Comments by "Yo2" (@yo2trader539) on "TAKASHii"
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@carolsakaguchi3739 As for Japanese communication, a lot of it is non-verbal. We can communicate among ourselves or show approval/disapproval without verbally expressing it. The fact that you can't understand it suggests that your understanding of Japanese language, culture, or norms is insufficient. In other words, you're still a tourist.
There are plenty of foreigners who do well in Japan, but they are "native" in terms of language, culture, and mindset, which is the essence of being Japanese. Regardless of nationality, I believe we do judge people by skill, class, upbringing, education-level, personality, etc. Obviously, we don't open up to strangers who we don't know, trust, or find interesting....but that's like half of the world.
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@somerandomchannel382 Japan exists for the sake of Japanese citizens. So if you're not a citizen, there will be natural limitations. If you're a Japanese citizen without proper Japanese education, there will be limitations within Japanese society as well.
And if you're a foreign national without any formal Japanese education, unless you have advanced professional or academic skills that Japan values and needs, there will be far less career opportunities. It will be near impossible to be a lawyer, doctor, public school teacher, or architect in Japan without having received formal education in Japanese.
The issue we have these days is that there are a number of children of foreign nationals who were born and raised in Japan, like the guy in this video. I recall seeing a girl in a documentary, who is half Nikkei-Brazilian and half-Indonesian and born & raised in Japan, and her childhood dream/goal was to become a police officer in Japan (like her grandfather in Brazil). But Japan doesn't allow foreign nationals to enter its Police Academy. Her dream would've been possible if her parents naturalized along with the kids. But they didn't or couldn't, and the girl doesn't want to give up her foreign passports. So she is still a foreign national with legal residency due to her Japanese ancestry. She now runs a school in Japan assisting foreign-children learning Japanese.
Conversely, there have been naturalized elected officials for decades. There is only one definition the Japanese government uses in determining who is Japanese or not, i.e. Japanese citizenship.
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Japan has always been selective. Immigration rules were designed to discourage people who couldn't survive in Japan (or people who we didn't want). For instance, a foreign/international student who graduated from a Japanese university or grad school will almost automatically receive a 5-year work visa, because they are fluent in language/culture, educated, and most likely to succeed.
Conversely, Japanese immigration will only issue 1 year visas (or sometimes less) to those who have limited language fluency or technical skills. Japan's worst fear is exactly Europe, where we can see ethnic ghettos, Islamic extremists, gangs, or homeless migrants living off of handouts. Limited language and technical skill, usually results in limited probability to succeed. The concept of new visa schemes such as J-FIND and J-SKIP are based on this belief that we need to attract more educated or highly-skilled professionals.
In reality, we've experienced the increase in crime and violence for decades (which is why Ministry of Justice, Immigration, and Police are always very conservative when it comes to visa restrictions). It was mostly crimes by Koreans in the 20th century, particularly after WWII and Korean War period. They were later usurped by Chinese who started coming around the 1980s and 1990s. Iranians came too but they were in heroin business so most of them were asked to leave. Nikkei-Brazilians, Nikkei-Peruvians were always given special preference over visa allotments because of their Japanese ancestry.
Currently, Chinese and Vietnamese make up 60% of all crimes committed by foreign-nationals in Japan. The rest are mostly Koreans, Brazilians, and Filipino. Nowadays, a lot of attention is on the ethnic Kurds in Saitama. They're only 2,000 Kurdish asylum-seekers in Japan, yet they create so much chaos and havoc, locals desperately want them deported.
Around the same number of Ukrainian refugees are currently in Japan, yet they cause absolutely no problem and are well liked. I don't know how to explain the stark contrast in their respective behaviors. But I do suspect that change in Refugee Law was targeted for easier deportation of declined applicants.
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That's a good observation. Over-tourism or 観光公害 ("Tourism Pollution" in Japanese) is a real issue for locations like Kyoto, Kamakura, or Hida-Takayama. Local residents clearly want less foreign-tourists, because they are simply overwhelmed.
Most of us were quite happy when the country was closed to foreign visitors because we were able get around the country with relative ease. And we didn't have to deal with increase in crime, drunk tourists, poor behaviors, etc. So nobody is crying that China banned group tourism to Japan. People actually feel relieved, as Chinese group tourists are the worst. (The rich ones are very sophisticated in taste.)
Tourism and hospitality industries do require foreign-tourists, but I think there needs to be an annual cap. We just don't have the capacity or infrastructure to deal with 30 million visitors per year, especially when many of them are concentrated in certain cities/regions. And frankly, when I visit Kyoto and hear only foreign languages, it's really disappointing. It completely destroys the ambiance of Kyoto. I've no idea how countries like UK, France, Greece, or Italy are able to handle all the tourists from all over the world.
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Frankly, it's to reduce government paperwork on visa renewals too. Otherwise, the Ministry of Justice will need more staff/budget.
As of June end 2024, 3.58 million foreign national were residing in Japan. 902,203 are issued a Permanent Visa or are Special Permanent Residents (i.e. Descendants of migrants from Taiwan and Korean peninsula prior to their independence.); 425,714 on Technical Trainee Visa; 394,295 on Work Visa; 368,589 on Student Visa; and 283,204 on Spousal/Family Visa. In other words, around 1/3 of all foreign-nationals residing in Japan are issued a Permanent Visa. And yes, it gets revoked all the time if the terms are not met.
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Perhaps a translation issue. He said 『気が強い』, which is a difficult phrase to translate. "Aggressive" won't be the word I would use to translate it. It can have a wide connotation from strong-willed, assertive, masculine, entitled, or sell-centered, depending on context. It's a description on personality for both men and women, and has no relation with work/careers. We often see these traits in professional athletes like football/baseball players, or with entrepreneurs. In case you don't know, most women in Japan work too. And if you knew any of women in Asia, you'll never be calling them submissive, vulnerable, or weak.
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Russians are respected in Japan for their literature, classical music, ballet, ice-skating, architecture, cuisine and culture, so I don't think Russians are seen the same as Americans. We love Baseball, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell...but it's hardly the same.
And you have to read between the lines. Russians (and Eastern Europeans & Central Asians) are considered pretty in Japan because of their varying degree of Eurasian admixture. They're also preferred culturally as they assimilate/adapt far better to Japan, especially since they're not liberal/woke like some people from North America and Western Europe. And if you flip the answers, you should notice certain countries/regions/continents are purposely absent by almost all the interviewees, which unintentionally displays our racial bias and cultural preferences.
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@2WheelsGood.01 We have 200,000 Brazilians and 50,000 Peruvians living/working in Japan, many of whom are Japanese Descendants and their spouses. The guy who said Spain in this video is a half-Peruvian YouTuber who speaks Spanish.
But you're correct about cultural differences. Soft-spoken, calm, polite, classy, and elegant are traits often associated with beauty standards in Japan. We do see a difference in children of Nikkei-Brazilians and Peruvians who were educated in Japan, and those who were raised in Brazil/Peru. Differences in mannerism, vibe, personality, fashion, make-up, hairstyle stand out.
Colombians are known to be pretty in Japan too. Eurasian admixture (or Europe and Indigenous admixture in the case of Latin America) would generally fit Japanese beauty standards, some more so than others. If I recall the wife of a former GK for Japan's national team was spotted on Japanese media a few times for her beauty. She's half-Colombian/Japanese.
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People from Brazil struggle in adjusting to Japan, more so than those from other regions. We don't know why but in contrast we see Russians/Slavic people having a far easier time adapting to Japan.
From what we've experienced in the past decades, many of the Nikkei-Brazilians (i.e Japanese Descendants) failed to learn the language and culture and adapt to Japan, which was a stark contrast to Japanese Descendants from other countries. Some Nikkei-Brazilians cannot survive outside of the Brazilian hub in Japan, and require everything from translators to special schools. Lack of language fluency, transferable professionals limits their potential in Japan as well. For reasons unknown, Nikkei-Peruvians are far better assimilated to Japan than the Nikkei-Brazilians. (Nearly 200,000 Nikkei-Brazilians and 50,000 Nikkei Peruvians and their spouses live in Japan.)
Japanese society was so unimpressed with the cultural assimilation and social integration of the 3rd Generation Nikkei-Brazilians (i.e. SANSEI or grandchildren of Japanese emigrants), Japanese government requires basic language requirements from 4th Generation Descendants (YONSEI) to live and work in Japan. Traffic accidents, theft, car-jacking, shop-lifting, drugs, etc is higher in areas with high concentration of Brazilian-nationals. And crime rate is especially high by Brazilian husbands of Japanese Descendants. Local branches of Japanese police have special task forces tracking and monitoring them.
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@Alexandra_Indina Tuva, Altai, Sakha...people who descend from original Turkic people. They're sometimes called "Siberian Turkic" to differentiate from Kipchaq Turkic (like Kazakh, Nogai Tatars, Kazan/Volga Tatars, Crimean Tatars, etc.)
Original Turkic was a nomadic Northeast Asian language and culture, and homeland was in South Siberia and Mongolia. We know from their tombs and inscriptions that they lived near Altai Mountains to Lake Baikal region, and ruled the Mongolian Steppe before the Mongol Empire. (The Sakha/Yakut people were also originally from Lake Baikal region.) Xiongnu, Gokturks, Uyghurs, Yenisei Kirghiz were all descendants of Turkic clans who lived around the Altai Mountains.
Contrary to popular perception, Mongolian clans actually were historically more dominant in Inner-Mongolia to Manchuria region. Some of the Turkic clans (known as Huns, Avars, Bulgars, or Khazars) eventually migrated all the way to modern-day Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria.
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@harryhaller7153 People have been migrating and mixing in all directions in Eurasia since the last ice age. Thus, language, culture, and identity is not the same as genetics.
Rus are already a pre-mixture of Scandinavian and Baltic people. Have you not learned why Russian phonetics diverged from Belarusian and Ukrainian (aka Ruthenian) in the past few centuries? Or why some in Russian aristocracy had Tatar ancestry, or why Turkic/Tatar words entered Russian vocabulary.
Just look at a map from 500 years ago, you'll quickly realize that many "ethnic Russians" living in modern Russian Federation are descendants of Russified indigenous people who were absorbed into the Russian sphere. (Ironic as it may sound, Tatars were the most loyal supporters of Imperial Russia till the end. And Turkic-speaking Gagauz in Moldova are still loyal to Russia.)
And it's not just in Russia. Ukrainian "Cossack" is also a Turkic/Tatar word, having the same cognate with the name Kazakh. Cossack weapons, music, culture, hairstyle, or lifestyle is heavily Turkic/Tatar in nature. They Slavicized and became foot soldiers of Imperial Russia, and were given lands all across newly conquered territories. So a descendant of a Ukrainian Cossack living in Krasnodar...is he a Ukrainian, Russian, or Tatar?
By the way, Putin also has partial East Eurasian genetics, but his family roots is with Belarus. And he identifies as an ethnic Russian. There is nothing wrong with that, because culture/identity is not the same as genetic ancestry.
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He attended international school in Japan, and they mostly speak/teach American English. Since international schools were initially founded to educate children of expats, many of the teachers and students are US-educated. (British scholars and Japanese with degrees from Oxford and Cambridge often teach English Literature in Japanese universities and high-schools.)
International schools can be challenging for children of foreign-nationals growing up in Japan if they wish to stay in Japan as an adult. They're receiving a US-style education in Japan and many of them attend universities in English-speaking countries. Their education may be useful in their home countries, but not so much if you wish to pursue a professional career in Japan. If you cannot understand Japanese newspapers, you'll never be a lawyer, doctor, accountant, etc in Japan.
