Legally he is NOT Japanese. In order to be a Japanese citizen one of your parents has to be a Japanese citizen. Just because someone is born in Japan, it does not mean they are citizens. Things do not operate like it does in the USA, people like you need to stop pushing American laws and customs on other countries.
@@canaryinacoalmine7267 - He said his family was three generations. That means Him, His parents and grandparents all lived in Japan. Wouldn't' that mean he and his parents were born there?
@@axelsharpshire6457 I looked up Japanese citizenship, and being born in Japan has nothing to do with citizenship. You are a Japanese citizen only if your parents are Japanese citizens. So if both grandparents are form the UK, and they have children, then they are not Japanese citizens, and neither will their children, unless they marry a Japanese citizen.
I think it’s so interesting that the first man’s parents were also born and raised in Japan. It’s really interesting to think about being 2nd generation Japanese. Immigration exists in all developed nations but it seems that even Japanese people believe their country is as homogenous as it presents itself
More than 90% of the Japanese population is of Japanese Asian decent as was claimed on Japanese media - google it or counter my claim if needed, i don't want to spread misinformation.
I found this crazy relatable to the growing chinese community in Argentina. Some of them have been here for three generations but their ethnicity is so strong that people get surprised by hearing perfect Spanish come out of their mouths. It's refreshing to hear stories from a similar perspective first hand. Thanks!!!
Paula Barberis My experience of Chinese folks in another country of the Western hemisphere is similar: that they are quite ethnocentric and mostly endogamous, but quick to reach practical accommodation with the prevailing culture. The younger generation here speak English perfectly.
Kinda like my great-grandparents, who were Germans living in the U.S. who for generations spoke German as their native language. And only married or lived in communities of Germans. They kept on like that until the world wars.
chinese here they adopted culture perfectly. they changed their name and surname to native ones and didnt even bother teaching chinese language to their children
To be honest, as a Primary School Teacher, what happened is that a few years ago, the Chinese and Korean communities were very closed and impossible to go through them. So we had kids who barely spoke the language and the families did not do much to work for integration. We had to learn to speak words in Chinese and Korean to integrate them and learn about the customs of their countries. As a matter of fact, one of my friends at school during the 90s was Korean and he had to change his football shirt before going home so his parents wouldn't know that he liked football. I do accept there's always racisms in every aspect of an immigrant's life (I am an immigrant myself) but also, in this particular case, I lived on the other side of the spectrum. Hope everything is better now for you today!
When i see any asian looking people in Peru, I assume they speak Spanish. Very rare seem an asian tourist. My first thought is he or she is an immigrant.
All of these people were so mature and wonderful. Also your comment at the end was really interesting, that you are learning about Japan more this way, from other people. Honestly, open minded Japanese people like you, who are willing to learn from different people will really make Japan a better place.
@@proximacentaur1654 no lie, what the lady said whose parents were from Iran is 100% correct. You need to work to move past what happens in the past that is rough, understand that some people haven’t learned to use their voice to lift others up yet, and to be positive in the face of it all. If everyone was like that lady, the world would be a better place.
HE DOES IT,FOR HE WANTS THE NON ASIAN/OR NON JAPANESE TO SEE THE OTHER SIDE OF JAPAN,SO THT FOREIGNERS WILL THINK TWICE,BEFORE CONTINUE TO MIGRATE THERE DOH!
I can empathize with the woman interviewed at the end. I passed the Level 1 Japanese exam and worked in an office with mostly Japanese for a few years - while my Japanese is not native, it is certainly competent. People would constantly avoid me, not getting it through their heads that I could speak Japanese. The logic went something to the effect, well, we can't speak to him in English because his Japanese is so much better than ours, but we can't speak to him in Japanese, because foreigners do not speak Japanese. So out of a department of 18 Japanese, a Chinese gentleman and myself, only the Chinese and two or three of the Japanese would speak to me in a normal fashion in Japanese. It was very frustrating and after a point, sad.
Yep, learning J is a waste of time. I myself came to this conclusion after going through the whole process of years of efforts followed by frustrating outcomes. On the whole J people are just too closeminded to deserve us, truly commited foreigners.
@@nr655321 that's not true at all. It completely depends on the environment and the person. I live in Osaka and my friend is a blonde Caucasian and has N1 and he always had japanese girlfriends and friends in his workplace. I moved to Osaka thanks to his advice. Even though my Japanese is like at N4 - N3 level, as long as I am trying my best speaking the language and adapt my mannerisms to theirs, they don't mind speaking with me at all. The more comfortably you can speak their language, the more comfortable they will feel and start talking with you.
@@sandwich4916 Unfortunately, I have to say I disagree with you. When I spoke really broken Japanese, people seemed delighted and were so friendly. After I passed N2, I started to notice the opposite reaction and quite a bit of distance from people, and after L1, it was as I described in my original post. I did find that the Kansai people I ran into did seem more open in this regards, but I never lived there (was in Kanto) so cannot say.
Im half white half japanese, and I was born in Japan, went to hawaii for elemetary and went back to japan for middle school and high school. When youre not Japanese looking in Japan, people will constantly remind you youre different. when i was in japan I felt like an american, but when I moved out to the US for college, I realized i didnt understand the american life as I thought I would and I felt Japanese. its really hard to fully embrace both because theyre such different cultures
My older brother is full-blooded Japanese and he held onto his Japanese citizenship knowing that he will return to Japan to work. But because my family immigrated to New Zealand to give me a better life/opportunities that Japan did not. That's why my brother grew up in New Zealand for twelve years before returning to Japan and being educated with New Zealand qualifications - the Japanese treated him differently despite him being 100% fluent in Japanese and knowing Japanese customs/traditions, etc. It's the qualifications alone that differed him from his Japanese peers in Japan. It took him nearly twenty years living in Japan to get his status back as a Japanese.
I'm an Arab looking Southern Italian (2nd generation) American that studied Japanese in Saitama for a year in College. I either felt like James Dean or Gannondorf walking around depending on the day or the age of the people I was around. The young people would hear I was American and be fun to be around. Old people sometimes were fun too. Although at least 3 old ladies purposefully rammed me with their Bicycles while I was there. And that hurt.
Uhm, there's no white race... Please do not become like the americans, where they call european people caucasian even though the caucasus is a completely different region.
It's hard to imagine someone's family living in Japan for 3 generations and still be considered a foreigner. As an American, I'm used to the idea that people can "become" American. If you're born and raised somewhere, you have claim to that identity/nationality. My grandparents came to America and only 2 generations later, it would be silly to consider me NOT American. I know there's lots of other issues and America has its faults, but that's one thing I find really beautiful and hope that more cultures will feel that way some day. EDIT: Immigration acceptance has been taught in America and most Americans would at least SAY they believe this. They may be hypocritical and there is horrible xenophobia and racism that persists. Still, Americans are taught from a young age that anyone can come to America and be American and there are a lot of people who earnestly believe this. When I was younger and learned a lot of homogenous cultures did not have this value drilled into them, it was surprising to me, and I still find it shocking to think about. Like culture shock. I do not think America is perfect, I do not want to destroy anyone else's culture. It would be cool if xenophobia and racism did not exist anywhere.
I’m British born with Irish parents who fought for the UK during the WWII, my husband is from Guernsey, our children were born in Ulster and our grandchildren live in various parts of the world, yet we all see ourselves as British. When I visited the US I met several people claiming to be Irish Americans but they were American through and through, their Irish ancestry several generations back. Odd how I am only one generation removed from Ireland and feel myself wholly British but Americans still identify as Irish.
@@catherinerobilliard7662 oh please, stop with this dense line of thinking...the reason the US is different is because you can be American but you don't have to assimilate everything, whereas most other countries you are expected to assimilate and act like them. In the US, differences are praised and people are interested in them, but in most other countries you're looked at as an oddball for "stirring the pot" or just being a sore thumb and standing out, they start to think "do you think you're too good for them and the customs?"
@@catherinerobilliard7662 what they look like from japanese people might be 1 of the most plausible reasons. same in America. If a person looks like the stereotype asian, they'll discriminate. western features does not differ too much from each other tbh
WAKE UP,,FOR,,YOU WILL NEVER BE ACCEPTED IN SUCH CONTINENTS..EVEN IF YOU WERE BORN IN THERE ALTHOUGH THESE ASIANS..CRIES WOLF AND BAWLS A LOT,IF THEY RE NOT..ACCEPTED" IN THE OCCIDENT.EVEN IF THEY ARE A FOREIGNER..THEY WILL ALWAYS "DEMAND" WHAT THEIR HOME COUNTRY OR ANCESTRAL CONTRY DOES NOT GIVE TO FOREIGNERS.. IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT JAPAN.IT IS THE ENTIREEEEEEEEEEEEE OF ASIA.LIKE THIS..YOU WIL NEVER BE ACCEPTED ,UNLESS YOU LOOK LIKE THEM!! NEVER MIND IF YOU WERE BORN IN ASIA..NEVER MIND IF YOU SPEAK THE LANGUAGE,THEY WILL STILL NEVER ACCEPT YOU RACISM IN ASIA..IS FIRST CLASS! RACISM IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT,WORK PLACE AND SCHOOLS!!
America is essentially a conglomerate of different cultures and races all mixed into one melting pot compared to japan. Japan is homogenous unlike America. It’s largely made up of ethnically Japanese people. You find it silly to not be considered American, because you live in a uniquely mixed/mashed up ethnic melting pot of a country, but there’s nothing silly/surprising about not being considered Japanese if you don’t look Japanese in Japan. It’s like finding a duck in a sheep enclosure vs in a petting zoo. You notice the duck amongst sheep, but in a petting zoo, it’s just another animal to pet. It’s easier to blend into an already blended/mixed society. Whether or not that’s silly is ultimately up to the Japanese to decide. I’ve been seeing many comments from an obviously western view point saying it’s “silly”, “close-minded” or “disturbing” that Japanese culture is this way. We’re guests being offered an inside view of Japanese society/culture. Trying to tear it down or shake it up “because our culture is better” comes off as arrogant, ironically “close-minded” and pisses me off.
