Comments by "Yo2" (@yo2trader539) on "What’s it like being Half Japanese in Japan ? 【part 2】" video.

  1. Just curious, how can a US citizen be stuck in Japan because of COVID? There were direct flights everyday.
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  2.  @methos4866  Nobody in Japan says "Ryukyuan." Most common way would be Okinawa-Kenmin (沖縄県民). First time, I heard the word was in Hawaii by immigrants from 19th century, so it must be a really old word the survived outside of Japan. In Okinawan dialect, they would say "Uchinanchu" to refer to the people of Okinawa.
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  3. The reality is your kids will not face the same problems in Japan because their father will be Japanese, which means they'll have a Japanese surname. If you live in Japan, you already know that Japanese society is structured around paternal lineage. Children inherit their father's surname, and they are registered in the father's family tree (i.e. KOSEKI). From family functions, inheritance, family traditions, or where and with whom to sit in weddings/funerals...the paternal lineage is the deciding factor. As such, Japan didn't issue natural-born citizenship to children of foreign fathers until 1985 except for single mothers. For lack of better words, Japanese society traditionally didn't perceive children of foreign fathers to be Japanese until a few decades ago. This traditional view that has been around since...forever is one of the source of the treatment toward half-kids. In school, Japanese kids will instinctively differentiate people with non-Japanese surnames. It's difficult to assume somebody with a surname like SMITH to be Japanese. It's also why many people will choose a Japanese surname when they naturalize to Japanese citizenship. They understand that a Japanese surname makes all the difference to be accepted in Japanese society. Your children will be accepted by Japanese society just like SAKAI Gohtoku who has a German mother, TAKAHASHI Ran who has a half-American mother, MURUFOSHI Koji who has a Romanian mother, SAWAJIRI Erika who has French-Algerian mother, SHIROTA Yu who has a Spanish mother, or HAYAMI Mokomichi who has a Filipino mother. Conversely, half-kids with foreign fathers such as "Aaron Wolf" often struggle in being accepted in Japan with their name and identity, because Japanese society often associates the child with the father's nationality. (He's a JUDO Gold Medalist representing Japan.)
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