And without a formal education from a Japanese university, employment opportunities may be limited in Japan too. International students who graduated from Japanese universities, foreign students who studied Japanese in their home countries, or Japanese nationals who went through Japanese education and have studied abroad for university and grad school will almost always have more opportunity. This is because international schools were set up to educate children of expats who plan to return to their home countries after a few years. It was never their mission to educate their students so they can succeed and thrive in Japan.
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@freedomisbrightestindungeons Japan does have a permanent residency, nearly 845,000 people have it. Most people return to their home countries even before they are eligible to apply.
That said, of all the foreign nationals living in Japan, they are mainly Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Filipino, Brazilians, and Nepalese (followed by Indonesians). Sadly, the overall collective experience and social integration of the Chinese, Koreans, and Vietnamese was challenging, to say the least. I suspect that's why Japanese people are generally scared of changing immigration policies.
It used to be the Koreans who fled during/after the Korean War, then it became the Chinese, and now it's the Vietnamese who commit the most crimes in Japan.
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Language is culture. It is the logic of society. And Anglos, Saxons, Danes, or Normans/Norsemans who migrated, invaded, or ruled over England and created "English" were your distant Germanic-speaking cousins (or Latin-speaking Vikings). The Scandinavian Vikings during Danelaw had mutual-intelligibility with Old English speaking Anglo-Saxons up to 1,000 years ago. So for a Swede, learning English is like learning a dialect.
It's why the famous Swedish lady who used to be on NHK is highly respected and appreciated. We understand how fundamentally different the two languages are, yet she managed to master Japanese language and culture. From what we've witnessed, ethnic Korean, Mongolian, and Turkic-speakers from China are able to obtain near-native fluency in 2-3 years, because they instinctively understand SOV grammar and know most of the KANJI used in Japanese. And the Slavic/Russian natives speak very classy and elegant Japanese, due to phonetic overlap and excellent linguistic training.
But Germanic language speakers tend to struggle the most in terms of grammar, phonetics, and expressions. It's also why most Japanese will never be able to master Germanic languages. Basically, there is no overlap of anything. No overlap in grammar, phonetics, or cognates. (US State Department classifies Japanese as Category 5, or the most difficult to learn for a native English speaker. Conversely Germanic-Nordic languages are Category 1, or the easiest to obtain fluency. The opposite is true as well.)
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In most cases, naturalization requires 5 years of consecutive residency in Japan. Student visa years are not included in that calculation. You don't need to be a Permanent Visa holder to apply for Naturalization. But Japan doesn't allow dual-citizenship like other countries, so please be aware.
Common requirements are financial stability, basic language fluency, no criminal records in Japan, and massive paperwork to explain/prove your entire life to Japanese immigration. Everything from birth certificate, parent's marriage/divorce papers, and diploma...you will need to submit with a Japanese translation. It's a very long and detailed vetting process, because naturalized citizens will be able to run for office and vote. They have the exact same legal rights and obligations as any natural-born citizen.
Permanent Visa is actually more difficult to explain because the residency requirements are diverse. Highly-skilled professionals can obtain Permanent Visa in 3 to 4 years. Spouses of Japanese citizens also have shorter time periods. On paper, it's 10 years of consecutive residency to apply for Permanent Visa. In reality, depending on your income, education, professional background, technical skills marital relations...there are many exceptions to the residency rule.
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@mikloridden8276 Oh no. Thanks for explaining, and sorry for your experience. American "racial" classification and identification is interesting yet so unique. I suspect it can be difficult if one doesn't fall under a ready-made category.
But I do vividly remember Korean-American neighborhoods in LA were getting attacked when a White police officer shot a Black suspect. That was very confusing. You may have had a vastly different childhood--and even a different type of prejudice/discrimination--if you were raised in Mexico or Japan. If you were raised in Japan, I'm fairly certain you wouldn't be treated any better or worse just because you're half-Mexican, Peruvian, Colombian, Brazilian, Spanish, etc...
There is a famous actor by the name of SHIROTA Yu (Spain) and a TV anchor by the name of MASAI Maya (Mexico). On our national volleyball team, MOMII Aki (Peru) played in the Olympics. Ironically, our limited exposure and knowledge may be the reason why we don't really have strong stereotypes or prejudices against those countries. Cuz I know there are strong stereotypes in Japan against Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, etc.
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@mon_avis2978 I've met and worked with a few Japanese-Canadians, -Brazilians, -Peruvians, and -Americans. Honestly, having Japanese ancestry isn't anything special for us, because we all have Japanese parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.
Having Japanese ancestry doesn't mean we click automatically either. And a lot of Japanese immigrants don't speak Japanese or know Japanese culture, so it's not like we can speak to them in the same manner.
But the person who I found most fascinating was an Indonesian lady with a Japanese grandfather, who fought for Indonesian independence and later permanently resided in Indonesia. Her family history was beyond interesting.
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@julianneheindorf5757 There is no shame. If they wish to become a Japanese citizen, they can always naturalize. Foreign-nationals who were born, raised, and educated in Japan are given special advantages in the naturalization process.
And of all the different naturalization requirements, the bar is set the lowest for people with Special Permanent Residency. SPR is a hereditary legal residency, for people who migrated from Taiwan and the Korean peninsula, when they were legally "Japanese" citizens. Due to historic circumstances, they accidentally became "foreigners" after WWII. They only things that will prohibit naturalization is if they have criminal records, ties with foreign governments, etc.
In reality, people with Special Permanent Residency have all the necessary legal privileges they need to thrive in Japan. They are perfectly happy to keep their Taiwanese, South Korean, or North Korean nationality as well as identity while living in Japan as permanent residents. (This is in stark contrast to ROC citizens living in South Korea who were banned from owning property up to a few decades ago.)
The only obstacle for SPR holders is if they wish to work run for office or vote. There were people like ARAI Shokei who naturalized and joined the Ministry of Finance and later became a Member of Parliament. And there are also other naturalized citizens serving as politicians in Japan, who don't have a SPR background. I actually like our Jus Sanguinis citizenship rules, because it avoids creating accidental citizens who have no kinship or loyalty to Japan.
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@dfhgghf-b2j The brutal reality is Japanese society historically didn't perceive children of foreign fathers to be Japanese. It's because everything from KOSEKI, property, tombs, and surname are passed down from the paternal side of the family.
Which is also why Japan didn't grant Japanese citizenship to children of foreign fathers born before 1985, unless it was a special case like a single mother. Even today, only male lineage with a Japanese surname are described as "Nikkei-jin" in Japanese press. I think most people in Japan still wouldn't consider people like Nootbaar, Dave Roberts, or Adm Harry Harris to be Japanese or a Japanese Descendant. The press will never refer to them as NIKKEI-jin either. They just write they have/had a Japanese mother.
FYI, Japanese GEINOUKAI have long said that half celebrities with Japanese fathers tend to be more popular and successful than the other way around. There are many theories on why that is case, but it could be because they tend to physically look more Japanese, that their foreign mothers tend to match Japanese beauty standards, or that they're perfectly assimilated/integrated into Japanese society.
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@yummychips_ Sorry I'm just a hopelessly curious person. You may be surprised that we have small numbers of ethnic Tibetans from India and Nepal, Hmong from Laos, Tibeto-Burmese speakers from Northeast India, ethnic Shan (Mountain Thai), Kachin, and Karen tribes from Myanmar among others, ethnic Kazakhs from Mongolia, Yakut/Sakha and Buryat from Russia, Koryo-saram from Uzbekistan, as well as Hazara from Afghanistan living in Japan. Central Asia, Siberia, Northeast India, Southeast Asia, and Southern China are one of the most ethnically complex regions in the world...and it's very interesting.
FYI, There was a famous Japanese anthropologist named Kenzaburo TORIGOE who spent his entire life researching various ethnic groups in Southern China and Southeast Asia. He was most surprised by the Akka people living in Northern Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Yunnan Province in China. (They are related with the ethnic Hani people in Southern China who are famous for their terrace rice fields.) His observation was that their cuisine, architecture, animism, terrace rice fields, music, clothing....resembles that of ancient Japonic people. I was personally interested by the Ifugao people in the Philippines who have similar rice terrace field culture.
(This type of ethnic research is very popular in Japanese academia because we still don't know the point of origin of the Yayoi people who migrated to the Japanese Isle and southern regions of the Korean peninsula around 3,000 years at the latest. They were the people who lived in stilt-homes, built mega-tombs, had facial tattoos as social status and insignia, dived/fished, and introduced irrigated rice-farming to the Japanese Isle and southern regions of Korean peninsula. Unfortunately, we still don't even know whether Japanese is based on Jomon or Yayoi languages, or perhaps hybrid of the two.)
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You're not wrong but there is a Japanese context. We've always casually referred to all people under Imperial Russia and Soviet Union as "Russians." Therefore, Russian beauty in Japan is referring to all people who live in the Baltics, Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia.
And Japanese exposure and interaction is mostly with people from Siberia and Russian Far East, which has an unusually high percentage of "Russians" with Ukrainian ancestry due to past voluntary and involuntary relocations. (If I'm not mistaken, Russian Far East was briefly independent after the Russian Revolution and called itself Green Ukraine.) Just by historic accident, Japanese perception of "Russian" beauty is actually heavily Ukrainian.
I suspect most Japanese people don't realize that many of their favorite Russian ice-skaters have Tatar ancestry. Or that Lenin had partial Kalymk/Oirat/Mongol ancestry. But again, if one were to look at a map of Russia 500 years ago, there is no way 80% of current Russian citizens can have Rus/Eastern Slavic ancestry.
In other words, they are mostly indigenous people who were Russified/Slavicized under Imperial Russia. Which I presume is why a number of Russian aristocracy had Tatar ancestry. And Russian vocabulary has words derived from Tatar/Turkic, because Turkic was the common language for trading in the Eurasian Steppe for over 1,000 years. Turkic was used from the Mongolian Steppe all the way to Modern-day Hungary and Romania.
(Put differently, Ukrainians and Russians are fighting over Crimea which should historically belong to the Crimean Tatars.)
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@ohhi5237 I don't wish to sound like Putin, but defining "Ukrainian" genetics, culture, or ethnicity isn't easy.
I'm sure you're aware of the Greek-origin city names along the Black Sea coast of Ukraine and Russia, because they were once Greek outposts in ancient times. (Homer was writing about real Greek expeditions.) Scythians were highly civilized Eastern-Iranic speakers, who descended from proto-Indo Europeans that didn't migrate to Western Europe, North India, or Iran. Scythian artifacts are found in the border region of Ukraine and Russia.
They were eventually absorbed by successive waves of nomadic Eastern Eurasian Turkic clans (such as the Huns, Avars, Bulgars, and Khazars) who ruled the Caspian Sea and Black Sea coastal region. They heavily mixed with indigenous people and migrated all the way to modern-day Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria by 5th or 6th centuries. Which happens to be why Turkic/Tatar was the common trading language of the Eurasian steppe for over a thousand years.
And the ethno-genesis of the "Rus" are Scandinavian Vikings/Varyags who mixed with indigenous Baltic people, and settled along the Dnieper River, casually known as the "Kievan Rus." They were trading with/along the Black Sea, particularly with Constantinople/Istanbul as it was the cornerstone of the Silk Road trading route.
Descendants of all these various migrations mixed heavily. In later centuries some became Slavs, some became Tatars. Some identify as Ukrainians, others identify as Russians. There is varying degree of Eastern and Western Eurasian genetic admixture, but the classifications and divisions are often political, religious, linguistic, or cultural...but not genetics.