Very interesting interview. Also interesting that Joshua’s English sounded American or Canadian rather than British or Australian. I worked with a man in the U S, who was Japanese by birth. His English had a Japanese accent but his first and last name were Irish. His grandfather was an Irish business man who lived in Tokyo and raised a family with his Japanese wife. I know from him the grandchildren were fully identified as Japanese but maintained Irish names.
@@brendanlinnane5610 i think it's because he went to international school in Tokyo and they tend to use American English in those, I used to live near a subway stop close to one and I would always hear the students talking and they all always sounded American regardless of their ethnicity
@@brendanlinnane5610 americans have many different accents depending on which state you live in but I would agree it sounds more american with a heavy asian accent.
@@catherineserbin248 "heavy" asian accent is pushing it lol you can hear it at certain parts but i wouldn't say heavy. based solely off of the english introduction i wouldn't place his accent as japanese if there was no context
I'm japanese. I would accept and respect those people you interview. The lady towards the end. That's terrible 😕 for japanese people to treat her like that. IDK. I was in Afghanistan 🇦🇫 for almost a decade. War torn country and people will take care of you like their own no matter where you come from.
I would love to see some interviews with Ainu people. I like how you let people speak for themselves and say basically whatever they want, and most of the stuff I've learned about the Ainu are through the lens of Japanese people or foreigners. Would love to get some thoughts directly from Ainu people about how they feel about Japan and their life there. Thanks for the videos!
I think this topic is great and so insightful. There seems to be something very deeply ingrained in at least some Asian cultures that is very racist and xenophobic. I lived in Korea for 12 years as an adult and know that the same story would be told there if you had similar interviews. "If your face doesn't fit, you don't fit." I realized that even if I had learned Korean and the culture perfectly I would never be really accepted. I was an adult, so it really didn't bother me that much, but I feel really bad for foreigners that are raised in Japan or Korea from a very young age. They know the language and culture as well as a "native" but they still aren't accepted. It is as if they don't belong anywhere. I think that is very painful and hard.
"I realized that even if I had learned Korean and the culture perfectly I would never be really accepted. " Ironically xenophobes are usually completely ignorant of their culture.
"If your face doesn't fit, you don't fit." But that's not really exclusive to Asia tho. If you're going to a different country to be accepted then don't. And so what that my face fits in EU, that doesn't mean I feel anything towards it or feel any connection. Home is home where you live not where you're born.
The US is like this too. In fact most humans are xenophobic by default. I suspect it js due to how we form bonds and how we evolved for generations since the dawn of our species. We evolved in close knit communities meaning we were related to everyone we created settlements with. Humans lived with large families and were selective of who they allowed in much like any other animal. Modern civilizations introduced globalization and we are often forced to interact with people from different "tribes". I am not offended when people do not see me as part of their tribe but I am offended when people assume this makes me less than them. Or even when people assume they know my ancestry and identity based on my phenotypes. Phenotypes are just genetic variations and proof of the beauty of human adaptability. Why features offend people is simply a primitive response and people who haven't been properly educated in critical thought. Most people who assume identity from appearance are usually also people who rely on generalization. Most humans still rely on generalization because we aren't taught to see nuance. The ability to make quick judgments is a primitive one that enabled the survival of our species but it isn't what we need to help us build a successful civilization. We need to be more than just primitive. This is an issue of education that is present in all cultures. We are also a species that relies of hierarchy so this further complicates our tribal dynamics.
@@bleachedout805 Yeah, don't forget that education is mostly focused on how great the country you are born in is and that being with the people around you who look and were born in that same place as well. And they say with age comes wisdom.
The 3rd gen Anglo-Japanese guy really resonated with me as a Chinese-Indonesian. Particularly the parts where he was raised to think of the UK as his home. This is similar to what we call in Chinese as 祖籍/貫籍/ancestral place, and is quite emphasized amongst Chinese diaspora. Also the part where he said it would be comforting to live in a country where you’re part of the majority. I’ve often visited my relatives in China since I was younger and gotten a taste of no longer being a minority, so that also struck a cord with me. In fact, the only difference is that he retains his ancestral nationality, but my family has since adopted our new nationality. Cheers mate and I hope you find what you’re looking for in the UK!
Same! As a Latino american growing up around mostly white and black people, going to Miami (which is overwhelmingly people from Latin American/the Caribbean), it was one of the first times I felt part of the majority. It was a bizarre feeling! Another weird experience; my family always told me I was handsome, but never believed it because no one gave me that much attention up in New York City. But when I went to Miami, it was the first time people hit on ME, not the other way around. 🤣 I love where I live, but I've never forgotten the experience.
You all talking about spending your lives as an ethnic minority where you grew up and then visiting where you look like the majority is really interesting to think about. As an American, seeing people that don't look like me isn't uncommon but as someone that is pale enough to almost glow in the dark, I am in the visual majority where I live. However, soon I get to take my first trip outside of the US and will be suddenly in the minority- I will very obviously not look like the locals. I think I really need to explore how this feels and reflect on the experience to better understand all of my friends that are immigrants from regions that are not predominately pale. So if you'll excuse me, I'll be hiding in the shade trying not to burst into flames in the low-latitude sunshine pondering all this, thank you for your insights.
I stumbled on your video and it's interesting as I have had the opposite life journey. My parents are both Japanese and were living in England during their 20's. Growing up in the UK, I faced a lot of discrimination and was picked on a lot at school (Flat nose, flat face, slant eyes, etc.). At 11 years old, we moved to the US and again had trouble "fitting in". Not only was I Japanese, but I spoke with an English accent and didn't know much US English vs UK English (fries vs chips, lorry vs truck, etc.). I visited Japan many times, and even though I looked like everyone, I didn't fit in there either. Whether it was my clothing or how I carried myself, Japanese people knew I was an "outsider". Throughout all my experiences, I realized one thing, people will either accept differences or they won't, regardless of the country you live in. Another commenter, Jack Straw, mentioned that just because you're not native, people expect that you can't speak the language. I had a similar experience in the US. Again, born in England, and have spoken English my whole life, yet when I got to the US, they put me in 3rd grade instead of 4th grade because of how I look, I was bumped up to 4th grade after 2 weeks. Fast forward to the time I started applying for colleges/universities and they're requiring me to take a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) in order to apply. I've been speaking English my whole life, but have to prove it because I was born in a different country. Despite all of the negative things, I wouldn't change how I grew up and the cultures I experienced for anything. It made me more empathetic, understanding and accepting of differences, something the world needs more of.
Don't feel too bad. I am British, born and raised, from a white family that has probably been in the UK for a thousand years or more. My family moved to the U.S. when I was 20, and I started my freshman year in university, and the university admin office tried to make me take a TOEFL test to see if I could handle classes in English, as I wasn't born in the U.S. Until I laughed in their face and said, "Um.. no, not doing that". There are stupid people everywhere :)
I feel this. I’m Chinese-Filipino, look 100% Chinese, but was born and raised in the Philippines, and I speak English as my first language. I felt completely alien when I’d visit China, and people would stare at me in the Philippines and call me strange for not speaking Tagalog (even though my Tagalog is like 70% acceptable). Ultimately I felt comfortable living in the US, where different cultures coexist together and I can be heard and understood with a language I’m comfortable in. The world is so very strange indeed.
As a non Asian, when I was younger (ignorant) I thought all Asians were the same. That's how us stupid Americans thought, being we're kind of one culture in America
I'm Japanese but was born and raised in the US. I feel well-integrated in the US that I sometimes forget I'm Japanese. But if I were to go to Japan, I'd feel out of place and "foreign" despite physically blending in with the crow do too barely able to speak Japanese. I think Japanese people think I'm retarded for speaking really broken Japanese lol.
@@kafalotofeao462 yea you could tell he just randomly finds people like that by the his clothes since it changed every clip which probably means all those clips are from different days
I believe it’s less about being a “foreigner” and more about being an “ethnical minority”. Even in the west if you go to an area where your people is the minority you will be treated differently. It’s just that in Japan there is _nowhere_ where the non-Japanese makes up a significant majority.
@@georgewilliamgutarracampos6262 "Birth in Japan does not by itself entitle a child to Japanese nationality, except when a child would otherwise be stateless. Foreign nationals may acquire citizenship by naturalization after living in the country for at least five years and renouncing any previous nationalities."
To the first person: It’s heartbreaking to hear that someone born and raised in japan feels he has to “return” to a country where his citizenship is (UK). You ARE Japanese. If YOU identify this way! I also think it’s interesting because if this person was Japanese-passing in looks, it would be an entirely different experience. This duality of identity is so difficult - I’m kind of the opposite where I am Japanese and Japanese passing (citizenship and parents are Japanese) but raised in America. I’m American and Japanese but not accepted as such on either side. I am both. It’s aggravating when other people try to tell me who I am. I hope in the future we won’t be so caught up in this type of labeling and just all be humans of earth 😂 All these people you interviewed were so well spoken and lovely. Thanks for sharing!
Having lived in Japan you have a the common western idea of identity. I knew many kids growing up that had one japanese parent, spoke japanese at home, never left for more than a week yet were still called gaijin in the street. It's just a society that doesn't see much immigration and thus has a very different view around identity.
