Festival in Tokyo to have a taste of Filipino culture. She finds my people very friendly and lively. As someone who grew up in a bicultural environment, I think there’s always a positive and a negative. But I would say it doesn’t matter whether you have mixed heritage or not. Everybody goes through some kind of identity crisis at some point. Sometimes you don’t know whether you fit in or not, irrespective of your background. OK maybe 10 years ago racism was more visible. But I feel like it’s gotten a lot better and it’s continuing to get better. You just have to be sure of yourself. Keep yourself together. Doesn’t matter what your nationality is, just have pride in yourself. I just wish I could spend more time with relatives back in Manila. Filipinos are very open and they make you feel at home. But unfortunately I’m so busy with my job. I just graduated from university and now I work for a creative agency in the advertising industry, doing sales.”