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I don't think we have a word for "Xenophobia" because the translation is 外国人嫌悪症, which is an artificially created word, and not widely used in Japanese. I've met many half-kids, and how they're treated depends on personality, upbringing, and education.
These days there are a number of popular actors, singers, and models who are half-Filipino and half-Japanese. Also I doubt anybody in Japan would consider athletes like DARVISH Yu, TAKAHASHI Ran, SAKAI Gohtoku, or TAIHO to be foreigners. (TAIHO was the most popular Yokozuna in the post-war era.) Our national Judo team has many half-kids. We also have politicians who are half-Japanese.
But I must say you do have a point on skin color and phenotype and general acceptance in Japan. But this is mostly for people with Japanese heritage. I believe Kaori-san, the Half-Colombian girl in this video, will almost always be treated as a Japanese person in Japan. (Perhaps the Colombian side also has mixed European and Indigenous/Asian ancestry.) And it's not just about her appearance. Her mannerism, voice, fashion, body-type, and make-up fits within Japanese expectations and beauty standards.
Many of the half-Filipino and half-Japanese celebrities who are popular in Japan don't look noticeably different from full-Japanese either. They either look full Japanese or quarter-foreign at most. So they are a bit exotic but not too exotic-looking, which does seem to match overall Japanese beauty standards these days. AKIMOTO Sayaka, TAKAHASHI Maryjun, and HAYAMI Mokomichi are well-known here.
Aside from half-Filipino background, there are so many famous half-people. There is a well-known announcer by the name of MASAI Maya, who is half-Mexican. TAKIGAWA Christel is half-French. SAWAJIRI Erika is half-Algerian-French. She was a popular actress until she got in trouble with the law. The MICHIBATA sisters are also well-known...for a variety of reasons. If I recall Leah Dizon was also popular in Japan some time ago, and she has Chinese-Filipino-French ancestry. While she didn't have any Japanese ancestry, and her Japanese was limited because she's from the US, her looks and personality made her very successful as a model.
As such, if you're half-Asian, most of us won't even notice it. If you're half-European, depends on the mixture and phenotype. Sadly, I suspect the people who struggle the most in Japan would be the half-Black kids, particularly those who look more Black than Asian.
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@sunglee3935 I suspect the Korean girl in this video was partially educated/raised in Japan or spent a very (very) long time in Japan. I've studied and worked with quite a few people from South Korea, but I've never encountered somebody with that level of native fluency, even for Koreans who have graduated universities in Japan. Her intonation, choice of words, expressions, timing/pause between words, and mannerism is that of a native speaker.
I'm assuming it's a similar situation in South Korea. Native speakers are exposed to all sorts of regional and generational speech, so people have a high degree of tolerance when it comes to conversational speech. We'll often be able to identify a Korean or Chinese from the way they speak Japanese, but we can still understand what they're asking/saying regardless.
Koreans usually struggle with ざじずぜぞ as well as certain vowel sounds because it doesn't exist in Korean phonetics. And Chinese often struggle with grammar, but there are certain regional differences based on the Chinese dialect they speak. For reasons I'm not really sure, Mongolians often speak Japanese like they spent their entire life in Japan. (Ethnic Koreans and Mongols from PRC have the easiest time of all people due to grammar and KANJI.)
In theory, if one can pronounce あいうえお correctly, one should be able to pronounce most Japanese sounds correctly. Interestingly, Romance/Latin and Slavic speakers seem to have the easiest time due to phonetic overlap. In contrast, some people from Asia have incredible difficulty in pronouncing the basic vowels. (It's exactly same when Japanese people study foreign languages. Accurately pronouncing basic vowel sounds is much harder than people think.)
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If you wish to become a near-native speaker, I'd focus on mastering pitch accent, intonation, and rhythm of the language. You may use the correct words, sentence order, or expression, but if you speak in a different melody it becomes increasingly challenging for natives to understand you. A native speaker will have no difficulty understanding slight pronunciation deviations. We are used to regional and generational accents, but if you were to speak Japanese with a Cantonese melody it becomes a different language. It's because we judge the meaning, context, or intent from the pitch accent.
I've noticed that aside from Mongolia, South Korea, China, and Taiwan...those who have studied Japanese in former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe speak incredible Japanese. Their level of fluency in language and culture is just beyond my comprehension. I wish they could teach us on how to study foreign languages/cultures because many of them in Japan are near-native Japanese speakers. And Japanese is like their 3rd, 4th, or 5th language.
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@pau.7604 There is only one way to master pitch accent (or イントネーション in Japanese) which is exposure. Basically to listen to the language a lot, as we've all done so in our native tongues. It can be music, TV, drama, YouTube, anime, or anything in Japanese. One needs to listen in order to learn how to speak, and read in order to learn how to write. When the pitch accent is off, I often switch to English with foreigners in Japan, because it's simply challenging to understand them.
One of the reasons why many Russians living in Japan are near-native Japanese speakers is because some Russian universities teach Japan-related subjects in Japanese language. And it's sometimes taught by Japanese expats. So by the time they finish university they already have reached N2-level, and by the time they study/work in Japan, they're already accustomed to Japanese phonetics, melody, inflections, and cultural/historical references.
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If you're serious, it's never too late to learn. There are plenty of resources whether language schools or on-line tools.
Frankly, being "treated like a foreigner" will depend entirely on your understanding of Japanese language, culture, behavior, and mannerisms. People who are able to adapt, assimilate, and integrate will be treated differently from others. The former will be part of Japanese society, the latter will be treated as guests/visitors. We have many Nikkei-Brazilians and Nikkei-Peruvians living in Japan (as we have preferential visa schemes for Japanese Descendants), and many of them arrive in Japan with limited knowledge of Japanese language, culture, norms, or society. While some struggle with adapting to Japan, others are able to learn the language/culture and assimilate and build a life in Japan. It really depends on personal determination, curiosity, flexibility, adaptability, and intelligence.
Culture/Language/Norms is an Operating System of each society. Japan just like Australia has it own OS. For some Japanese nationals, Australia fits them better. For some Australians, Japan fits them better. There are people from all over the world who adapt, assimilate, and integrate to each society. So you'll have to try yourself to figure out whether Japan suits you or not. That said, I personally think Japan is perfect for people with autism because the society is well-organized, disciplined, calm, rule-based, and people don't/won't interfere with you unnecessarily. If tranquility is important, you may wish to avoid busy urban areas in large cities.
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It depends on the person more so than nationality. Japanese people will judge you by social class, education, mannerism, or civility. In reality, some of the Brazilians in Japan have neck/arm tattoos like gangs, they walk and talk and dress like narcos, and are often arrested for car-jacking, looting, shoplifting, drugs, murder etc. At the same time, there are many educated and cultured Nikkei-Brazilian bankers, doctors, professors, lawyers, IT engineers, musicians, school teachers, etc. The latter group will be appreciated and treated with respect in Japan. The former will be treated with disgust and disgrace.
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We have a lot of half people, successful ones too. The difference is that they received education in Japan, so they are no different from other Japanese kids in behavior, mannerism, mindset, and culture. The way we sit, talk, walk, dress, hair style, makeup...small things are usually enough to identify a local from a visitor.
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@ganndalf202 I've met or worked with a number of people from Central & Eastern Europe, Russia, and the Balkans in Japan. Many of them found Japanese husbands/wives here and are raising their children in Japan. And some of them decided to become Japanese citizens.
They seem relaxed and comfortable with life here. Western Europe and North America is just too much for some of them. It's not the language, because many of them are fluent in English, but rather the culture, politics, social norms and rules. Some of them sense the micro prejudice when in Western Europe, being looked down or even perceived to be slightly backward (and less skilled/educated/cultured) because they grew up in other parts of Europe, which is quite insulting and hurtful. But when in Japan, they're all appreciated by behavior, personality, or skill set...regardless of which part of Europe you're from. I suppose Japan isn't too liberal or too conservative from their perspective.
By the way, Ukrainians are the only exception Japan has made in decades when it comes to refugees. We've had a terrible experience with Korean war refugees in the past, and since then Japanese society has generally refused accepting refugees. However, people have very supportive of Ukrainian refugees in Japan. There is financial support, housing support, language training, etc. I'm often touched by how much the Ukrainian ambassador is touched by the small donations from ordinary people in Japan.
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@SophieHanna-sn9hc "Ethnicity" is a modern, artificially-created social and political construct. Ukrainian or Russian is a political, national, cultural, linguistic, historical, or ethnic identification, depending on era or who you ask.
And identity has been always been fluid throughout history. Cultures/languages/religions are replaced and altered all the time.
For instance, many in Russia Far East have partial Ukrainian ancestry for historical reasons. But most of them identify as ethnic Russians. In fact, many "ethnic Russians" living within Russia are descendants of Russified indigenous people, which is why there is varying degree of Eurasian genetic admixture throughout the population.
And many people migrated to Ukraine from all over Imperial Russia and Soviet Union for work, education, marriage, or retirement. Many of their descendants now identify as Ukrainians.
Historically, so many countless waves of migration has occurred in the past few thousand years. There are many cities with Greek-origin names along the Black Sea Coast. Scythians were East Iranic speakers. The Huns, Avars, Bulgars, or Khazars were nomadic East Eurasian Turkic-speaking clans from South Siberia and Mongolian Steppe. They dominated the Eurasian steppe, mixed heavily with indigenous people, and migrated all the way to modern-day Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. ("Bulga" means Mixed people in proto-Turkic. Old Bulgar Language is known as Chuvash. And those who migrated to Danube were absorbed by Slavic people, but people in Bulgaria have significant Balkan genetic ancestry. )
If you look at paintings of Ukrainian Cossacks, their weapons, lifestyle, hairstyle, dances, musical instruments, culture, or clothing is heavily nomadic Turkic/Tatar...because they were living in Turkic/Tatar lands for over 1,000 years. The word "Cossack" is actually a Turkic/Tatar word too. As Ukrainian Cossacks were foot soldiers of the Russian Empire, they were given huge chunks of land all across the newly conquered territories. Krasnodar (or Yekaterinodar) was given to the Black Sea Cossacks by Catherine the Great. But their descendants now they identify as ethnic Russians.
Even the Russian language has been altered as the Rus/Eastern Slavs expanded eastward and absorbed the local populations. In the past, Russian language should've been phonetically more closer to Belarussian or Ukrainian (aka RUTEHNIAN.) Again, ethnicity is modern social construct, mostly for political usage.
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@meluvcats Just to be clear, I was explaining my observation on who will most likely be perceived as "Japanese" from an appearance/phenotype perspective. As for beauty-standards on people from abroad, that is an entirely different conservation.
I know there is a wide spectrum of preferences. Some people fancy Taylor Swift, others like K-POP idols. If I understand correctly, in East Asian fashion industries, there are many models from Russia and Eastern Europe, or people with ancestral roots in those regions. I suspect that is the case because many of them have varying degrees of natural Eastern & Western Eurasian admixture, due to thousands of years of migrations in all directions. (I recall hearing once that fashion industry likes "racially ambiguous" appearances because they can appeal to a wide audience.) But it's also true that they fit the preference or beauty standard.
But I do need to emphasize that that even if both of your parents are from Japan, if you were raised/educated abroad and if you're not familiar with Japanese language and culture, you will be treated differently. This obviously applies to half-Japanese kids who were raised and educated abroad as well. For instance, the half-Venezuelan kid in this video may be perceived as "illiterate" in Japan. Japanese companies will be valuing international students who finished Japanese universities and grad school (or studied Japanese in their home countries) over somebody who cannot read Japanese newspapers.