I’m a blue eyed, blonde haired American who moved to Japan when I was fifteen and attended an all Japanese high school and college. I spent a lot of my most informative years there and I often feel more at home, comfortable, and accepted around Japanese people. Maybe it’s because I came when I was older but I never got told things like “go back to your country”, instead I got told things like “I always forget you’re a foreigner!” Or “to me you’re just Japanese like us”. However when I went back to the United States and tried to tell people about Japanese culture or different ideologies I was discriminated against for identifying as mix-cultured. I was told that because I’m white and not ethnically Japanese I had no say in the argument. Meanwhile the Indonesian-Japanese kid who didn’t speak a word of Japanese and had never been to Japan was openly welcomed to speak. It’s sad how little people around the world realize that culture isn’t what you look like or the color of your skin, it’s what’s inside you and what you’ve experienced.
People can get way too caught up in tying culture to race (obsession with race in general), especially ironic since that sentiment is especially strong in America (a melting pot) these days. Culture isn't what you look like, it's how you formed as a person. And if you formed in another culture, then that's simply how you are.
That's because in America unfortunately people aren't that open minded in regards to learning different cultures but they are perfectly fine when people from other cultures engulf American culture. This is why I prefer the open mindedness of Japan over America. They are open to anyone learning their culture while simultaneously being open to exploring the American side of things as well.
Although our situations are different I can relate a lot to the first guy. I was born in Scotland but have lived in New Zealand since I was seven. Like him, I grew up seeing the UK as my home, seeing myself as British. In my friend group, in my school, I was always the Scottish one, that was my label. But then as I got older I came to realise that I wasn’t very British. I watched RUclips videos and stuff about the UK and I saw the people in the videos and I realised I was very different to them. I can relate more to a kiwi than a British person. But for me this has left me feeling lost. I based a big part of my identity around being British, I became more patriotic to Scotland than the average Scottish person but it turns out I don’t really know anything about the country. I only know few things that I had learnt as a young child, I know barely anything about the country and the culture. But at the same time, I am not a kiwi. I grew up eating Haggis and Jaffa Cakes, surrounded by British traditions. I know nothing about New Zealand family life because I have only experienced British family life because I have British parents. In New Zealand people see me as British, in Britain people see me as kiwi. My friends think I have a strong Scottish accent but another Scottish person would probably not call my accent Scottish. Wherever I go, I am seen as an outsider. There is nowhere That I just fit in. I feel like I am left unable to identify with either country and am left without a home. When people ask me where I am from I no longer know how to answer.
Just say you came from earth like the rest of them, walk, eat, drink, laugh, cry, and living like the rest of them, and that's what matters. So many people feel others are distant to them because of cultural difference, when it doesn't matter that much to begin with. It's like drums, I swear to God there are different drums all over the parts of the world with different names, but they all sound basically the same, the way you play it is basically the same, it's under the same category, just from different places, but not that it matters. Once you see someone as a human and not another person of a certain ethnic group you'll feel the difference, and a bit of relief.
Dont worry we all (who are born in one country and then moved to another to live) has same problem-lost of national indentity ..I felt the same - but i realize its actually advantige as you can see negative sides of both and not being cought in this national game-you liberate urself and become citizen of planet Earth with choice to feel good about urself as person not as kiwi or British or USA citizens...Now i think its blessing having such life
Understandable. My mother is British, father is New Zealander. I was brought up in NZ but don't really feel like a kiwi at all. My wife is Japanese and when I'm visiting Japan I feel I may actually fit in there better. Strange I know. I consider myself a international person. I've done a bit of travel which has contributed to that
A bit of an aside as I'm a foreigner living in Thailand but I have a similar experience as the last lady. While Thai culture is famously tolerant and welcoming, they're still often 'afraid' of Westerners or 'shy' or some other emotion, and will often just blank out that you're speaking in perfectly coherent Thai to them, and say in terribly broken English 'no speak, no speak Angrit'... I've had dozens of 'conversations' over the 2 decades I've lived here that involved me speaking Thai and just being blanked by people who simply assume that because I have white skin, I must be speaking foreign.
To be fair to them, it’s not an unnatural assumption. It’s human nature to make assumptions like that, it’s not a personal thing, please don’t take it personally. If they are still rude or unwelcoming after they find out you speak their language, that person isn’t worth speaking to. I hope you find comfort in your new home.
@@MrMinimerlin He’s talking about a strange psychological phenomenon where they “blank out” that you are actually currently speaking their language, and try to speak English back to you instead of Thai…not because they’re being unwelcoming or rude but because this exceptional foreigner’s ability literally hasn’t yet registered.
I'm sorry you had those experiences. I've traveled to Thailand a few times and had similar experiences when it came to spicy food 😂 They did not think I was ready. Overall though the people were awesome, just liked to party more than me
This happens a lot, I also lived 4 years in Thailand. And I am quite good at the language and I know some sentences I speak absolutely flawless because my boyfriend and thai friends tell me. But the amount of times thai people and especially girls at a local shop or 7/11 get some kind of 'blank 1000mile stare' or ask my boyfriend the exact same question and he responds exactly with the same answer and then they say 'oh oke now I get it ha-ha' really stopped me from being motivated and learning the language and at times felt really bad and lonely. Because even if you try they don't accept you
I always imagined that when someone looked at me with that "deer in headlights" look, that they just didn't realize I was trying to speak their language. Have you ever picked up a drink expecting one thing and getting another? It's a similar experience. They're likely nervous and trying their best to understand the "English" you're about to spit at them to the point that they don't even recognize their own language. I've had it happen to me when I first started trying to learn Japanese and someone spoke perfect english to me. 😂
The first guy is from UK originally, but I was not expecting his English accent to be similar to an American one. 😂 Again, the diversity of the people in this video is just awesome. Good job, Takashi-san! ✌️
He said he lived in America for a bit as a kid and he attended an international school in Tokyo so I guess it makes sense he would have an American accent. He was surrounded by a lot more American accents than British. His parents were also born in Japan so they probably don’t really have British accents either. I mean his dad is half British and his mum is a kiwi so they most definitely don’t have British accents. I was a bit surprised by it too though. I knew he probably wouldn’t have a British accent but I was expecting maybe it would sound more Japanese.
I noticed the American accent too. I was expecting a British or Australian accent. Maybe he picked up the American accent from international school. It would’ve been cool if he had a Japanese accent.
That was so interesting. Each person had such a unique story. It’s really hard to integrate even in less homogeneous countries, so I imagine Japan to be one of THE hardest societies in which to integrate. I also love hearing about “third culture kids” and would love to watch more about each person you featured!
It’s very interesting to hear this “born to a foreign land” perspective outside of the united states. I live in a culturally diverse area in the US so I have many personal friends and acquaintances with similar stories, but I have never considered how it might make these sorts of people feel in a much more mono-ethnic society like japan. great video!!
It's very difficult if you're a foreigner that was never taught their native language. You don't belong where you live because it's not your ancestral home, but when you go back, you can't speak with the people. It's very frustrating.
@@JohnFromAccounting Hmm USA doesn't quite have the "not your ancestral home" problem because the vast majority of people here do not have indigenous american roots
@@reidleblanc3140 Very true. USA is one of those countries where you can't really tell anyone to go back to their country, because odds are that person saying those things also aren't indigenous American. For the most part, anyone can be "American" and have little to no trouble assimilating or being accepted as American. In these ways USA is far superior to Japan. My Japanese exchange student friend at my college told me how he liked the idea of being considered "American" with either citizenship or being born in the country. I read online how a lot of expats that go to Japan have children and jobs and pay taxes and even learn the language fluently but are still considered "gaijin" foreigners.
@@reidleblanc3140 American Roots - It's really only if you're a direct descendent of the Native American Tribes; Sioux, Apache, Cherokee, Iroquois, Leni Lenape, Huron etc...
My story is pretty similar to Joshua but the opposite: I have 100% okinawan blood and I look like one, so many times people in the past would ask me where I was from or suffered racism. Not so much now thank god. But because of that, I was pretty confused until my teenage/adult years, when I realized that Identity and nationality sometimes can be two different things. When I went to Japan, I could get lost in the crowd and nobody could tell the difference if I didn't spoke a word (It's too obvious I'm not a native speaker). But In the end of the day, I was culturally more latinamerican than japanese. Sometimes you can have only one nationality, but regarding identity, it's a 100% unique to you: how you feel, the different cultures and traditions you were raised in and experienced...
O.o I didn't know that Okinawa's people would feel in that way. I'm suprise to hear that somebody from Okinawa' feels more comfortable saying that he is more like "Latinamerican". Could you please tell me more about? I'm a pretty interested as a Latin living in Japan
@@luisafmcanime Porque aunque mis abuelos de ambos lados sean okinawenses, las generaciones que nacieron fuera de Okinawa, nos criamos en una cultura diferente. La sangre es solo sangre, aunque a ella esté ligada un montón de historia. La cultura es lo que practico y recibo cada día, hablo español y tomo mate, me gusta más la comida del país que me vió nacer aunque muchas veces la acompañe con gohan, los domingos me suelo juntar en familia y el saludo con amigos y familiares es con un beso y/o un abrazo (al menos en esta parte del mundo).
@@jacqnk5468 ohhh! muchisimas gracias por tu respuesta! definitivamente estoy de acuerdo. Es muy bello ver cuando una cultura esta abierta a recibirte. Siento que esto es algo muy propio de Latinoamerica. Saludos y un abrazo también!
@@luisafmcanime de nada! Esa es mí percepción, habrá quien se sienta completamente diferente también. Por eso decía que es 100% personal. Amo las dos culturas igualmente. Saludos!!
