“I used to get called ‘dark’ or ‘dirty’ and it would bother me a lot. It made me shut myself inside the house, away from people. You see, my father’s Japanese but my mother is Malaysian, so I look this way. Growing up, sometimes random people would say, ‘She’s a foreigner!’ even though I canContinue reading
“My daughter just turned two. She’s half Filipino. My wife teaches her Tagalog while I teach her English. If she goes to public school then she’ll learn Japanese very quickly so that would be great for her. She’ll be trilingual and a third culture kid. I thought Tokyo might not be a great place toContinue reading
“I was born and raised in Luxembourg. It’s a tiny country in Europe, between Belgium, France, and Germany. But my mother’s Japanese so after graduating from university, I decided to move here and work. My first job was at a German car company. I worked in HR as an intern, interviewing other interns. Then IContinue reading
“Being a Japanese-American woman in Japan, there are times when I feel like I’m constantly being underestimated, or my behavior is under a microscope. When I say or do things in a certain way, some people say, ‘That is so American’ or ‘You’re so gaijin’. But other times they say, ‘Oh so Japanese of you’.Continue reading Blanket Terms
“I was born and raised in Belgium to a Japanese dad and a Belgian mom. My father, who was a karate teacher, passed away when I was 14. My first job was at a Japanese credit card company in Amsterdam, to prove to the world that I could work for a Japanese company. But becauseContinue reading Hāfu2Hāfu
“Every country has its flaws and Japan is no exception. But sometimes small things add up. I’m half Japanese, half American and I’ve lived in Japan since I was 6 years old. Some people tell me I’m not Japanese enough and it bothers me, although I’ve learned not to let it get the better ofContinue reading Learning to be More Accepting
“I grew up in Miyazaki. As a hafu (Half American, Half Japanese) growing up in rural Japan, I didn’t quite fit in. Despite having a strong economic base, people in Miyazaki tend to be more relaxed, and family bonds seem stronger than that in Tokyo; life is good! Though I liked it there, I knewContinue reading Finding My Place
“I’m half-Japanese, half-American and I still get frustrated by the same questions from people, who may have intended it in a nice way, but is touching upon this microaggression. Just the other day, my Japanese grandmother’s sisters and their friend who’s literally known me since the day I was born, said, ‘Oh you’re so gaijinContinue reading Homogeneous Culture
**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “My dad is Venezuelan; my mother is French, and they met in the U.S. while they were exchange students in Philadelphia. They got married and moved to Venezuela together, where they had my big brother. Now things aren’t going so well there in Venezuela. Prices are skyrocketing. You must wait a long line toContinue reading Happy to Help
**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “I come from Ecuador. I’ve been living in Japan for the last 15 years of my life. I met my Japanese wife at a salsa club, where I was taking dance lessons. That’s where I pursued her relentlessly for half a year before she finally fell for me. Now we have kids. The olderContinue reading Growing Pains
**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “My grandparents were taken from California and put in various internment camps, then they moved to Chicago. My Great Granddad actually came to the United States from Japan, my family stayed there and everyone married into the Japanese community that was already there. There was a lot of difficult history in that period withContinue reading Lovesick
**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “When I was 17, I had brain surgery for pituitary tumor. Luckily, it was benign. But it affected my day-to-day life. Before, I was very active in sports, like soccer, and was basically a jock, even though I don’t look like it. My memory also got messed up. I don’t remember certain things inContinue reading Bouncing Back