As for foreign-nationals, the social acceptance in Japan will depend on how much they are able to assimilate and integrate with Japanese society. If you study, work, marry, or raise children in Japan, you'll gradually and naturally become part of Japanese society. A few years ago, TERUYA Eiji, a child of a Nikkei-Brazilian who migrated to Japan, passed the Japanese Bar Exam. He was the first Brazilian national to do so. Naturally, he will be respected and valued far more in Japanese society than most in Japan. There are many other foreign nationals who are working full-time in local municipalities and as public school teachers.
Donald Keen was probably the most respected person outside of Japan. So much so that in his final years of his life, and when his daughter approached our NY Consulate that his last wish was to become a Japanese citizen and die in Japan, people in high positions moved mountains and made exceptions for him to show our gratitude. He's the scholar who translated Tales of Genji into English, which is just impossible to do. I'm confident that most of us won't be able to translate a 1,000 year-old literature even into modern Japanese, let alone a foreign language, unless you receive specialized training for decades. He was very well respected, as he understood Japanese history, culture, and literature more so than most people in Japan.
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@JesterEric If they were all descendants of Kievan Rus, their genetics would be near identical to Nordic Swedes and Baltic people. In reality, so much migration has occurred in the Eurasian steppe, language/culture and genetics are often different categories. People living in modern Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus are a fusion of Greek colonies, Iranic (aka Proto Indo-European) speakers, Turkic/Mongolic nomadic Huns, Avars, Bulgars, Khazars, etc. Just look at a map from 500 years ago, and you'll realize that most modern ethnic "Ukrainians" and "Russians" are Slavicized people. And Scythians weren't speaking Slavic.
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We have many famous half-Japanese people in politics, sports, show biz etc...but they're all raised and educated in Japan. People who don't share the language, culture, history, mannerism, mindset, or identity with the rest of the population...are no different from foreigners living in Japan with no Japanese ancestry. In fact, there are many Russians, Turks, Koreans, Mongolians, etc who speak near-native Japanese and receive Permanent Visa, and even citizenship. Not being served, means they entered exclusive places that don't want you in their restaurant. A local would know which stores accept first-timers, and which don't.
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@life_of_katastrophes Excellent observation. You have a gifted ear, which means you'll able to master most languages.
Latin/Romance-language speakers tend to have a clear vowel pronunciation in Japanese, perhaps a little too clear/sharp. Conversely, when a native-Japanese speaker studies Italian, for example, we're often instructed to stress every sound/vowel more clearly and strongly (till the end) as if we're exaggerating the sound. This difference creates the difference in melody, rhythm, or pitch accent of the two languages.
Have you ever noticed how native Slavic-speakers sometimes mix short and long vowels when they pronounce English words? So unintentionally, the word "beach" sounds something different. And how Slavic speakers pronounce their short-vowels is very similar to Japanese pitch accent and pronunciation. It's also why native Slavic-speakers have an easier time mastering Japanese intonation than other language speakers.
Spanish/Italian speakers tend to pronounce Japanese vowels like あー、いー、うー、えー、おー, or like long vowels. But in order to master Japanese pitch accent, you need to master the short-vowel, or else you have no control over the pitch. After enough exposure, I'm you'll be able to absorb the sound (and appropriate strength & length of the sound).
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@user-vz5gi5tw9x Excellent point. This is an extremely complicated topic. Japanese surname also matters, and historically surname is passed down from paternal lineage. Education and upbringing is still most important regardless of ancestry.
I had a classmate with Russian/Ukrainian ancestry who was born, raised, and educated in Japan. She doesn't have Japanese ancestry, but she'll always be more integrated and accepted in Japan than most "half-Japanese" interviewed on this channel. It's because she has a Japanese mindset and mannerism, and Japanese is her first language so she can communicate just like a native/local. (I heard from her that her parents speaks to her in Russian, but she speaks to her parents in Japanese.) Her family naturalized so they all Japanese citizenship too.
The other issue is more sensitive because it's about beauty standards. In Japanese entertainment industry, it's always said that "Hafu" celebrities with Japanese fathers tend to be more successful than the other way around. Without doubt cultural and social upbringing is most important. But it's also a true that Japanese men tend to marry foreign women who generally fit within Japanese beauty standards. And beauty standards isn't simple and superficial things like skin-tone, height, or facial structure, it's also about personality, mannerism, and mindset.
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@AngelicKitsunehehe I don't think we have an accurate count on the children of international marriages as some may not have Japanese citizenship. In 2022, there were 504,930 marriages for Japanese citizens. Japanese-husband & Japanese-wife couple was 487,245. Japanese-husband & Foreign-wife couple was 10,907 cases. Foreign-husband & Japanese-wife couple was 6,596 cases.
The reason why these numbers are somewhat skewed is because we have historically had many Taiwanese, Chinese, Koreans, Nikkei-Brazilians, Filipinos who are raised/educated in Japan, as well as naturalized citizens. Thus, if a naturalized citizen marries a Zainichi Korean in Japan...it still counts as an international marriage.
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There is no correct answer in identity, ethnicity, or nationality. And each person and society is different. Since Japanese society was traditionally organized around paternal lineage, we inherit the family name, tombs, registry (KOSEKI), customs, and religious sect, etc from father's side. (This practice of paternal lineage dates back to ancient clan structure such as 氏 or ウジ.) In modern times, Japanese society only viewed children of Japanese fathers to be Japanese.
Until legal revisions in 1984, Japan only issued natural-born citizenship to children of Japanese fathers (except for single-mothers), and dual-citizenship was allowed. Thus, children of Japanese immigrants--like President Fujimori of Peru--or children of international marriages with Japanese fathers were allowed to have dual citizenship. Dual-citizenship was banned from 1985, and Japanese immigrants can no longer receive natural-born citizenship. To date, we still can identify NIKKEI-JIN with a Japanese family name.
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@@homie3461 Good points, and thanks for the clarification. I think the common joke is that "Language is a dialect with an Army and Navy." In other words, it's often times political categories than linguistic ones. Examples are like Thai and Laotian, Norwegian/Swedish/Danish, German and Dutch, Romanian and Moldovan, or even Spanish and Portuguese.
If I recall in the field of linguistics, there is no concrete definition of language vs dialect. But some say high mutual intelligibility or common lexicon/cognates is the deciding factor between language vs dialect.
As for proto-Japonic or "日琉祖語," we still don't know whether it's based on a Yayoi-language or a Jomon-language or a hybrid/pancake language. Phonetic similarity with some Austronesian/Polynesian languages, grammatical similarity with Turkic, Mongolic, Manchu, Koreanic, and a lot of unique Japanese cognates indicate that Japanese language is a hybrid language of the various people who moved to Japan from 38,000-40,000 years ago.
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@@homie3461 There are US bases in Yokosuka, Atsugi, Yokota, Misawa, Iwakuni, Sasebo...on mainland Japan, so I don't agree with your statement. Yes, indeed they are annoying and no local wants them.
At the same, we all understand that Japan has signed three military alliances--with the UK, Germany, and currently the US--in the 20th century alone to counter-balance the Russian/Soviet threat. The benefit outweighs the cost, at least currently.
Thus, I believe it's in Japan's interest to maintain the security alliance, especially with the increasing Chinese threat. Of all the prefectures, Okinawa is the most likely invasion target by the Chinese, so it does make sense to keep US forces in Okinawa (as the proverbial "Tripwire"). Also I don't think people in Tokyo have any desire to "suppress" Okinawa language/culture. The uniqueness of Okinawa is why it's the top vacation destination.
Also, if Japonic is a language from Manchuria, in theory there should be more common cognates with Koreanic and Manchu (which also originate from Manchuria). But even the basic words do not overlap, so I'm not so convinced in the West Liao River hypothesis.
The rice-farming and sea-faring Yayoi people (Y-DNA Haplogroup Group O1b2) who migrated to the Japanese Isle and Korean peninsula around 3,000-3,500 years ago do seem to have genetic lineage from around the Yangtze Basin. Their most common characteristic is low/weak alcohol tolerance, which is presumed to be a natural selection.
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@ductritran8637 Let's be real. TAIHO, MUROFUSHI Koji, MIYAZAWA Rie, TAMAKI Denny, HASEGAWA Jun, TAKIGAWA Christel, SAWAJIRI Erika, TAKAHASHI Ran, or SHIROTA Yu...endless amount of famous and successful half/mixed people in Japanese society. In other words, the discrimination is coming from the darker skin-tone.
In summer times, many Japanese women use umbrellas and wear long sleeves to avoid getting tanned. As traditional make-up indicates, there is a strong aversion of darker skin-tone. It's implied that people who work in the fields are more tanned, which means the aversion has socio-economic and cultural roots. I've heard similar stories from South Koreans and Chinese when it comes to beauty standards.
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@collectablechaos It's an unfortunate reality that is beyond our control. For instance, the Russian Embassy in Tokyo runs a school based on a Russian curriculum with dedicated certified Russian teachers. Children of Russian expats as well as ethnic Russians from CIS can receive (partial) Russian education in that school. But not all Russian kids are living in commuting distance of the Russian Embassy, which is located in downtown Tokyo near Roppongi area. (From what I've heard from Russians who were raised in Japan, Russian teachers are far more scary than Japanese teachers.)
It's also very common for Japanese kids who were raised outside of Japan to attend schools run by the Japanese government. But it is highly location/country dependent. For example, children of Japanese expats in Shanghai will be attending schools run by the Japanese government. They grow up speaking Japanese with their friends, teachers, and parents. So when they return to Japan, they have limited issue blending right it and taking university exams.
However, Japanese kids who grew up in certain parts of Australia won't even have the opportunity to receive formal education, because there is only Japanese schools in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth (compared to 12 locations in China alone). And this has a long-lasting impact, because people with Japanese ancestry who have limited Japanese skills cannot serve as a bridge between Japan and their local countries/cultures. Which also creates a weird situation in which a foreigner who is fluent in Japanese becomes fare more valuable and accepted in Japan over children of Japanese expats who cannot read/write Japanese.
Believe me, many Japanese expats do their very best to teach Japanese language, culture, norms, and mannerism to their kids too. But the local environment is not always supportive of those goals.
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I don't think it has anything to do with residency status being 永住者 or 定住者. Immigration is tasked with filtering out unsuitable foreign national who could be potential threats to Japanese society. They're not tough enough is why we have so many crimes by foreigners. That said, I have strong suspicion that being from Brazil with no Japanese ancestry was flagged as well.
Japan changed its laws around 1990 and allowed children and grandchildren of Japanese emigrants and their spouses/children to live and work in Japan. In hindsight, it was a clear mistake to not require basic language fluency. The Ministry of Justice is the sole organization that decides visa eligibility. And people working there are from the generation who grew up watching news about Brazilian and other South Americans on Descendant Visa getting arrested for drugs, shoplifting, burglary, car-jacking, home invasion, violence, etc on a weekly basis. The crimes were often by Brazilian, Peruvian, and Colombian husbands of Japanese Descendant wives.
And it's not just the MOJ that was less than impressed with many Nikkei-Brazilians in Japan, who are often unable or unwilling to learn Japanese language and customs even after living in Japan for many years. Frankly, it was a shock seeing how descendants of Japanese emigrants changed so much after a few generations outside of Japan. The crimes became a social issue, so the government made it more difficult to obtain a Descendant Visa. Japan now requires minimum language skills for 4th Generation Descendant visa, trying to correct the mistakes they made with 2nd and 3rd generation Descendants and their spouses. (4th generation are able to switch to 定住者 after proving language fluency and 5 years of residency.)