I have friends who are originally from Latvia. They have lived here for about 15 years and have 2 kids (14 and 12 years old). They all have Irish passports and the kids can speak Irish better than they speak Latvian. English is the kids first language as with most Irish people. They all consider themselves to be Irish and I consider them as Irish too even though they are first and second generation. I had a very sobering experience when babysitting those kids about 5 years ago. I was putting the boys to bed and I was using this toy (an interactive globe) to test their geography knowledge. I asked them can you "point out your country on the globe". Both kids immediately pointed to Ireland and I felt so stupid for posing the question. A mistake I will never make again. Of course they consider themselves Irish. They were born and raised here. As for their parents, they told me that Ireland did more for them in 5 years than lativa did in 20. Which is why they haven't even taught the boys Latvian. Personally I find that a little sad because learning any language is beneficial but it's also nice to know about your culture and routes. Regardless, I think most EU countries are very accepting to people calling a country their home, despite where they originally are from. Ireland is particularly good at this because we have such a strong culture of emmergration ourselves. Personally I spend 1 year in Canada, 2 in America and I'm moving to Australia in January. This is a very common thing to do here. Also, throughout history the Irish have had mass emmergration events such as after the famine or during the 80's - economic downturn. There were very few foreigners living in Ireland until the late 90s/early 00's as we were relatively poor. In the past 20 years Ireland has become much more multi cultured. It would be hipocritical of us to be anything but accepting to immigrants, based on our history of being immigrants ourselves. This certainly doesn't mean that there are not xenophobic or racist people living here, but most immigrants that I know personally feel very welcomed and are proud to call Ireland their home. I think Irish culture really helps with that as its very community based and friendly here, generally speaking. I really went off on a tangent with this comment lol. Sorry to anyone who bothers to read it.
Yes but you guys are awesome and very special people.. Many people around the world have Irish near and dear to our hearts because of solidarity shown when there are bad things happening around the world.. Irish have always stood up for justice for others and that is incredibly admirable.. small but mighty!!!
Maybe, maybe not. A dog born in a stable is not a horse. You don't move overseas or cross borders and become part of a heritage. Citizenship does not equal nationality, which is an important difference.
@@JumpingJacksismfor most cases citizenship does equal to nationality but not all nationals are citizens. The UK for example has 6 different British nationalities for e.g “British citizen” that being someone from the UK and “British overseas territories citizen” this being someone from a British oversears territory for e.g the Falklands, British overseas nationals aren’t British citizens but their nationality is British. Full British citizens from the UK are British nationals and British citizens.
If you are born in a country and raised in that country, attended school in that country, and you "FEEL" like you are from that country, then you are indeed from that country. Regardless of your ethnic or your family national origin, if they feel Japanese and they love the country, they are Japanese. I'm from Puerto Rico a small island in the Caribbean, we have had people who weren't originally from our island. However, they came to live and work there, they fell in love with our island and they learned our culture to the point they felt they were from there. When they past, they were buried in the island they love, and our country recognized them as countrymen. Is time to let go of old attitudes about race or national origin, regardless of what we look like, we are more alike in a lot of ways. We all want to be happy, have a job, care for our family and friends and that is a universal feeling for everyone. Anyway great vid Takashii-san...
I can barely find the words to thank you for pointing these things out. I would have given anything to meet someone who thought like you, growing up. Where I lived, I was ironically, surrounded by different minorities and groups who cannibalized each other for supremacy - forgetting that despite their differences, the most important thing they had in common was that they (including me) were all born here. I had to learn these things you speak of, in the most harsh, bitter way imaginable. It's ironic that because of these experiences, I no longer feel welcome or that I belong in the place where I was born. You are very insightful to point out that belonging is about more than simple ethnicity but an actual feeling of attachment to the land and people. Thank you again.
@@madpoetsociety2917 I appreciate your kind words, thank you. It is really unfortunate that you feel unwelcome in your own country due to those bad experiences. However, I'm sure that there are people who probably think the way I do, somewhere in your country but, maybe they are not outspoken due to appearances or because they don't want to "rock the boat" as the saying goes. You can still love your country regardless of those ignorant people or at least you can always be proud of where you come from, because that can never be taken away. Look for the positives, even if they are not many, and forget about the negatives if you can. Keep on moving forward my friend.
Beautifully said. I'm not Puerto Rican like you and some of those below, but I share a similar sentiment. I am always pleased to meet new canadians no matter where they are from. they move here, work here, learn here, play here and so i see them as canadian. And I am always pleased to learn something new from them as well. new canadians new stories after all!
I'm surprised about the amount of Iranian/Persian people you usually find in your interviews, including half Japanese-Iranian people. It's a country that is relatively distant from Japan and you usually don't see people talking about it when it comes to Japan-relationships.
I don't blame Iranian people wanting to live in Japan, no one wants to be dominated by a crazy religious government where you have no freedoms and can be jailed for anything like you can in Iran.
@@Akkhinus it’s an exaggeration, but it’s a common belief that the current regime represents 30-40% of Iranians and that 60-70% of Iranians would prefer a more modern regime. The Revolution there was very multi-faceted, it could have easily become a secular commmunist or socialist country in different circumstances. I think it’s a interesting thing, especially since there is supposedly on 10k at most in all of Japan. But one of the most famous baseball players is half Japanese half Iranian.
Very nice to hear other people's thoughts on this subject. I live in Sweden but have a foreign background (and face I suppose) and have personal experience with people asking me "Where are you from?" and when I respond with the town I live (and was born) in, they usually continue asking things like "Where were you born? What country do you come from? Where are your parents from?". I think "some" people just want to find any angle from which they can see you as a foreigner.
Being a half Japanese American from a small town, I definitely have felt a lot of mixed emotions growing up in rural America and moving to Tokyo as an adult. Who and what I identified as wasn't as straightforward as it is for a lot of people. I really appreciate your content as well as all these people sharing their own experiences. ありがとうね！
I can relate to this topic. I was born in Russia but have lived in Thailand for more than 7 years. Can speak Thai and understand Thai culture. But for Thai people everyone foreign-looking is automatically dumb, cant speak and understand any Thai, cant eat spicy food and is easy to be cheated. This behavior is shown by people of any age and generation.
It’s funny how the US is always criticized for this kind of stuff, but the majority of countries are actually just as ignorant if not even moreso of foreigners than Americans are.
@@msv4865 It’s not racist so much as it is xenophobic, and honestly, I must admit this has its upsides. You see, in cultures that are not diverse at all as opposed to somewhere like the US where it is extremely diverse in most urban places, there is a lot more trust in the community. This is not something that would happen if no one in a community was racist or something like that, as the reason it happens is because of cultural differences.
This is my favorite video that you have made! I can deeply relate to what they are expressing. It is so important to tell stories like these that share the hybrid identities of individuals and their different perspectives. This is very special. Continue the great work!
Such a fantastic interview Takashii! It really shows how us as a planet should come together and love each other no matter where we come from. At the end of the day we are all one species: human, but we can be so separated at times just because others are “different” from us when they truly aren’t.
while I agree with what you wanna convey, imo "love each other" is too much. Even "like each other" isn't necessary. Just "live in harmony" or "tolerate each other" is enough.
In fact this interview shows a bit differently also. Seeing as Joshua felt comforted when he went somewhere people looked like him and he was the majority for once. Makes you think maybe it's not so bad that people are separated and live in different places, and that making everywhere a melting pot isn't the smartest choice.
@@kristoffer8609 Seems a bit overblown to me. Just because there are some tribalistic instincts, that's not an argument to give into them. Living in a super homogenous society like Japan, it's inevitable that he'd feel some level of comfort being outside that environment, especially if he faced any kind of discrimination like the others in this video experienced. The solution isn't to create a place where someone else is uncomfortable. It's to create a place where no one is uncomfortable.
You are a very good interviewer. You asked intelligent questions and let the people you were interviewing express themselves. It was very interesting to hear from different perspectives. I am an American living in China, so I am used to the "usual" questions from local people. It can be frustrating to have the same conversation over and over for over a decade. Your interview was refreshing in having thoughtful questions. But it also reminded me why I get the same questions repeatedly. Because people are curious about each other. And that is okay.
This is the story of many in America. I moved to Texas from Mexico young. Even though I went through the process to become a citizen and speak English fine, many will never see me as an American. People call those who are 6th or 7th generation Texans from Mexican heritage, Mexican. They are not Mexican 🤣 They are more American then apple pie! I would say, this is a universal phenomenon that has just increased with the ability of traveling. Thank you.
I knew a fellow student in high school in Arizona who was two years old when his family illegally crossed the border from Mexico into the US. His parents wanted a better life for him, to the point that they never taught him Spanish, only English. He learned Spanish in middle school from other Spanish-speaking students, and they teased him for speaking with a "whiteboy accent." He was just as American as I am, as far as I'm concerned. And pretty much all of us thought that. He thought that. As apple-pie American as can be. It was one of the most horrible, eye-opening moments in my life when he didn't show up one day Sophmore year, and the next day we learned his entire family - mother, father, him and his then eight-year-old sister - had been "detained" and were to be deported. Many of the students and teachers signed the petition to pardon them, myself included, of course, the thought of being in his shoes was terrifying. As far as we knew, his parents had told him they arrived legally. What would that be like, to be forced to go to a country that you knew nothing about except that your parents had risked everything to get you away from because it was so terrible they broke laws to try and save you? I never learned what happened to him. I heard there was a legal battle, but then I never saw him again. I don't know if they won or lost. I really wish more people could knew that "being American" really has nothing to do with where you're from. It's what you bring to the potluck we're supposed to be having.
I think a video on Ainu would be super cool! This video was awesome, too. Broadening our understanding of things can broaden our perspectives in life, so I think your videos not only serve your viewers but also yourself as a Japanese person.
Yes I agree, it would be very cool if you could interview an Ainu person in Japan. It is not easy being an indigenous person in Canada because there is so much racism. The Canadian government is very patronizing and discriminatory in regards to their relationship with Indigenous Canadians in general. It’s a global issue the rights of tribal peoples. Thank you
I'm curious to see the differences between how older and younger Japanese view "foreigners" raised in Japan. Are attitudes changing? Will people be honest about how they really feel in these interviews?
