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AmerAsian Children (mainly children of American and Okinawan parents
Japanese-Filipino Children
Articles in the media about Naomi Osaka collected on the Mixed race Studies website.
Naomi Osaka reflects on challenges of being black and Japanese Naomi Osaka has spoken about her experiences of being black and Japanese. The two-time grand slam champion was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian father. The family moved to the US when she was a child, but she says she noticed she stood out when she was in Japan, the country she competes for. Guardian, 215 Aug 2020.
Naomi Osaka And The Expectations Put Upon Biracial Japanese This article also includes a lot of videos about the experiences of hafu or bi-racial people in Japan. Kotaku, 29 Jan 2019.
Japan's hafu stars are celebrated. But some mixed-race people say they feel like foreigners in their own country This article looks at a number of issues relating to hafu or bicultural people in Japan including different names for them. It includes the stories of several people of mixed ethnicity living in Japan. CNN, 23 Sep 2020.
Coming to grips with a multicultural Japan Bullying in Japan seems to have taken a new twist -- the targeting of Japanese children of culturally mixed parentage. This article looks at the discrimination that children of mixed ethnicity or 'hafu' face in and explains the story of Lawrence Shimotaka Shimoji who started the website, Hafu Talk. NHK World, 14 June 2019
「日本人」とは何か？「ハーフ」たちの目に映る日本社会と人種差別の実際 – 4 long stories about being “Hafu” in Japan. 『ニッポン複雑紀行』27 Jun 2018.
Renho elected leader of main opposition Democratic Party The Democratic Party made history Thursday, electing Renho as the first female leader of the main opposition force. Renho is also a radical choice in Japan for the fact that she is of partly non-Japanese origin, with a Taiwanese father and Japanese mother. Japan Times, 15 Sep 2016.
Japan's opposition chooses female, half-Taiwanese leader Renho When Renho was elected the first female leader for Japan's main opposition Democratic Party on Thursday, she also broke another glass ceiling. She is the first person of mixed descent to hold the position. BBC News, 15 Sep 2016.
Japan’s dual citizens get a tacit nod but keep their status in the shadows An article looking at the situation of people in Japan with dual nationality, and at the governments official and actual policies on the issue, which includes the stories of some individuals with dual nationality. Japan Times, 14 Sep 2016.
Miss Japan won by half Indian Priyanka Yoshikawa A half-Indian woman has been crowned Miss World Japan, the second year in a row a biracial person has won a beauty pageant in the country. BBC News, 8 Sep 2016.
Japanese-Indian crowned Miss Japan, drawing mixed reaction Social media lit up Tuesday with the news of a half-Indian woman being crowned a beauty queen in Tokyo, with many congratulating her and marveling at how far Japan has come in embracing racial diversity. Japan Times, 5 Sep 2016.
Multiracial Miss Universe Japan hopes to change homeland’s thinking on identity Ariana Miyamoto hadn’t planned to enter a Japanese beauty contest because she figured her multiracial origins meant she couldn’t win. Then a close multiracial friend committed suicide. Japan Times, 3 Apr 2015.
The beauty contest winner making Japan look at itself An article looking at the issues raised by Arianna Miyamoto's victory as the first multiracial Miss Universe Japan. BBC News, 4 Jun 2015.
Biracial Beauty Queen Challenges Japan’s Self-Image This article looks at discrimination against black people and people of black and Japanese mixed background, following the victory of Ariana Miyamoto, a women of African-American and Japanese mixed descent, in the Miss Japan contest in 2015. New York Times, 29 May 2015.
Parents of mixed kids look abroad for high schools College preparation for bicultural young adults may include seeking out international as well as domestic opportunities. Some youngsters, however, are heading abroad much sooner — for high school or junior high school. Japan Times, 2 Feb 2014.
The whole story on being 'hafu' A short article on the movie 'hafu' which look s at the "world of people who are half-Japanese and half something else, as they try to find their place in society", CNN Travel, 29 Nov, 2010.
There is more to my son than the fact he’s a ‘half’ A new father discusses the way people in Japan treat his young son who has one Japanese and one non-Japanese parent. Japan Times, Jul 29, 2013.
Website for Hafu - the film.
Hafu’ draws viewers into world of Japanese identity: Participants see themselves as part of emerging community “Hafu,” the Japanese term for people who are half-Japanese, takes on a more intricate meaning through the unfolding of mixed-race Japanese lives in the documentary “Hafu.” Those starring in the film and those behind the project identify themselves as a newly emerging community. Japan Times, 22 Jul 2012.
Website for 'Hafu' / Half Japanese. A dialogue about being in between two cultures. Includes
facts & figures on hafus in Japan
Halvsie Wiki website of a group for hafu.
Interviews done with people on the street in Tokyo about their image and impression of hafus
Japan's Not So Pure Anymore: Country's biggest star is mixed-race Japan’s image of itself as a racially homogenous nation has been set back by a mixed-race schoolboy of Japanese and Iranian parentage, who has become the country’s biggest star. Yu Darvish, 18, dominated the news....when he was signed by the Nippon Ham professional baseball team. Intermix.