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We have nearly 200,000 Japanese-Brazilians and Peruvians living and working in Japan. Of the 3 millions foreign-nationals residing in Japan, nearly 1 million are Chinese and half a million are Koreans. (Others are mostly from Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal, US, etc)
And the majority of nearly 30 million inbound foreign tourists each year are from neighboring Asian countries. Honestly, it's difficult these days to tell whether somebody is Japanese or not just by appearance (unless they have a very different skin-tone, fashion, make-up, mannerism, etc.). However, it would be impossible to be considered part of Japanese society unless you're fluent in Japanese language, culture, and mannerisms. It's the single most important criteria, regardless of ancestry.
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@julianneheindorf5757 Permanent Residency is the same in Japan, it's generally 10 years of continued residence in Japan. Spouses of Japanese Citizens will receive preferential treatment but there will be conditions such as language fluency, income stability, years of marriage, etc.
As for Spousal Visa, there will be clear reason for a visa rejection. And there are many spouses of Japanese citizens who aren't permitted to live in Japan. Spousal visa can be rejected if he/she had things like: (1) previous visa violations, (2) unpaid tax & social security payment, (3) incorrect information in visa application, (4) dubious or suspicious marriage, (5) unstable income, (6) socially undesirable, or (7) potential threat to Japanese society.
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@MW_Asura If I were to be honest, it's not the looks but the mannerism and mindset. We can easily tell the difference in behavior and body language from somebody from Eastern Europe & Russia, North America, and South America.
Even if all of them had identical genetics, those who would be considered most beautiful/attractive in Japan would be the ones from Eastern Europe and Russia. The way they walk, talk, dress, eat, sit, laugh, or interact is much more relatable and socially desirable. It's difficult to explain, especially as many people from North/South America have European ancestry. I think it's simply a cultural difference between Eurasia and the Americas.
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Imagine Japanese nationals/students living in your country. Some adjust easier, others find it harder to adapt and make local friends. There are many half-Japanese kids who live in Japan and have successful careers, from famous celebrities, actresses, Yokozuna, politicians, athletes, etc.
But they all have one thing in common. They are fluent in Japanese language, culture, and mannerism. Most foreigners in Japan cannot read Japanese menus. They are basically illiterate from a local perspective. The flip side is, you will not be an "outsider" if you can communicate like other Japanese people.
In reality, many foreign-nationals in Japan fail in social and cultural integration, which is why they are eternally foreigners/outsiders. They spend most of their time in expat bubbles with no connection to Japan. Basically they're just long-term guests/tourists from a local perspective. Depending on your bringing, it may be easier for you. But without sufficient knowledge/fluency of Japanese language, culture, mannerism, or norms...most Japanese will not know how to interact with you.
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@Eli_Pinheiro Racism or Colourism is complicated, even in Japan too because it's not simply about shades of darkness. It's actually about everything.
For instance, a Brazilian-national who has Italian/Russian/German ancestry may be treated differently or receive more privilege in Japan because they're more educated, wealthy, and well-mannered. But a Brazilian who is tattooed all over his body, no university education, and dresses like a thug could be stopped by Japanese police for Identification multiple times.
They're not being treated differently because of their skin-tone but the skin-tone is often directly linked to socioeconomic class, education-level, mindset, behavior, and culture.
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@Jo-Whale Thank you for the correction on "Akha." Latest genetic studies suggest that modern Japanese are a fusion of 3 different migrations. The JOMON people arrived during the last ice age (starting from around 30,000-40,000 years ago up to 12,000 years ago when the sea level was about 100-150 meters lower). They have Y-DNA Haplogroup D, and the highest concentration of D is observed among the Ainu people, Tohoku region, Southern Kyushu, and Okinawa. Around 40% of Japanese male lineage exhibit Haplogroup D. The other known people with this Halpogroup are the Himalayans/Tibetans, although the genetic separation is over 20,000 years ago. One group migrated east, one group went south...presumably.
The second large migration was about 3,000 years ago at the latest, as we can confirm their arrival to the Japanese isle from the irrigated rice fields found in Fukuoka City. They are commonly referred to as the YOYOI people out of convenience. (YAYOI-cho was the address name for University of Tokyo campus when they accidentally discovered Yayoi-style pottery.) They generally exhibit Y-DNA Haplogroup O1b2, and 40% of modern Japanese males and 30% of modern South Korean males shares this genetic ancestry.
O1b2 admixture ratio is higher in populations in SETO-NAIKAI and KANSAI region, i.e. warmer regions that were suited for irrigated rice farming. On the Korean peninsula, O1b2 becomes less frequent and almost non-existent in North Korea and Manchuria. They are known to have weak alcohol tolerance, as it's hypothesized to be a natural selection. (Apparently, people with weak alcohol tolerance have stronger immunity against infection diseases like Malaria which are often associated with irrigated rice farming in warm weathers.)
In the past few decades, Japanese researchers have tested every possible ethnic group from Russian Far East to China to Southeast Asia, but they weren't able to find a direct link with O1b2...which is why it's still a mystery. However, indigenous Taiwanese exhibit O1b1, and some Vietnamese and Austronesian & Tibeto-Burmese speakers inherit a variation of O1 Haplogroup. Thus, some scholars hypothesize that YAYOI migrants were descendants of the Yangtze Civilization, others claim they originated much more south in Fujian area, yet other scholars claim they are much from the North. (TORIGOE Kenzaburo thinks it's the Yangtze River delta because of the heavy focus on rice farmings, sun god worship, tattoos, stilt homes, etc)
The third migration was between 4th and 7th centuries, and this lineage has Y-DNA Haplogroup O2, which is a common genetic marker for Northern Han Chinese. Around 20% of modern Japanese males fall under this category. They were descendants of ethnic Northern Han Chinese who lived on the Korean peninsula, and they fled to Japan during the warring period. They were known as KIKA-JIN (帰化人) or TORAI-JIN (渡来人) throughout Japanese history. They were given clan/family names indicating their origins such as YAMATO-no-AYA (transliterated as 東漢氏) or KAWACHI-no-AYA (西漢氏). In this specific case, East is referring to Yamato or Nara basin, while West is referring to KAWACHI or Eastern Osaka region.
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@Jo-Whale Yes, Yayoi-cho is just a random address in Tokyo where the pottery was accidentally found. Archaeological findings hint that Yangtze River basin started experiencing extended periods of heavy flooding and cooler temperature circa 3,700-4,200 years ago, which eventually triggered migration into all directions. This migration is one of the reasons why irrigated rice farming spread to Southeast Asia and Northeast India. And many of the languages associated with Southeast Asia (such as Thai and Tibeto-Burmese) have its origin in Southern China.
The language that Yayoi-people spoke is still a mystery. The Yayoi migration started 3,000 years ago at the latest, and continued till 3rd century BC---ish. We don't even know if they all spoke a single/related language. I've heard some scholars make connection with Austronesian due to Japanese phonetics. Northern Chinese historians generally associated Japonic people to have similar customs to the Yangtze people. (More accurately, one of the Baiyue or 百越). According to Northern Wei records, Japanese calendar used to be 春秋暦 or Spring-Autumn Calendar, in which Spring-Autumn was counted as 1 year, and Autumn-Spring was another year. This implies that they were planting rice/crops twice in a year in a warm region. Northern Chinese records also say that Japanese diplomats claimed that they are related to the Wu people. (In some ironic twist, Shanghai has the largest number of Japanese expats.)
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@sunglee3935 Yes, the girl around 7:12. I honestly thought she is what Koreans may refer to as 僑胞 or Overseas Koreans. Indeed the JA and ZA are challenging for some Korean speakers. A typical example is the word 民族 (みんぞく or ethnicity). Correctly it should be MIN-ZOKU but native Korean speakers tend to pronounce it as MIN-JYOKU (with a "J"). I imagine that happens because they are the same/similar sounds in Korean language.
In a reverse example, I struggle with hearing the difference in K/G in the Korean language. For instance, the surname 金氏 would often be written as KIM with a "K," but 金浦空港 and 金海市 would be written as GIMPO Airport and GIMHAE City....with a "G").
In Japan, the Ministry of Education has a list of KANJI children need to learn each year. 1st grade is 80 KANJI, 2nd grade 160 KANJI, 3rd grade is 200 KANJI, etc...and text books will only include KANJI from that year and below. If you google 学年別漢字配当表 you'll find the list. And yes, most children would know what 部首 is. We learn it as にんべん、くさかんむり, etc in school.
FYI, if you're serious about learning KANJI, I'd highly recommend going on websites like Amazon Japan and ordering a KANJI flash card for elementary school kids. They usually have the best examples of how it should be written (書き順) as well as all the readings and example words . (I know they have English version website and deliver to US and Europe...so I'm pretty sure they deliver to South Korea as well.)
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@M_SID21 If you're talking about paternal Y-DNA Haplogroups, most Germanic-speaking males have R1b and most Slavic-speaking males have R1a (excluding the Balkans). Northern Indians and Iranians also have R1a due to Aryan migration from a few thousand years ago. The Sogdians who traded between Central Asia and China were also Eastern Iranic speaking Aryans. You can find their descendants in modern-day Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, China, etc.
As for Scythians, who are partial ancestors of many people living in the Eurasian steppe, their languages were majority Iranic and Turkic. Sorry to break it you but it's very unlikely that your ancestors spoke a Slavic language before around 1,000 years ago. Why do you think there are people like the Lipka Tatars in Poland and Baltic states? The common tongue in the Black Sea region and Eurasian steppe was Turkic from around 1,500 years ago. Many of their descendants were later Slavicized. Just look at old paintings of the Cossacks. Their hairstyle, clothing, weapons...are all nomadic Turkic. Even the name Cossack has a Turkic cognate.
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@Kalafior10 I question your knowledge of Japan, since most foreign-nationals living in Japan are from neighboring countries, and many have assimilated culturally and integrated socially. Many of them eventually naturalize to Japanese citizenship. Just to give you an example, there is a famous eye-doctor in Tokyo who is a descendant of the Manchu Imperial Family. She came from China, finished medical school in Japan, and now has a practice in Tokyo. (People will immediately notice when they see 愛新覚羅, which is a surname or clan-name you only encounter in history textbooks.)
We have an ethnic Korean from China (李相哲) who is one of Japan's leading experts on North Korean affairs. He used to be a journalist in China, later finished his graduate studies in Japan, and has been teaching at university for decades. We have quite a few ethnic Mongols from both Mongolia and China who run SUMO staples. And we have naturalized citizens like ARIFYA Eri who is elected as a Member of Parliament. She has Uyghur ancestry.
The list of famous people with non-Japanese backgrounds is quite long. And most international marriages are with people from neighboring countries. These days, you can find many half-Filipino celebrities in Japan, such as AKIMOTO Sayaka, HAYAMI Mokomichi, or TAKAHASHI Maryjune. The reality is you cannot be a second-class citizen in Japan if you're a foreigner, because you're not a citizen to begin with.
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We've witnessed a few Ukrainian refugees who've attained N2 in just 2 years of language school in Japan. Based on my experience of working with Nikkei-Brazilians and Peruvians who've relocated to Japan, I'd say having knowledge of basic grammar, vocab, and KANJI definitely helps with the pace of learning/absorption once you're in Japan. We see people from UK, CIS (aka former Soviet Union), Mongolia, South Korea, China, etc who've studied Japanese in their home countries, and many of them are able to read novels and newspapers. Their fluency in language helps them in job hunting, career, as well as Permanent Visa, etc.