Older Japanese very much dislike anyone that isn't Japanese. Younger Japanese like foreigners because of their uniqueness and because they are different. What I've noticed at least
I think it depends also on your upbringing, surrounding, and eduction. Some are open minded, some are close minded. I think age is sometimes an important aspect, but not always.
The first guy is so fascinating and sweet. He also has a very mature insight into his situation. My kids are mixed. They look more like me than my Japanese wife. They have Japanese passports and my oldest can read and write in the 3 alphabets but her conversation ability isn’t too good. I could care less to be Japanese. But because I’m married to one I work on the culture. My kids will have to decide when they are older if they want to give up their Japanese citizenship or not.
Well they dont have to give up anything as the nations dont communicate in that aspect. All they have to do is "tell" the japanese government that they gave up their other nationality and want to be japanese. So in the end they have both nationalities while the japanese side believes that they gave up the other while the other just accepts that you have 2. Learned of that by talking to some japanese who played the system but when asked by officials they say they only hold their japanese one.
Most places have dual citizenship with Japan. I’d keep it for the free healthcare alone! I’ve friends who are both US and Japanese citizens. Sesame Street in Japanese is great for improving conversational Japanese with children
@@iChillypepper "Most places have dual citizenship with Japan." Unsure what you mean as it remains illegal to have dual citizenship in Japan: my daughter has that choice coming soon, her British or Japanese passport/citizenship, one or the other, both are impossible as of 2022.
I can somehow relate to the first guy Im german and was born in germany, but grew up in switzerland I was always considered the german kid in class, my family was going pretty much every week to germany since we lived very close to the border and i never really spoke the swiss-german dialect But then i went to Highschool in germany, while still living in switzerland, i really felt like a foreigner and everyday i went back to switzerland with the train it felt like i was arriving home , wich is weird because germany and the german part of switzerland aren’t that different but it somehow felt very different
I liked this video and enjoyed Joshua's story the most. I have just lived in America and didn't go to another county until I was in college. It was not until I was 2017 when I was 38 when I visited Japan. It felt like a dream come true for me.
I had a classmate in high school who is Russian-descent but was born and raised in Japan. He and his family moved to North America when he was in 9th grade. We were in the same ESL class and thats how I met him! I remember being fascinated by his unique cultural heritage. Apparently most of his family members lived in Japan. He didnt see himself as Russian but more as Japanese. When he spoke English, it is with Japanese accent. The first time he ever bonded with other Russians (other than family members) was in that ESL class. They used to tease him because of his Japanese accent when speaking broken Russian but they all loved him. He then started hanging out with his Russian friends more than he did with his Japanese friends. We used to talk about sherlock holmes books 😆
I'm also a foreigner born and raised in Japan. To be honest, I have experienced the good and the bad just like the people in the video. But when I look back now, I sometimes feel that my values are still Japanese.
When you are raised in a country its hard not to adopt the mainstream attitudes of that country. I think if you are raised in Japan you are essentially Japenese in attitude and culture.
Isocrates said that being Greek isn't defied by your bloodline or your birthplace but from the culture, the language and the education you have. So it's safe to say that you're Japanese
@@delta606 That logic doesn't hold true in mono ethnic Japan. In this country, only pure Japanese are Japanese and all others aren't considered Japanese. Even half Japanese are considered differently from pure Japanese. Therefore the first thing I do is to explain that "I'm a foreigner born in Japan."(私は日本生まれの外国人です) That is my way of communication. That way, Japanese people can converse with me without alarming me.
@@takosdon7754 I agree with you, obviously I don't know about that, yet I didn't stress that matter. I just wanted to say how some things should be and not how they currently are, it was more of an ethical analysis if you want. Interesting though, thanks for your answer
@@takosdon7754 You are japanese, if they say something tell to them " Japanese Emperor Akihito have korean blood in their heritage" and a lot of japanese have some chinese/korean ancestres. So that thing of "pure bloodline" is a joke because nobody is pure, the japanese even consider Ainu people as foreigners (even though they are the first people who living in Japan )
Thank you so much for watching! Recently I’m really enjoying making videos! Next video is going to be a collaboration with a famous RUclipsr in Japan! Stay tuned!
You have a great interviewing style, and both the questions and answers are really interesting! Thanks so much for taking the time to record these interviews.
I was born and raised until I was 9 in the UK but my mum and dad are Brazilian and Portuguese respectively. While I was little I considered myself to be English as it was where I had been born even though I remember being aware that others did not really see me as English because of my parents and my looks (dark hair/eyes, olive/tanned skin). At 9, I left and moved to Brazil where I lived for about two years. I was not considered Brazilian there since my grasp of the language was still quite poor and it was clear to everyone I could speak what they considered to be very fluent English. After those 2 years I left to Portugal where I lived for over 10 years. Funnily enough, because I had learnt Brazilian Portuguese, which has a different accent to the OG Portuguese spoken in Portugal, people bullied me a lot and questioned my identity all the time. Growing up I always told myself I was English since the only logical answer to "where are you from?" was to go to my birth country. I spent my entire childhood and teen years all the way to the age of 21 with this idea. Even when I was older and completely part of Portuguese society, I vehemently denied being Portuguese. Finally, at the age of 21, I returned to live in the UK under the illusion that I would finally be "at home" only to realise that I now do not fit here either and long for Portugal and to be around Portuguese people. Anyways, all this to say that identity as we try to view it is a stupid idea and does not work in the global world we live in. As more and more people immigrate and mingle, expecting a straightforward answer to the question "where are you from?" will not wield the simple results people usually want to hear from the question. It is important that we educate our future generations to respect this reality. In the end of the day, we are all just citizens of planet earth.
A very interesting personal journey. 🤔 Home is where the heart is , I guess. You've only lived in Brazil for 2 years but you have formidable years in Portugal 🇵🇹, correct? But there are childhood years spent in the UK 🇬🇧. That's a nice little knot to unravel, yet you know where you feel most comfortable. You're in a very great space to be fluent in the King's English, fluent in Portuguese both from how it's spoken in Europe as well as Brazilian Portuguese. You are a rare find, my friend. I think your experiences were meant to serve people. The stuff going on in the world could use someone like yourself that fits in to three broad groups. All the best.
Really interesting and rather moving topic. If I could be so bold as to make a suggestion, I'd love it if you didn't script your questions so much and instead, respond more fluidly to what they are saying with follow-up questions etc. The Afghanistan Japanese person at the end especially, I really wanted to know more about what thought and felt. As a non-Japanese person who has lived in Japan for ten years, the otherness of foreigners is very interesting. So sad to hear the "go home"s getting said. Of course other countries can be worse in some ways to "outsiders" but Japan is pretty alienating for sure.
As an American who moved to the UK when I was 8, I definitely related to the question about seeing your home country as your nationality versus native nationality. I was too young to really get a grasp of the US while I lived there, and I definitely get culture shock whenever I return. I feel like I certainly view the US now more as a British person would rather than as an American, interesting to see how shared this experience is.
@@carterkev-345yes he can relate whether you like it or not. He grew up in the UK he is rightfully British whether you like it or not. I don’t want to assume what he identifies as but people in the UK would consider him British as he is rightfully so as he grew up here. Place of birth is exactly what the term suggests it is, a place you were born that’s it! Lots of people are born somewhere and grow up elsewhere and they identify with the country they grew up in rightfully so! So get your arrogant ass out of here.
Though I do feel like parents and teachers here let it fly a lot more than in other countries. In the UK if a kid is being mean, or bullying, they'll be punished.
@Zoran exactly. A little bit of "kids being kids" is important to teach people to face adversity. Too much is bad though of course. Balance in all things...
No at all, I've been living in Germany with a german family for more than 1 year now and the kids here are so respectful with everyone, no matter what kind of background u have. That's because in the same schools they have different cultures and most important, the parents are aware that not matter where u come from, u have the same value as person🤷♂️ saying that kids can be mean and cruel is just an excuse for the people to keep the things how they are and not looking for a change
I was surprised by how much I related to the first guy in this video. I was born to immigrants in America and always fantasized about visiting what was considered "the homeland" since I was young. I grew up always thinking that I was my ethnicity before I was American and never thought of myself as properly American growing up. But when I visited my family's original country for the first time, I became extremely aware of how American I really was. It was an eye opening experience but also somewhat relieving too. It's nice to see this perspective being represented in the video like this and to know that strangers across the globe have similar feelings and experiences.
Thank you so much Takashii. I really do appreciate you creating these kind of videos. This video made me feel like I am not alone and there are people who are just like me. Thank you for educating us.
This video was really interesting to watch, it's refreshing to see the experience of "foreign" people other than Hafu. For these people interviewed, it seems more difficult because it's a common way to think that you can only feel Japanese with 100% japanese blood, even though you spend you're whole life in Japan, so they can't even "argue" by saying they have a Japanese relative. I think that every person who grew up in a country their family is not from can relate to these people and their experience My parents are from Madagascar, I was born in France and mostly raised there. I would say I feel more French since I mostly speak French at home and that my mind thinks more in a French way :D As said in the video, in Europe (and France in my case) the citizens from immigrant descend have to be treated as they were French. But it's not that easy because there are still some people who treat us as foreigners, and in both our countries. It feels like we can't belong to any community... so it's really hard to answer when someone ask where "we're from".
I understand this feeling, too. Except I'm from England but my parents are immigrants. Western countries are pretty multiethnic and multicultural so I feel that I'm accepted here, for the most part. Because of this video I can't imagine what growing up in Japan would be like for someone like myself.
This was an amazing video! I truly admire how you are able to find wonderful people, film and edit the content, and upload with consistent quality. This is my favorite episode, even though there were a lot of great ones to choose from on your channel. It seemed to be more personal for me as well. I have best friends who share the same story as these folks, and like them, they have grown to be mature, wise, and positive. Thank you for amazing content!