Doubles: Japan and America's intercultural children This movie is the first in depth look at the lives of the intercultural children of Japanese and Americans from inside America as well as inside Japan. Global Film Network. Watch a clip from the movie here:
Book is behind bullying of mixed-race children A letter by a Canadian of African descent about discrimination faced by his children who have a Japanese mother. Japan Times, April 10, 2012.
AmerAsian Children (mainly children of American and Okinawan parents)
Amerasian kids get short shrift in divorce capital of Japan This article looks at the situation of Amerasians - children of mixed American and Asian parentage - in Ginowan, Okinawa, and the problems they face including discrimination, poor education and absentee fathers who don't pay child care. Japan Times, July 20, 2000.
A Hard Life for Amerasian Children New York Times, 23 July 2000.
AmerAsian School marks 15th anniversary Okinawa’s only school offering an English and Japanese education for AmerAsian children is celebrating its 15th year of service to the community this year. Japan Update, 17 Nov 2013.
Japanese-Filipino Children
Center For Japanese-Filipino families "CJFF is an ecumenical service center in Japan which provide support to the members of Japanese-Filipino families. It does so through community formation, family life enhancement and counseling, education and training on legal rights, exposition of creative skills and arts, development of data base, information dissemination for advocacy, and developing network and linkages for the advancement of rights and welfare of Japanese-Filipino families."
Japanese-Filipino children pay for their fathers' mistakes An article about the experiences of children with Japanese mothers and Filipino fathers. Asahi, June 25, 2012.
Japanese-Filipino kids await fate: Top court to rule on nationality law tied to paternal recognition An article on the background to a court case about children born in Japan to unmarried Filipino women and Japanese men cannot get Japanese nationality. It loooks at the situation of one of thees children, Masami Tapiru, as well as at the history and situation of Filipino women coming to work in Japan. Japan Times, June 4, 2008. See the article below for the result of this case.
Bar to kids' citizenship ruled illegal: Supreme Court opens door to unwed foreign moms' children In a ruling sure to affect thousands of others born out of wedlock to non-Japanese mothers, the Supreme Court on Wednesday granted 10 children of Filipino women the right to Japanese nationality. Saying it led to unreasonable discrimination, 12 of the 15 justices on the top court's grand bench ruled unconstitutional a provision in the Nationality Law that states that such children can only become citizens of the mother's home country. Japan Times, June 5, 2008.
Lower House OKs revised Nationality Law The House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday to amend the Nationality Law to enable a child born out of wedlock to a Japanese man and a foreign woman to obtain Japanese nationality if the father recognizes his paternity after birth. The bill is expected to clear the House of Councilors for enactment by the Nov. 30 end of the current Diet session. Japan Times, Nov. 19, 2008.
Nationality Law tweak lacks DNA test: critics This article looks at criticisms and discussion of proposed changes to the nationality law that will allow children born of an unmarried Japanese father and foreign mother to gain Japanese nationality. Japan Times, Nov. 27, 2008.
A glimmer of hope for castoffs: NGO finding jobs for young, desperate Japanese-Filipinos In the Philippines, Japanese-Filipinos, known as "Japinos," are often looked down on as children of "Japayukis," or Filipino women who work as bar girls, waitresses or entertainers in Japan. This article looks at their situation and at the work of an NGO in the Philippines, Shin-Nikkeijin Network Association, Cebu Inc., or SNN, that helps these children locate their Japanese fathers and seek financial support. It also gives some background about the immigration in recent years of Filipino workers, esepcially women, to Japan. Japan Times, Oct. 11, 2006.
Citizen’s Network for Japanese Filipino Children We are a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Tokyo. We support Japanese-Filipino Children (JFC) who are born to Filipino mothers and Japanese fathers.
OM conducts project for Japanese Filipino children The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has announced that it is undertaking a two-year project to improve multi-agency cooperation and raise awareness on issues faced by an estimated 200,000 Japanese Filipino children (JFC) in Japan and in the Philippines. abs-cbn NEWS, 03/26/2009.
Japanese-Filipino children from the Philippines-based NGO “DAWN” visit the Center An article about the visit of Seven Japanese-Filipino children (JFC) and three female staff members of the Filipino NGO “DAWN (Development Action for Women Network)” to the National Women's Education Center in Japan. It also descibes the work of DAWN to help Filipino women with children fathered by Japanese men and their children, mainly by supporting women’s independence and providing legal and financial assistance to both mother and her children.
The Development Action for Women Network (DAWN) is a non-government development organization created on February 6, 1996 to assist Filipino women migrants in Japan and their Japanese-Filipino children (JFC) in the promotion and protection of their human rights and welfare.
Most Jap-Fils prefer dad's 'love' over citizenship Most Japanese-Filipino children (JFC) would rather meet their fathers in person and be recognized as their children than be granted Japanese citizenship. This article also gives some background on Filipino women who went to work in Japan, mainly in the 'entertainment industry' and on the identity crisis faced by Japanese-Filipino children. GMANews.TV, 08/21/2008.
International Marriage: Japanese-Filipino children pay for their fathers' mistakes "More than 1,000 children of international couples, who were not originally granted Japanese citizenship because they were born out of extramarital relationships, or lacked recognition from their Japanese parents or for other reasons, become Japanese each year." This article looks at the situation of Japinos, children born to a Filipino and a Japanese parent. Asahi Shinbun, 26 Jun, 2012.