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@Myacckt Majority of international marriages involving Japanese women, 7,646 cases in 2021, are with citizens of neighboring countries. Perhaps more people wanted to move to the US back in the 1980s. Citizenship of husband in 2021: South/North Korea 1,879 marriages; US 1,453 marriages; China 986 marriages; UK 367 marriages; Brazil 290 marriages; Philippines 156 marriages; Peru 90 marriages; and Thai 58. Unfortunately, everybody else is counted as others, which was 2,367 cases. (Anecdotally, some other common cases are Australia, Canada, NZ, Russia, France, Germany, Switzerland. )
South/North Korea can also be Special Permanent Residents (i.e. descendants of those who migrated to Japan prior to the end of WWII), and Brazil & Peru most likely refers to Japanese Descendants who live in Japan.
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@jessieperson You probably figured out by now that some of Japanese communication is non-verbal. Simple nodding, bowing, eye-contact, posture, or hand gestures can communicate hi, thank you, sorry, I understand, I'm angry, etc. This is because since infancy we're naturally trained to sense/read behaviors of others. We require fewer words to communicate among ourselves because we can infer the meaning. We generally sense gratitude, attention, or need of others from their behavior. But I understand it becomes very problematic when communicating with people who grew up in different cultures.
As for whether a Japanese person loves you or not is quite simple. He/she will be genuinely interested in and concerned for your emotional and physical happiness. If he/she can sense your slight change of mood and emotions, that means he/she is paying attention to you and your needs. People who can't sense feelings/needs of others are considered to have low communication skills.
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I've witnessed foreign-nationals who have been able to adapt culturally and integrate socially with Japan, and those who felt were rejected and isolated. The difference has a lot to do with one's personality, preference, and flexibility. Some people are really good in adjusting to new cultures/countries. The biggest difference is usually understanding Japanese language, culture, norms, etc.
I've heard that people in English-speaking countries often use the GENKI series in English as an intro textbook for Japanese language programs. Just memorize the entire book. In Japanese mandatory education, we are required to learn 1,000 KANJI by 6th grade. So yes, you do need KANJI to be literate in Japanese language.
If you're serious about learning Japanese, make time everyday to listen to Japanese music or NHK news radio, watch Japanese YouTube, TV programs, or movies, and read Japanese books for children. You don't need to understand any of it at first. Language learning is essentially pattern recognition, so the more you're exposed to Japanese content, the more your ear will get used to Japanese phonetics, rhythm, and intonation.
I've studied and worked with many foreign-nationals in Tokyo who read Japanese newspapers and novels, many of whom have finished undergraduate or graduate programs in Japan, or have completed Japanese degrees in foreign universities. If your highschool offers exchange programs use that opportunity. If not try to find colleges that have really good programs in Japanese language, linguistics, culture, history, etc. There is also a MEXT scholarship for serious students who with to study in Japan.
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@sara.cbc92 The relationship of the East Asian languages is a very interesting topic. I think many linguists call the grammatical similarity between Turkic, Mongolian, Manchu, Korean, and Japanese a "Sprachbund." Based on DNA haplogroups, proto-Koreanic speakers (Y-DNA Haplogroup C) originate somewhere in Manchuria, and they have close genetic ties with Manchus, Mongols, and Kazakhs. Warm southern regions of the peninsula used to be part of Japonic language/culture (Y-DNA Haplogroup O1), until Koreanic speakers starting migrating/invading southwards from 4th century and onwards.
Think of Germanic vs Romance/Latin-speakers who study English as a foreign language. In general, Germanic speakers will have a much easier time mastering English than Romance/Latin-speakers, despite nearly half of English vocab having roots in French/Latin. It's because all Germanic languages still share a common grammar structure, including English. It's a similar situation with Turkic, Mongolic, and Korean speakers who study Japanese. Grammar is relatively intuitive...which makes life so much easier. (You can focus on Kanji, vocab, or idioms without having to worry about grammar too much. And honorifics is not an alien concept in their languages.)
But I'm always most impressed when I listen to the Japanese spoken by Slavic/Russian speakers. Their Japanese pronunciation is far better and crisp/clear than most other foreigners, including people from many Asian countries. Mandarin-speakers often struggle with Japanese grammar (unless they're ethnic Mongolian, Korean, Tibetan, or Uyghur/Turkic-speakers from China). Native Korean-speakers and (some people from Southeast Asia) often struggle with accurate pronunciation of certain Japanese phonetics. Which is why we can almost always identify Koreans and Chinese from how they speak Japanese.
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@Zaptrap101 You're very correct. Most Japanese people have no need for foreign languages in their daily lives. And most foreigners living, studying, or working in Japan are not from English-speaking countries. Thus, Japanese language is usually their 3rd, 4th, or 5th language they have studied.
What is truly impressive is the Japanese fluency of those from non-English speaking countries. There are those from Turkey, Central Asia, Russia, Mongolia, China, France etc who speak near-native Japanese.
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@kimckawa I highly doubt those things have any impact on how Japanese people answer their favorite foreign country. Views are based on preferences in culture, cuisine, architecture, music, people, nature, etc. And some of the countries mentioned were enemies or allies in WWI and WWII. Germany was an enemy in WWI and ally in WWII. France and UK were allies of Japan in WWI and enemies in WWII. (It's actually why Japanese military is invited to French military parades.)
Japan signed alliances with the UK, Germany, and US in 20th century alone to keep Russians/Soviets from advancing further into East Asia, specifically Inner Manchuria, Korean peninsula, and Japan. Perhaps in Asia there is still resentment against European colonial history, but in Japan it has almost no relevance.
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Your grandparents were Japanese nationals, meaning there will be government records in our KOSEKI (戸籍) system of their parents, siblings, uncles/aunts, etc. Sadly, many of the Japanese immigrants didn't have the time, money, or energy to visit the Japanese Embassy/Consulate to legally register their children who were born outside of Japan. They were living far away or too busy trying to stay alive. Had they done so, their children born in Brazil would've been Japanese nationals who were born outside of Japan...like President Fujimori of Peru.
I remember the previous Governor of Hawaii Ige-san found relatives in Japan that he never knew he had, mostly second and third-cousins. He was able to pay respect to his ancestors with his extended family, which is the essence of Japanese culture/religion. If your grandmother had siblings, it's very likely some of her relatives may still be in Hokkaido.
As for Nikkei-Brazilians in Japan, my biggest concern is that they are arriving in Japan without knowledge of basic language. I don't know the history behind Japanese education in Brazil, but had they been able to study Japanese at a young age in Brazil, they would've been able to transfer their knowledge and professional experience in Japan. The Nikkei-Brazilians with limited language skills also seem to have difficulty adapting culturally and integrating socially. Ironic as it is, the non-Japanese foreign nationals who've studied in Japanese language programs, technical schools, and universities seem to have a easier time with adaptation and integration.
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There are 101,000 Japanese expats living in China. When I was in college, I think about 1/3 of my department took Chinese as a second-foreign language (第2外国語). Most weren't into foreign languages but we thought Chinese would be easiest because of the KANJI. We couldn't have been more wrong.
As for countries, 410,000 Japanese nationals live in the US, which is the largest. Third largest Japanese expat community is in Australia with 99,000, followed by Canada 75,000, Thailand 72,000, UK 65,000, Brazil 47,000, South Korea 42,000, Germany 42,000, France 36,000, Singapore 32,000, and Taiwan 21,000.
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Staying for a few months as long-term tourist would be better. I don't think Tokyo is the best place for freelancing. Tax-filing gets complicated after 180 days in country...or when you become a "taxable resident."
Currently, the JPY is weak relative to other currencies, so you can live comfortably with 3,000 Euros or JPY 475,000, as long as you don't live in the most posh areas with high-rent. When I was in Tokyo, expats in IT, Consulting, and Finance used "Ken Corporation" to find rentals suited for expat needs. But I'd recommend fully-furnished service apartments on monthly contracts.
Generally speaking, it is a illegal for Japanese banks to open a bank account for non-residence. To be a legal resident, you need to obtain work/study/spousal visa. As for mortgage, no Japanese bank will lend to somebody without employment or proof of stable income. And most of the time, they would require Permanent Residency to offer a mortgage (in addition to a full health checkup and life insurance.)
Honestly, I'd rather recommend Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia...for the same budget. You can survive in Tokyo with only English, but you will have a difficult time outside of touristy places. And a lot of the government paperwork will be in Japanese.
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@Rudysattva No, not all Gaijin are treated the same way. If he is fluent in Japanese language, culture, and mannerism...he'll do fine. If he isn't, he'll be another extended tourist living in a expat bubble with limited contact with Japanese society.
But I do think we differentiate and judge depending on ethnicity/nationality...based on collective experiences. Right now, we have a major problem with a ethnic Kurdish asylum-seekers. They're violent, dangerous, and frankly disgusting. Vietnamese and Chinese make up 60% of crimes committed by foreign nationals, so people have a poor view towards them. Others are usually Koreans, Brazilians, and Filipinos.
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There are many Nikkei-Jin (Japanese Descendants) who are business-owners, public school teachers, engineers, bankers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, university professors, hairdressers, etc. I've met a few of them in Tokyo who were originally from Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Canada, Philippines, and US.
But some Nikkei-jin who come to Japan start out as "contract workers" or "temp workers" in factories on hourly wages. Those who make the effort to absorb Japanese language, culture, and norms eventually are able to integrate socially. Some start their own businesses, others find careers in logistics, construction, hospitality, retail, tourism, transportation, education, healthcare, childcare, etc because there is so much labor shortage.
It's a reality that Japanese Descendants who arrive in Japan without basic language fluency, education, or technical skills will face considerably more challenges. It will be difficult to work in a convenience store or fast food industry, if you cannot speak basic Japanese. Conversely, those who have fluency are given preferential conditions for Permanent Visa and Naturalization. (Nikkei-jin need only 5 years of continued residency to apply for Permanent Visa.)
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Please try to study as much Japanese language/culture as you can while in Brazil. If you can obtain N4-level or better, it will be a life-saver for you. (N4 is the bare minimum language requirement for foreign nurses to work in Japan.) The work opportunities will expand exponentially as your fluency improves. We have Nikkei-Brazilian bankers, IT engineers, doctors, nurses, university professors, consultants, public school teachers, and lawyers. We have witnessed many from the Former Soviet Union, China, Korea, etc who reach N2-level fluency in university, so it's doable. Foreign/international students who finish Japanese university and graduate programs usually have N1/N2 fluency.
We've also heard of many Japanese Descendants from Brazil who struggle in Japan at the initial phase due to lack of basic language skills. This is because Japanese Descendants are the only exception to Japan's visa policy, in which they are allowed to live/work in Japan without language skills, professional experience, or university qualification. It's really difficult when you need an interpreter for everything like going to the doctor, opening a bank account, or enrolling kids in day-care. Lack of language skills is the main impediment, so Japanese Government requires minimum Japanese fluency for the YONSEI Visa scheme.
As for Nikkei-Brazilians living in Japan, the ones who have successfully "re-integrated" into Japanese society tend to keep their distance from the Brazilian community in Japan. I'm terribly sorry to have to say this, but there are two types of Japanese-Brazilians in Japan. The ones who can speak/read and function within Japanese society, and the ones who cannot and live in a Brazilian expat bubble. The successful ones who integrated wish to raise their kids in Japan and eventually become Permanent Visa holders or even go through Naturalization. They've all experienced first-hand how dangerous, difficult, and deceiving some in the Brazilian community are, so they prefer to work or live in regions where there aren't many Brazilians. This is also why they appear to become more "COLD" to other Brazilians.
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And for the same reason you've mentioned, a European language (including English) is difficult for Japanese people too. We cannot translate word for word, thus we have to memorize an entire expression or phrase. There is a famous Swedish lady on Japanese public broadcasting (johannainjapan). Her Japanese is near-native. So I don't think it's impossible for a Swede to master Japanese.