Super interesting. Lived in Japan for a long time, married and had kids there and had to make the decision to leave when my oldest child got to schooling age, as the price of 'international' schooling was too high and he was constantly treated as an outsider. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it and hold no malice against the Japanese culture, humans the world over are prejudice to something from the outside, something different, it's just that in Japan seeing as most people are 100 percent Japanese by blood it's easier to stand out as a 'foreigner'. Me personally, living there as a foreigner, occasionally the exclusion or judgement or slander would annoy me, but generally I found that being 'different' opened up a lot of doors and shortcuts that are closed to Japanese. Subbed.
I have the same experience. Ultimately felt like I didn’t truly belong anywhere until I made it so myself. But that required years and years of painful dwelling through rejection, identity crisis, disappointment, emotional pain and not giving up hope and working on one’s own true happiness. And that is just a fraction of it.. regardless; respect to all of us multi cultural folks that live their lives to their fullest against any negative vibes!! We rock!
So far this first interview is a mind blower for me. Just to see someone also of European descent raised in an asian country. It's something I have never seen before. A white European who's Japanese is better than his english. Of course this is very common with the many immigrants in the US who's english is better than their parents countries language, but it seems much more rare to see it the other way around with a European raised in an asian country.
@@samuraijosh1595 Just because someones ethnicity is from somewhere else, doesnt mean you'll have the same language or sometimes even customs as their (grand)grandfathers if they are third/fourth gen onward. The first guy probably is more japanese than british despite his looks and what japanese people might say about him.
Is there a reason for you to put “white” in the context of European. European is an ethnic group of humans, it isn’t a nationality. Me being a non-European, I’m very familiar with how a European ethnic phenotype human appearance look like. You must be an American if you need to add the word “white” in European.
As a UK person I am so envious of the English guy at the start of the vid. So much travelling and different cultures mixed in within your family and entire life. Would love to visit Japan someday
Am I the only one who finds it extremely messed up that someone, regardless of their ethnic background, is considered a Foreigner even though they were born and raised in the country they're currently living in? What the hell?
Yeah, even the video title calling them foreigners is weird. A foreigner is someone who comes outside of a place, these people were born and raised in Japan, that's their native home, they're not foreigners.
If you don't have japanese nationality then you're a foreigner. When you have japanese nationality, you're japanese even if your parents are not japanese.
@@kazuki10500 Joshua had to choose having dual citizenship (Australia and UK) over Japanese citizenship despite being born there because of Japan's ridiculous laws. Japanese law may technically see him as a foreigner, but it's odd seeing a Japanese person refer to someone else who is culturally nearly identical as a foreigner in casual conversation.
This was fascinating. I’m from Georgia, US and I just loved this. It makes me wonder how much more of the world I’m missing. I MUST visit Japan. Maybe I’ll get my husband to agree to go there when we retire. 😎 Thank you for creating this and sharing with the world. I am grateful to live in this timeline where I can see your work!
Show us someone who has moved from the north to the deep south, something at least I’ve noticed, is it seems like things are positively changing in the south. I was thoroughly expecting people to be quite a bit more wary of me, which doesn’t mean they weren’t offensive but at least they find me an interesting exotic specimen rather than Hitler’s nightmare If you know what I mean. I’m still a bit shocked by it though
Thanks for this -- I found Joshua's experience interesting. My father is American and my mother, Irish. I went to elementary school for a few years in Ireland, but then grew up in America. I always thought of myself as both American and Irish until I went back to Ireland as an adult. They all viewed me and interacted with me as ONLY American -- even my cousins. Joshua did a very nice job of describing the experience of having to reconsider one's identity.
It's interesting to hear your experience. My girlfriend who is franco-irish is mostly treated as irish when she goes there, except for the direct family who treats her as french. She also has had to consider her own national identity. I wonder if the thing with american-irish is that the diaspora is so huge and old that maybe sometimes it's considered like it's own nationality. Also the american culture is so specific and so internationally dominant that I feel like americans stand out more than the other english speaking countries. But that's my personal feeling.
It's so funny how we assume our realities are the norm until we see how others see the world as their own normal, I'm from latin America and all countries here give nationalities easily. I have friends from European families, other latin American countries, Asia (including Japan) and not a single one of them identifies with those countries, they all consider themselves being from the country they grew up in. Actually I moved from Venezuela to Argentina 5 years ago and can now submit all required documents to get my nationality. Our culture is so based on cultural growth and immigration that seeing a 3rd generation still consider themselves foreigner is just crazy
Thanks so much for creating and sharing this video - the interviewees all have fascinating stories. It’s sad to hear that they face discrimination and exclusion, but props to them for seeing and appreciating the positives of Japan too.
I lived in Japan for two years with a decent ability to talk and communicate but I still had similar feelings and experiences to the foreigners living there their whole life. It’s extremely frustrating! How you do improve your language skills if everyone just assumes you can’t speak the language. It’s ridiculous. Japan really needs to change its mindset about foreigners.
Frl. Japan and actually all east asian countries. They r so racist- and not only that but also fatphobic, homophobic, machistas (mysoginistyc) (tried to google how to translate machismo in english but i read it was also said in english so yeah), extremely superficial (they r all about looks and money), etc etc. The amount of bad reviews i read, watch and get from east asian countries every they from foreigners or east asiants themselves are incredible. I would NEVER in my life go to live there, I wouldn’t be able to handle the bullying my god- Im actually very mixed and physically different from the country i’ve been raised in and i have faced bullying a lot but its not nearly as bad as it’d probably be in an east asian country. I actually have been so brainwashed by their unrealistic beauty standards that (i have always hated myself but its 100x times worse now) i feel like i’ll never even be able to look pretty bc i dnt look east asian :). I truly hate my face, lmao
My story isn't very unique, but I'm of chinese descent and was born and raised in the UK. I was lucky in that, despite growing up in a small town, I only experienced occasional racism. I experienced microaggressions more often, but I think it was mostly born out of ignorance. I always felt both chinese and british at the same time. Whenever we visited relatives in China, it would be fun for the first week or so, but I would very quickly tire of being surrounded by chinese people and want to go back home 😅 I am interested in chinese history and our cultural past, but I think I definitely have more of a western mindset. When I was 20, I moved to the US and have been living here for the past 15 years. I don't know if I'm more british or american now, I think I just consider myself "western-minded" in general. I do miss the UK because in the end, I did grow up there. I even miss my crappy little hometown, despite wanting to leave it from a young age. However, I am now married to a dominican (born and raised american) and we have a half chinese/half dominican child together, so I guess I'm not going anywhere now lol.
This is so fascinating! When I went to Japan first in 95, and then 97-98, my world changed. I LOVE it there. I speak basic Japanese and when I went, I ALWAYS received positive reinforcement for what I knew. Everything I knew was self taught. Even thought the internet existed, resources weren’t there in the same fashion. I also went knowing the obvious - Im a foreigner. But I was not treated poorly or less than. I had a lovely pen pal that I made friends with on the train to the airport. I truly love Japan and miss it greatly.
The thing that would scare me is that Japanese people say you're great at Japanese if you only know the word "kawaii" lol It's really lovely that you made a penpal!
@@satapon4129 it was still a different time, and you are right. I speak conversational Japanese, write a bit, understand a decent amount. So back in the 90s, to speak any, showed you had to either take professional classes, or be self taught (or some combination of both). I told myself that I am not going to go to a country and not speak/understand/write at least some of the language and know the culture to the best of what I (edit) could learn. People were incredibly respectful that I knew more than they were used to seeing at the time.
This is really cool. I found it interesting as a person with Iranian parents, but hers going to Japan is such a jump in culture. But! A lot of things are similar too between the two. Her farsi accent into Japanese was such a trip. Flawless 💖
Great videos, Takashii, I’m really enjoying them. I’m Chinese/English/Irish, grew up in Malaysia & Singapore so I relate a lot. The UK didn’t feel like ‘home’, even though I grew up ‘English’ so now call Australia home! I’d be interested to hear about the cross culture of religion/spirituality, as I grew up around many!
That was an amazing interview. I have lived in different countries as well but am in the States now. I am born Cape Town, South African, moved to Germany and now here. I have encountered the same problems. Even though I have been here for over 15 years I am still an outsider, whether conscious or unconscious but it’s there. I miss home but do not want to live there. I would love to live in Korea even though I will experience the same issues there. What gets me here is that I look like everyone else but once I open my mouth, my accent makes me stand out lol. Again… a very beautiful interview. Great job.
Takashii you are getting better and better, keep up with the good work. Will ask you if you can interview people that listening to different music such as hip-hop, metal, punk or what ever and how they feel in Japan 😊 . Thanks once again for the great video
It's weird how different countries view people that aren't of that country's ethnical norm. I think here in England, particularly in bigger populated cities we are so used to having a huge variety of people from different cultures, that as long as they sound English then we assume they are British-born and therefore are generally viewed as English. It would be sad to grow up somewhere, understand their culture, language etc but still not feel like you are treated as a citizen of that country.
I really liked this video!!! Thank you! As someone who has grown up hopping countries, learning there are people out there with similar experiences but with a completely different set of cultural backgrounds and how much I wish I could talk to people like them is very comforting to me. You made great questions! Thank you for this video🙏🏻
Even though I grew up in America, many ppl have told me to go back where I come from (even adults). I guess there are close minded folks in every country unfortunately. However, I think the nice ones outnumber the racist ones. The racist ones are just louder.
Is he asian? ive also never seen an asian person told to go back to their country unless it was like in a viral video from a crazy racist person. You could easily get someone fired and canceled for saying something like that to you. thats messed up
@TSG 302W clearly you don’t know the different ethnic between Europeans and Caucasians. It shows how short sighted you are. Because Caucasians are white appearance , same goes with Europeans but doesn’t mean they’re the same. And there’s no such thing as the “Caucasian race”. The correct term would’ve been an “American-European punk” but that’s too rocket science for you to comprehend.