I would highly recommend following the advice from the Austrian lady in this video. Just listen to music, watch TV, YouTube, movies in Japanese in your free time as part of entertainment. Grammar is pattern recognition. The more you're exposed to it, the more it will make sense.
Just based on my personal experience, Europeans seem to be able to master Japanese far better than Americans. There are French, Germans, Romanians, Bulgarians, Italians, Hungarians, Brits, Ukrainians, and Russians who have near-native fluency in Japanese.
And I think those from former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe have one of the best language abilities. We have witnessed some Ukrainian refugees without any Japanese training reaching N2-JLPT in just 2 years in Japan. Just looking back in how much I struggled learning English, I cannot imagine myself mastering Ukrainian/Russian in just 2 years.
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In Japan, there are more international marriages with Japanese men compared to Japanese women. Most foreign wives are women from neighboring countries. And most Japanese men will marry foreign women who are sufficiently fluent in Japanese language and culture, unless they plan to live abroad forever.
Honestly, there is a lot of things men have to think about such as inheritance, family business, tombs, seasonal family gathering, etc. If your wife cannot function in Japanese society, it would be an enormous amount of inconvenience. From funerals to household finance to family trips to picking schools for kids, the women in the family do a lot of it in Japan. I would even say they arrange and organize most of it. So if she cannot read Japanese, it would be unrealistic and irresponsible to marry her. There is a famous UNAGI restaurant in Tokyo run by an American wife. She is more culturally Japanese than many Japanese.
The other part is subjective and a matter of preference. Women from Eastern Europe and Russia appear to assimilate far better than those from Western Europe, North America, or Australia. Their Japanese fluency is far better than those from English/Germanic countries, and they tend to be more aligned to Japanese traditions and culture. The modern liberal woke American women aren't perceived as attractive in Japan. Japanese women marry foreigners from developed countries mostly because they are not perceived as attractive in Japanese perspective or they simply wish to live abroad. Most of their marriages are also with people from neighboring countries, mostly Koreans, Chinese, and Taiwanese.
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You're obviously not Japanese, nor have you ever received formal education in Japan. I've never met a Nihonjin who believes they descend from Amaterasu...because that's the same as saying they're offshoots of the Imperial Family. You're a typical Gaijin.
FYI, Yayoi people started arriving in Japanese Isle and Korean peninsula around 3,500-3,000 years ago. Their unique rice-farming culture, pottery, architecture, tombs, mythology, clothing, and genetic traits indicate some similarities with rice-farming people in Southern China and Southeast Asia.
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Japan used to allow natural-born dual-citizenship until 1985, as long as the father is a Japanese citizen. So people like President Fujimori was/is legally a natural-born Japanese citizen. Under Jus Sanguinis, he was a Japanese national born outside of Japan.
As the number of international marriages increased, and the number of natural-born dual-citizenship increased, Japanese Citizenship Law was revised in 1984 to ban dual-citizens. The law was also revised so that children of Japanese women who married foreigners were also able to inherit Japanese citizenship. (Many of them were perceived as "War Brides" after WWII, so Japanese society didn't want their children to have Japanese citizenship prior to the change.)
I have no idea whether citizenship rules have anything to do with discrimination. From our perspective, if you desire to be a Japanese citizen, go through the naturalization process and become a Japanese national. We have had naturalized Members of Parliament who were formerly Uzbek, Uyghur, Finn, or Korean. FYI, we have zero desire to make the same mistakes as Europe when it comes to multi-culturalism. But we already have ethnic centers like China-town, Korea-town, or Burmese in Takada-no-baba.
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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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@lookitskazzy Each person's situation is different. Men and women are treated differently in the process as well. Income requirements depends if the person is the "rice-winner" of the family or not. Language fluency, education and skill level, tax records and social security payments, criminal and traffic records, and most importantly whether the Ministry of Justice can tolerate that person to live among Japanese people or not is being reviewed. And if you're married to a Japanese citizen, the Japanese spouse and his/her income, legal history, education-level, and tax records are also scrutinized. (For instance, I highly doubt the government wishes to issue Permanent Visa to foreign wives of Yakuza members.)
Historically, the Permanent Visa and Naturalization schemes were intended for foreign wives of Japanese husbands, or Foreign mothers of Japanese citizens. (Japan didn't issue citizenship to children of foreign fathers prior to 1985.) As such, if the Japanese husband has a stable income, the foreign wife can be a stay-at-home mom with no income and still receive Permanent Visa or Naturalization. However, income requirements become more strict if it's a foreign husband and Japanese wife, foreigner married to another foreigner, or a single foreigner, because your income is needed to support the household.
In practice, Japanese Descendants as well as children of foreign-nationals raised/educated in Japan are given preferential treatment. But the 3 most crucial requirement is written in the Ministry of Justice guidelines. The order is no accident.
(1) 素行が善良であること
(2) 独立の生計を営むに足りる資産または技能を有すること
(3) 永住が日本の利益になると認められること
And regardless of the visa type, the Japanese government will let each foreign national clearly know how they're perceived in Japan in the length of the visa. Foreign/international students who graduate Japanese university will almost automatically receive a 5-year visa from the beginning. Foreign spouses that are trusted by the government will get a long visa for their spousal visa as well.
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@Ssumitani Japanese people share a common language, culture, and identity. Language is culture, and culture is religion. So if you don't know how to read/write/speak Japanese, there is no way people in Japan will consider you to be Japanese (even if both of your parents are from Japan).
Naturally, you'll be treated differently if you live in Japan and aren't fluent in Japanese. And it's not condescension that I feel when I meet Japanese Descendants who cannot speak Japanese, it's more a sense of pity that they are disconnected from their ancestral land, language, or culture. They cannot read Japanese literature, and understand music or TV. They will never understand the identity, history, or the feeling of visiting the tombs of your ancestors going back generations. (If you cannot read Japanese, you won't even able to find your ancestor's tombs anyway or speak with relatives at family functions.)
The reality is Japanese society will almost always value, respect, and appreciate somebody from say Iran, Myanmar, China, Turkey, New Zealand, Panama, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, France, Canada, South Korea, Australia, Hungary, Russia, Georgia, etc, etc...who has near-native fluency in Japanese language and culture over a Japanese Descendant who cannot even read Japanese news articles. We've always had elected officials that are naturalized citizens. We have Buddhist monks and Shinto priests from other countries. These days a 1/3 of our top Sumo Wrestlers (i.e. MAKU-UCHI) are from Mongolia, Inner Mongolia (China), Bulgaria, Georgia, Brazil, etc. They are more "Japanese" than most Japanese in Japan, protecting and preserving Japanese traditions and culture. The most popular post-war YOKOZUNA was TAIHO (大鵬), and he was half-Ukrainian born in KARAFUTO.
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@Historian212 Frankly, if they have a foreign-father, experience may be somewhat different because the family name is often non-Japanese, automatically differentiating them from rest of the population since birth. (Nobody assumes somebody called SMITH to be Japanese.) In the entertainment industry, it was well-known that successful half-Japanese celebrities--such as SAWAJIRI Erika, SHIROTA Yu, or TAKAHASHI Maryjune--have Japanese fathers. I don't know if this is due to upbringing, culture, or genetic admixture. For whatever reason, they tend to match the beauty preference of the Japanese public.
Since Japan only uses Jus Sanguinis citizenship rule, location of birth is not relevant. You can be born in Egypt and still be a Japanese citizen. However, until legal changes in 1985 children of foreign-fathers didn't qualify for automatic Japanese citizenship at birth (unless the mother was single or divorced). In other words, Japanese government and society didn't perceive them to be natural-born Japanese.
This perception has continued since ancient times. In Japanese traditions, we mostly use the paternal family names, religions, and tombs (unless adopted into a different family). The children are a member of the father's KOSEKI or family registry (unless they are children of single-mothers and divorcees), and they will be treated as a member of the paternal family for funerals too. Thus, if you have a foreign father, those traditions may not be inherited, possibly making them disconnected from Japanese culture, traditions, and identity.
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@beatlessteve1010 That's a very interesting family history. Your Japanese writing is native-level for somebody who was adopted to a foreign family. In Japan we were historically organized by clans and identified as members of our father's clan/family since ancient times, at least from around 古墳時代, so around 3rd or 4th century. I suspect the practice is much older, but that's about when written records on various clans start.
People were known as "XYZ of 〇〇氏/clan", which is why we still use the word "氏名" when we refer to people's names. It literally means Clan Name. To date, we mostly inherit the KOSEKI, surname, tombs, religious sect, traditions, and land from the paternal lineage. As such, only those with a Japanese father have been perceived to be Japanese. It's ones of the reasons why the government didn't issue Japanese citizenship to children of foreign fathers born before 1985.
And this perception, is why half-kids with foreign fathers may be treated differently from half-kids with Japanese fathers. Basically, you need a Japanese surname to be considered Japanese in Japan. It's not about citizenship.
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You are what you decide to be. We tried to assimilate and integrate Koreans in the past, but that didn't work out so well. Korean War refugees and their descendants are still in Japan. After so many decades, many of them still don't wish to return to Korea, yet they also refuse to become Japanese. We allowed them to stay in Japan on humanitarian grounds, but this terrible experience is why Japan doesn't take in any more refugees.
The irony is "Zainichi Koreans" mostly have their 本籍 in the south (primarily in 全羅道 & 慶尚道), which historically used to be linguistically, ethnically, culturally, and politically Japonic in ancient times. Proto-Korean speakers migrated to the peninsula from Manchuria. Some of the Japonic speakers fled to Japan, but most of them were absorbed into by the conquering northern culture, around 4-7th century. This explains why Korean language has both a Mongolian pitch accent, but retains some Japonic phonetics. It's a fusion language that experienced heavy sinicization in later centuries.
Descendants of Proto-Korean speakers mostly have unique Y-DNA Haplogroup C, which makes up about 20% of modern South Korean males. This admixture increases in North Korea. It's also common among Manchus, Mongols, and Turkic tribes. They used to be semi-nomadic horse riders, while Japonic residents in the south were mostly rice farmers. In other words, indigenous Japonic people in the south became "Koreans" over the centuries.
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@awsnie I've worked with enough foreigners in Japan to know that some people have much easier time in integrating socially and adapting culturally, while others face enormous struggles to be accepted by Japanese people.
Fluency in language and culture is a pre-requisite, but my impression is that there are certain personal traits and individual characteristics that would be more receptive and respected among Japan society. We'd often say somebody with a good personality and temperament as 性格が良い, and it is highly valued among Japanese society, perhaps more than anything. This will show in how one speaks, choice of words, manners, behaviors, mindset, dresses, etc.
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I would add religion and history to your list. Japanese culture and Japanese religion are so old and intertwined, nobody knows whether culture stems from religious practice and perspectives, or if Japanese culture was simply crystallized into Japanese religion. Either way, it dictates how Japanese people behave, interact, think, or even how society is organized. This cultural barrier is very difficult to overcome for some foreign-nationals, including those from neighboring countries, yet for others it's almost instinctive and adjust and adapt without any effort. They feel relaxed and comfortable in Japan like a native. I suspect the lady working in IT is one of those who liked tranquility and organization of Japan. Her mannerism, speech, and dress does match Japanese cultural preference.
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@Kawayoporu You're correct there is no formal registry for Japanese Descendants. There is also no legal definition on how many generations or what percentage of blood qualify as Japanese Descendants. So it is a guessing game.