This just goes to show that no matter how different a culture is there are universal aspects. Thank you for this video. I look forward to watching more of them.
You helped make me want to learn Japanese, I start my first class in a couple days, I memorized the hiragana chart recently though to get a head start. Hopefully I can study abroad summer 2023!
I can really relate to them as I was born and raised in Holland but am of Pakistani and Surinamese descent. Majority of my family lives in The United States, and we didn’t move there until I was 18 for college. When I moved to the states, I observed things from a Dutch perspective and people would ask me odd questions like if I spoke Dutch fluently etc. I’ve been to Pakistan once when I was about 7 yrs old and never been to Suriname. I speak Urdu with a Dutch accent which is quite unique tbh. I realized I’m too western and too liberal for the average Pakistani and too conservative for the average Dutch person. I can easily identify more and communicate with a Dutch person than I can with a Pakistani. I know most of my culture from home and absorbed Bollywood movies since I was little. basically. We attend a Pakistani mosque and there is where I get most of the interaction from most Pakistani, yet my friend group is super diverse. Then again, I know that I’ll never be truly Pakistani or Surinamese since I wasn’t born there, but will always be Pakistani/Surinamese-Dutch or just Dutch of Pakistani/Surinamese descent. I moved to Canada a few years ago and know I feel i’m constantly fighting to identify myself. I’m Dutch, Pakistani, Surinamese, American, and now Canada is my home which alligns better with my values since I was born and raised in Holland. At the same time, my face serves as an immediate identifier as a South Asian, yet linguistically I’m far more comfy speaking Urdu (I always get a bit nervous) , yet represent my South Asian roots at all time visually. Then the Surinamese aspect which is a whole different spectrum that ties South America, India, and Holland together. That’s why I dread the question “where are you from”
In Bolivia I was asked every day if I could speak Spanish. I actually don't mind being asked. What I mind is people ignoring me and then if you complain they just say they didn't know that you could speak Spanish.
Hopefully you don't get too many where are you from questions in canada. I'm Canadian and usually when that question is asked I just say the city I grew up in.
It really comes down to your religion. If you are Muslim that impedes your relationship with the west. If you were able to escape Islam, like I did, then you can be Western. The idea in Islam that gays, apostates, etc should be killed really was off putting to me.
@@canaryinacoalmine7267 I have no idea what you’re talking about. My religion doesn’t hamper my relation with the west at all because I’m a product of it. I was born and raised in the west, and the west is all I know :)) I have friends of all walks of life, so no. The fact that you thought that people should’ve been killed off gives me the idea that you were badly influenced by people who didn’t teach you the religion right. Were you born anywhere in North America or Europe? In any case, I hope you found the peace that you were looking for.
Great video, mate! I've been in Japan since August as a high school teacher and have been trying to learn the culture, the language, the mindset. One of the things that I have found really interesting is this exact issue of people being Japanese born (or raised) but not feeling Japanese 'enough'. I teach lots of kids going through this existential struggle and its a really interesting cultural discussion.
This was a really interesting video. I would like to see some more of this particular topic. I also felt that your questioning was getting better towards the end with the third person. If you do another video on this topic, please include deeper questions such as the discrimination they face and maybe have universal (the same) questions for all participants. Great video 👍
this channel is really enlightening because often we have a different view about Japan but I think this program will help us to know and learn more about the Japanese people and foreigners living in Japan
I still find it intetesting that Japanese as a language has challenges with referring to people like this. The english word "foreigner" refers to "coming from elsewhere", but is rarely used to refer to someones ethnicity.
I lived in Japan for many years and experienced very little discrimination or problems due to being a foreigner. By and large people were very kind and helpful to me and I have great respect for Japanese people. It's a great place to live and work and I often wish I was back there now rather than here in Australia. Thanks for posting this video Taka-chan :)
I agree many people are SO helpful and nice. My hairdresser was always interested in whats going on. I faced discrimination rather more with elderly people. I heard pretty often "gaijin". I think many 70+ elderly do not like seeing more "mixed japanese" people
Love this... I sometimes forget my life in Japan and how fun and hard it was trying to become a normal part of the culture there. These videos make me want to return someday. Great content!
I'm from Sweden and I have a friend whose parents migrated from Vietnam. I think he sometimes feel like an outsider which is strange and messed up when he is literally born and raised in this country. Just pointing out that even in europe, this can very much be the case.
I so appreciate these stories! I hope Japan becomes a little friendlier to people who have lawfully entered and successfully integrate and learn the language. Japan is obviously one of the best places in the entire world and everyone can learn from Japan’s systems: from housing to transportation to cleanliness to a spirit of community care. Arigato!
i'm from france and i found this very interesting, when the first person talked about the difference between 2nd or 3rd generation immigrants in europe in comparison to japan. i think that's true to an extent, but in france i think people that come from an immigrant background also stay very close to the culture of their country of origin. i think it depends on the country, but for example people who have a portuguese or algerian background tend to identify more with their portuguese or algerian side. france has a heavy colonial history and algeria used to be a french colony. algerian people struggled a lot to claim their independence and become their own country, so i think french citizens of algerian ethnicity don't want to forget the history of those countries and what their ancestors had to go through during that terrible time. when you go out in the street during an event it's more common to see people waving algerian flags than french flags. it's sort of a countrywide joke that everywhere you go you'll see an algerian flag and i think that's great! i think in general people of maghrebi ethnicity like to keep their country of origin close to their heart because france is a very xenophobic and racist country which expects everyone to conform to "the french lifestyle" and doesn't recognize the harm they have done to north african countries. so i think there's a stronger tendency to keep traditions and language learning alive for those groups of people than, let's say, a 3rd generation italian immigrant. the probability of a 3rd generation algerian immigrant speaking arabic or darija fluently is way higher than the probability of a 3rd generation italian immigrant speaking italian fluently.
Hi....I am Moroccan and I live in France... I don't think that France is a racist country ...the majority of people are nice and friendly.... regarding the Algerian flag thing , I don't think it's a maghrebi thing ... it's just an Algerian symptoms... it's like the Americans who are also into their flags a lot ...but the Canadian are the total opposite.
TOKYO GUIDEBOOK
takashifromjapan.com/tokyocompleteguide
Three generations and didn't feel like he was Japanese until he left Japan. Speaks volumes about how closed Japan is to foreigners.
You have no idea
@4hchc Not to me. I don't live in a country where it's difficult to say hello to the person standing next to you.
Legally he is NOT Japanese. In order to be a Japanese citizen one of your parents has to be a Japanese citizen. Just because someone is born in Japan, it does not mean they are citizens.
Things do not operate like it does in the USA, people like you need to stop pushing American laws and customs on other countries.
@@canaryinacoalmine7267 - He said his family was three generations.
That means Him, His parents and grandparents all lived in Japan. Wouldn't' that mean he and his parents were born there?
@@axelsharpshire6457 I looked up Japanese citizenship, and being born in Japan has nothing to do with citizenship. You are a Japanese citizen only if your parents are Japanese citizens. So if both grandparents are form the UK, and they have children, then they are not Japanese citizens, and neither will their children, unless they marry a Japanese citizen.
I think it’s so interesting that the first man’s parents were also born and raised in Japan. It’s really interesting to think about being 2nd generation Japanese. Immigration exists in all developed nations but it seems that even Japanese people believe their country is as homogenous as it presents itself
More than 90% of the Japanese population is of Japanese Asian decent as was claimed on Japanese media - google it or counter my claim if needed, i don't want to spread misinformation.
yeah I really relate to the first guy being 3rd generation myself but I'm mixed raced so I feel has if I belong but not 100%
What doesn't help is how japan's rulers have been so strict on holding on to old values.
I mean THE country of immigration does it even to this day despite a whole national history based on immigration…..
Well Japan is pretty homogenous though. Most people are Japanese. It isn't like the UK or America.
I found this crazy relatable to the growing chinese community in Argentina. Some of them have been here for three generations but their ethnicity is so strong that people get surprised by hearing perfect Spanish come out of their mouths. It's refreshing to hear stories from a similar perspective first hand. Thanks!!!
Paula Barberis
My experience of Chinese folks in another country of the Western hemisphere is similar: that they are quite ethnocentric and mostly endogamous, but quick to reach practical accommodation with the prevailing culture. The younger generation here speak English perfectly.
Kinda like my great-grandparents, who were Germans living in the U.S. who for generations spoke German as their native language. And only married or lived in communities of Germans. They kept on like that until the world wars.
chinese here they adopted culture perfectly. they changed their name and surname to native ones and didnt even bother teaching chinese language to their children
To be honest, as a Primary School Teacher, what happened is that a few years ago, the Chinese and Korean communities were very closed and impossible to go through them. So we had kids who barely spoke the language and the families did not do much to work for integration. We had to learn to speak words in Chinese and Korean to integrate them and learn about the customs of their countries. As a matter of fact, one of my friends at school during the 90s was Korean and he had to change his football shirt before going home so his parents wouldn't know that he liked football. I do accept there's always racisms in every aspect of an immigrant's life (I am an immigrant myself) but also, in this particular case, I lived on the other side of the spectrum. Hope everything is better now for you today!
When i see any asian looking people in Peru, I assume they speak Spanish. Very rare seem an asian tourist. My first thought is he or she is an immigrant.
All of these people were so mature and wonderful. Also your comment at the end was really interesting, that you are learning about Japan more this way, from other people. Honestly, open minded Japanese people like you, who are willing to learn from different people will really make Japan a better place.
Yes you are right. I would add that open minded people make the world a better place too.