Japan's Foreign Ministry (MOFA) guesstimates total 3.6 million NIKKEI-JIN world-wide, of which 2.1 million are living in Central and South America. Breakdown of estimate: Brazil 1.9 million; US 1.33 million; Peru 100,000; Canada 88,000; Argentina 65,000; Australia 57,000; Mexico 20,000; Bolivia 14,000; Paraguay 10,000; Chile 3,000; Colombia; 2,000; Cuba 1,200; Venezuela 820; DR 800; Uruguay 460.
As for who should be counted as a Nikkei-Jin is a difficult question. 3rd Gen (SANSEI) can be minimum 1/4 Japanese by blood, but 4th Gen (YONSEI) can be minimum 1/8. 5th Generation can be minimum 1/16, so where to draw the line is not clear. What often happened in Hawaii was that some Japanese Descendants inter-married with Hawaiians, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and White settlers in the past few decades...so they now can identify as any of their ancestors.
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@xoseoa It makes me happy that you're fluent in Japanese and proud of your heritage. The more time you spend in Japan, the more local you'll become (whether you like it or not). The opposite happens too, when Japanese nationals live outside of Japan they start to change/adapt. Everything from choice of clothing, hairstyle, mannerism, make-up, facial gestures, body language, food preference...all those small things start to slowly diverge.
Your current assumption is that your physical appearance is why you're initially treated like an "outsider." (Being assumed you're an "insider," without being able to speak Japanese is tough too.) While I have no idea how Japanese/Western you may look, I have a strong suspicion that locals are judging from the other stuff. Eventually, you'll end up just like the rest of us. You'll be able to identify resident/visitor by how they walk, behave, dress, talk, etc.
I actually think it's rather presumptuous to assume that you'll be able to fit right into Japan without having ever lived in Japan. This process of cultural assimilation (i.e. "Japanization") will take a few years minimum. This is a common struggle for children of Japanese nationals who've spent their entire lives abroad.
Perhaps you know of these people. While not every one of them has a typical Japanese appearance, none of them will get the "outsider" treatment because most of them have been in Japan for a very long time. For example, Arashi Rina is half-Iranian, Michibata-sisters are half-Argentine, Haraka Christine is half-Swiss, Takigawa Christel is half-French, and Becky is half-British...and they carry themselves with Japanese aesthetics and beauty standards.
After some time in Japan, you'll know what I mean. I'm sorry that you're living in a sauna like the rest of us. I always recommend spring/autumn for visiting Japan.
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@misakamisaka7203 It really depends on your line of work. Most international students who graduated from Japanese universities will have N1. Many students who have studied Japanese or Japan Studies in the former Soviet Union, Mongolia, Taiwan, South Korea, or the UK achieve N2 by the time they graduate. In terms of living in Japan, N2 will be more than enough to get by for daily life.
However, if your work requires you to read and write at a professional level, N1 will not be sufficient either. (N1 is about junior/senior high school level fluency for a native speaker.) When you have to read and write business proposals, contracts, manuals, or administrative documents...it's actually not an easy task for native speakers too. Each field has unique technical jargon and qualifications that need to be specifically studied and understood.
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My English professor back in college used to say that read if you wish to write, and listen if you wish to speak. Language learning is everything from reading your favorite novels to listening to your favorite musicians to watching your favorite movies.
Both the Korean and American girls speak in a certain manner that makes native speakers realize they are fluent. That only happens because they read, watch, and listen to the same Japanese YouTubes, TVs, music, newspaper, or novels that native speakers do. Their word choice, pause between words, intonation, expressions, and mannerism is near native. Actually, I suspect the Korean girl was partially raised/educated in Japan.
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There is a translation issue, since "Japanese" can mean both ethnicity and nationality. In the most narrow definition, when we say 日本人, it refers to people with Japanese citizenship. So we don't call Nikkei-Brazilians, Peruvians, Americans, Canadians, Colombians, Mexicans, Bolivians, Argentine...as 日本人. Rather, we use 日系人, and we differentiate them with Japanese citizens who live overseas, who are referred to as "邦人" by the Japanese government and media.
Children of Japanese nationals who were born/raised overseas are not considered foreigners, provided that they receive Japanese education. But even if both of your parents were from Japan, if you don't have Japanese citizenship, you're legally a foreign-national (or 外国人) in Japan. And in Japanese media and government, it's common practice for names of Nikkei-jin to be written in Katakana instead of Kanji. This rule also applies to those who have emigrated abroad and lost Japanese citizenship. (Japanese citizenship is automatically revoked when that person obtains a foreign citizenship.)
In terms of ancestry, there is no doubt you are Japanese. But having Japanese ancestry is not the same as being 日本人 in the Japanese language. For most people in Japan, being "Japanese" means sharing a language, culture, values, norms, history, and identity. As such, if you're fluent in Japanese language and culture, it would be impossible for a Japanese person to consider you as a fellow Japanese. There are many Nikkei-Jin who adapt to Japan and naturalize to Japanese citizenship too.
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@arturohull14161 We do see a clear behavioral and mindset difference with foreigners who are accepted by Japanese society and those who get rejected. You're not wrong about cultural compatibility.
The more traditional, socially conservative, responsible, and educated segment will feel comfortable living in Japan, since their behavior mannerism tend to align with Japanese preferences. So it's not a surprise that some people from Eastern Europe and Russia find it far easier to assimilate and integrate with Japan than liberal/woke people from Western Europe, Australia, or North America.
Frankly, we find some Americans to be loud, disturbing, and disgusting with their behavior and mindset. And Americans are seen as quiet, introverted, and reserved in some Latin American countries, which should tell you how Latinos will feel or be perceived in Japan. But we have see Italians and French who have mastered Japanese language, culture, and mannerism and have integrated with Japan.
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@sharoneicher4131 Acceptance in Japan entirely depends on the person, education, upbringing, mindset, mannerism, etc. And an American perspective is rather useless for Japan, as your country was founded as a European transplant colony by eradicating the indigenous people, you mostly inherited British language/culture/customs/religion/education/history, and most of your ancestors are foreigners/immigrants in the past few centuries. In contrast, the first people who settled in Japan are from 40,000-50,000 years ago.
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I believe the best method is still to have both parents talk to the children in their own languages...only in their respective languages, because it's really tragic if your children cannot communicate directly with all of their grandparents, cousins, uncles/aunts, etc.
If there is a Japanese school in your neighborhood, please make sure they attend it on Saturdays. It will impact their future. The focus is always about expanding the possibilities of your children's future. Building a foundation of both French and Japanese when they're young, so that when they actually start studying it will be easier to master.
Naturally, fluency in language is just an entry-level problem, because the real challenge will be how to make them bi-cultural, so they will be completely accepted as natives in both French and Japanese societies. The brutal reality is you're neither useful to France nor Japan, if you're not perfectly fluent in both languages and cultures. So a fully-French person who has studied Japanese in highschool and university is more valuable to both France and Japan, than a Half-Japanese/French person who only knows one language.
I cannot speak for the "identity" issue because this will depend on where your children grow up. Growing up Half-French Half-Japanese in Japan is a very different experience from growing in France or even third-country like Singapore or the UK. As you're probably aware, there are many Half-French celebrities in Japan.
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Central Asia to Russia to some parts in Eastern Europe...they all have varying degree of Eurasian genetic mixture, since people have migrating in all directions for thousands of years. But they are in their countries and cultures. I find it confusing that half-Japanese kids who are not raised in Japan, never received formal Japanese education, and aren't fluent in Japanese language and culture...somehow expect that they will be treated the same as locals. Does an Italian American assume he/she will be viewed as an Italian in Italy? How can you be Japanese if you don't the share the language, culture, norms, history, mannerism, and identity with the rest of population. And yes, we have had many famous half-Japanese celebrities, politicians, athletes, etc.
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For us, it's not about whether you're half or not, it's about how you're raised. The famous Yokozuna TAIHO was half-Ukrainian, Gold Medalist MUROFUSHI Koji is half-Romanian, DARVISH Yu is half-Iranian, and Governor of Okinawa TAMAKI Denny is half-American.
There are many half/mixed people who are successful and well-respected in Japan. And nobody would consider them to be foreigners or outsiders because they were raised in Japan, educated in Japan, and behave/think like the rest of us. (We also have naturalized politicians who have no Japanese heritage like ARIFYA Eli who is half-Uyghur and half-Uzbek...but again she has Japanese mannerism and identity because she went to Japanese school in Japan.)
Conversely, even if both of your parents are from Japan...if you were not raised in Japan or attended Japanese school overseas, you will not be considered ethnically Japanese by most people, because the language/culture fluency is missing. In a way, we can sense who is Japanese and who is not from mannerism, behavior, mindset, etc. The way we talk, walk, sit, laugh...everything is different.
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@Motivational-Mango I beg to differ. It really depends on the cultural upbringing and education. We have half-Japanese politicians, athletes, celebrities, etc...but they're treated Japanese because they share Japanese language, culture, mannerism, and identity.
Some Japanese people are also really sensitive with labeling and identity. They fear that "hafu" implies that they're not real Japanese or won't be full members of Japanese society. Some people like "double," others like "mixed." Interestingly we never use "hybrids."
The reason why Japanese media tend to use "hafu" instead of "mixed" is because historically it had the same connotation as a "pure breed" vs "mixed-breed or mutt." These days people tend to avoid using "Mixed-breed" or "Mixed-blood" because it sounds derogatory, but "Thoroughbred" is still used in every-day Japanese language to mean "pure" outside of the context of horse-breeding.
And things got increasingly more complicated after Citizenship laws changed in 1985 because children of foreign fathers were also issued Japanese citizenship. Before that only children of Japanese fathers were legally and socially Japanese, while children of foreign fathers were legally foreigners (unless they come from single mother families). The classification was clear and simple; they were foreign-nationals with Japanese mothers. But when legal boundaries were revised, I think media/society started using "half" to refer to the half/mixed kids with Japanese citizenship.
To be honest, I don't remember Japanese kids with Taiwanese, Korean, or Chinese mothers to referred as "mixed blood." So I think it only referred to as biracial kids.
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I know many foreigners with N1 level fluency. Social acceptance and integration is entirely based on ones's personality, mannerism, mindset, skill-set, education, etc. Being fluent in a language is only a bare minimum to survive in any society.
I have a friend with whom I went to highschool and university. She's ethnically Russian & Ukrainian and was educated in Japan. Her parents speak to her in Russian, but she speaks to her parents in Japanese, as she's a native speaker. She'll always be accepted in Japan because she understands Japanese language, culture, history, traditions, customs, mindset, and mannerism, etc....like any other local. Her parents both teach at university in Japan, and her entire family is now naturalized Japanese citizens.
I suspect the primary reason why you're rejected by Japanese people has very little to do with your Japanese fluency. It's how you carry yourself, dress, talk, walk, sit, eat, and think. In case you don't know, we've always had naturalized citizen serving as elected officials. They're not native speakers. But they have assimilated culturally and integrated socially, which is why people are comfortable enough to vote for them.
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@@homie3461 We only approve 1,000 nationalizations each year, and majority applicants are Permanent Residents, Spouses & Children of Japanese nationals, Japanese Descendants, or foreign children who were raised and educated in Japan.
But I do understand what you're saying about nationality vs ethnicity. Multi-culturalism will never be tolerated in Japan. I know that the only foreigners who will ever be accepted in Japanese society are those who are willing adapt to Japanese language, culture, norms, behaviors, mindset, mannerism, aesthetics...in other words, become part of Japan. Those who can not or will not assimilate culturally and integrate socially will be alienated and isolated, so that they will leave Japan.
That said, I got the impression that the last kid is struggling with something other than ethnic/racial identity. Seriously, how many Japanese men will dress like that? If I had to guess he's a different type of minority.
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