@@proximacentaur1654 no lie, what the lady said whose parents were from Iran is 100% correct. You need to work to move past what happens in the past that is rough, understand that some people haven’t learned to use their voice to lift others up yet, and to be positive in the face of it all.
If everyone was like that lady, the world would be a better place.
HE DOES IT,FOR HE WANTS THE NON ASIAN/OR NON JAPANESE TO SEE THE OTHER SIDE OF JAPAN,SO THT FOREIGNERS WILL THINK TWICE,BEFORE CONTINUE TO MIGRATE THERE
DOH!
@@proximacentaur1654 yes
YES! Totally agree, his videos are very interesting!
I can empathize with the woman interviewed at the end. I passed the Level 1 Japanese exam and worked in an office with mostly Japanese for a few years - while my Japanese is not native, it is certainly competent. People would constantly avoid me, not getting it through their heads that I could speak Japanese. The logic went something to the effect, well, we can't speak to him in English because his Japanese is so much better than ours, but we can't speak to him in Japanese, because foreigners do not speak Japanese. So out of a department of 18 Japanese, a Chinese gentleman and myself, only the Chinese and two or three of the Japanese would speak to me in a normal fashion in Japanese. It was very frustrating and after a point, sad.
Yep, learning J is a waste of time. I myself came to this conclusion after going through the whole process of years of efforts followed by frustrating outcomes. On the whole J people are just too closeminded to deserve us, truly commited foreigners.
@@nr655321 r card in 3 2 1....
@@nr655321 that's not true at all. It completely depends on the environment and the person. I live in Osaka and my friend is a blonde Caucasian and has N1 and he always had japanese girlfriends and friends in his workplace. I moved to Osaka thanks to his advice. Even though my Japanese is like at N4 - N3 level, as long as I am trying my best speaking the language and adapt my mannerisms to theirs, they don't mind speaking with me at all. The more comfortably you can speak their language, the more comfortable they will feel and start talking with you.
@@sandwich4916 Unfortunately, I have to say I disagree with you. When I spoke really broken Japanese, people seemed delighted and were so friendly. After I passed N2, I started to notice the opposite reaction and quite a bit of distance from people, and after L1, it was as I described in my original post. I did find that the Kansai people I ran into did seem more open in this regards, but I never lived there (was in Kanto) so cannot say.
@@dchura123 I understand. Hence why I said "it depends on the environment" etc. I hope you find your place and be happy man.
They're all lovely people. I hope they have happy lives. Thanks for sharing these interviews.
Im half white half japanese, and I was born in Japan, went to hawaii for elemetary and went back to japan for middle school and high school. When youre not Japanese looking in Japan, people will constantly remind you youre different. when i was in japan I felt like an american, but when I moved out to the US for college, I realized i didnt understand the american life as I thought I would and I felt Japanese. its really hard to fully embrace both because theyre such different cultures
I already feel like that in different friend groups, the world and society is weird.
My older brother is full-blooded Japanese and he held onto his Japanese citizenship knowing that he will return to Japan to work. But because my family immigrated to New Zealand to give me a better life/opportunities that Japan did not. That's why my brother grew up in New Zealand for twelve years before returning to Japan and being educated with New Zealand qualifications - the Japanese treated him differently despite him being 100% fluent in Japanese and knowing Japanese customs/traditions, etc. It's the qualifications alone that differed him from his Japanese peers in Japan. It took him nearly twenty years living in Japan to get his status back as a Japanese.
What a life 😄 sounds interesting. You should've been one of the interviewees!
I'm an Arab looking Southern Italian (2nd generation) American that studied Japanese in Saitama for a year in College. I either felt like James Dean or Gannondorf walking around depending on the day or the age of the people I was around. The young people would hear I was American and be fun to be around. Old people sometimes were fun too. Although at least 3 old ladies purposefully rammed me with their Bicycles while I was there. And that hurt.
Uhm, there's no white race... Please do not become like the americans, where they call european people caucasian even though the caucasus is a completely different region.
It's hard to imagine someone's family living in Japan for 3 generations and still be considered a foreigner. As an American, I'm used to the idea that people can "become" American. If you're born and raised somewhere, you have claim to that identity/nationality. My grandparents came to America and only 2 generations later, it would be silly to consider me NOT American. I know there's lots of other issues and America has its faults, but that's one thing I find really beautiful and hope that more cultures will feel that way some day.
EDIT: Immigration acceptance has been taught in America and most Americans would at least SAY they believe this. They may be hypocritical and there is horrible xenophobia and racism that persists. Still, Americans are taught from a young age that anyone can come to America and be American and there are a lot of people who earnestly believe this. When I was younger and learned a lot of homogenous cultures did not have this value drilled into them, it was surprising to me, and I still find it shocking to think about. Like culture shock. I do not think America is perfect, I do not want to destroy anyone else's culture. It would be cool if xenophobia and racism did not exist anywhere.
I’m British born with Irish parents who fought for the UK during the WWII, my husband is from Guernsey, our children were born in Ulster and our grandchildren live in various parts of the world, yet we all see ourselves as British. When I visited the US I met several people claiming to be Irish Americans but they were American through and through, their Irish ancestry several generations back. Odd how I am only one generation removed from Ireland and feel myself wholly British but Americans still identify as Irish.
@@catherinerobilliard7662 oh please, stop with this dense line of thinking...the reason the US is different is because you can be American but you don't have to assimilate everything, whereas most other countries you are expected to assimilate and act like them. In the US, differences are praised and people are interested in them, but in most other countries you're looked at as an oddball for "stirring the pot" or just being a sore thumb and standing out, they start to think "do you think you're too good for them and the customs?"
@@catherinerobilliard7662 what they look like from japanese people might be 1 of the most plausible reasons. same in America. If a person looks like the stereotype asian, they'll discriminate. western features does not differ too much from each other tbh
WAKE UP,,FOR,,YOU WILL NEVER BE ACCEPTED IN SUCH CONTINENTS..EVEN IF YOU WERE BORN IN THERE
ALTHOUGH THESE ASIANS..CRIES WOLF AND BAWLS A LOT,IF THEY RE NOT..ACCEPTED" IN THE OCCIDENT.EVEN IF THEY ARE A FOREIGNER..THEY WILL ALWAYS "DEMAND" WHAT THEIR HOME COUNTRY OR ANCESTRAL CONTRY DOES NOT GIVE TO FOREIGNERS..
IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT JAPAN.IT IS THE ENTIREEEEEEEEEEEEE OF ASIA.LIKE THIS..YOU WIL NEVER BE ACCEPTED ,UNLESS YOU LOOK LIKE THEM!! NEVER MIND IF YOU WERE BORN IN ASIA..NEVER MIND IF YOU SPEAK THE LANGUAGE,THEY WILL STILL NEVER ACCEPT YOU
RACISM IN ASIA..IS FIRST CLASS! RACISM IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT,WORK PLACE AND SCHOOLS!!
America is essentially a conglomerate of different cultures and races all mixed into one melting pot compared to japan. Japan is homogenous unlike America. It’s largely made up of ethnically Japanese people. You find it silly to not be considered American, because you live in a uniquely mixed/mashed up ethnic melting pot of a country, but there’s nothing silly/surprising about not being considered Japanese if you don’t look Japanese in Japan. It’s like finding a duck in a sheep enclosure vs in a petting zoo. You notice the duck amongst sheep, but in a petting zoo, it’s just another animal to pet. It’s easier to blend into an already blended/mixed society. Whether or not that’s silly is ultimately up to the Japanese to decide. I’ve been seeing many comments from an obviously western view point saying it’s “silly”, “close-minded” or “disturbing” that Japanese culture is this way. We’re guests being offered an inside view of Japanese society/culture. Trying to tear it down or shake it up “because our culture is better” comes off as arrogant, ironically “close-minded” and pisses me off.
Very interesting interview. Also interesting that Joshua’s English sounded American or Canadian rather than British or Australian. I worked with a man in the U S, who was Japanese by birth. His English had a Japanese accent but his first and last name were Irish. His grandfather was an Irish business man who lived in Tokyo and raised a family with his Japanese wife. I know from him the grandchildren were
fully identified as Japanese but maintained Irish names.
@@brendanlinnane5610 i think it's because he went to international school in Tokyo and they tend to use American English in those, I used to live near a subway stop close to one and I would always hear the students talking and they all always sounded American regardless of their ethnicity
My American math high school is retired and live in Laos.
@@brendanlinnane5610 americans have many different accents depending on which state you live in but I would agree it sounds more american with a heavy asian accent.
@@catherineserbin248 "heavy" asian accent is pushing it lol you can hear it at certain parts but i wouldn't say heavy. based solely off of the english introduction i wouldn't place his accent as japanese if there was no context
I was born and raised in the uk, but because of my family, i never had an accent. my accent is super neutral, I'd say.
I'm japanese. I would accept and respect those people you interview. The lady towards the end. That's terrible 😕 for japanese people to treat her like that. IDK. I was in Afghanistan 🇦🇫 for almost a decade. War torn country and people will take care of you like their own no matter where you come from.
I share your feeling towards the girl. Curious to know why you spent 10 yrs in Afghanistan.
@H military and contracting.
@@COYS-mc8uh Operation Enduring Freedom.
Europe suffering now because of Syrians
@@ihateboomerswithimaginaryf8404 Okay. What does that have to with Japan? 🤔
I would love to see some interviews with Ainu people. I like how you let people speak for themselves and say basically whatever they want, and most of the stuff I've learned about the Ainu are through the lens of Japanese people or foreigners. Would love to get some thoughts directly from Ainu people about how they feel about Japan and their life there. Thanks for the videos!
thank you for mentioning them, I just read up on them because your post. Fascinating!! Thank you
I wholeheartedly second this 🤚🏽 !
@H Thank you so much!
Someone explain Ainu please
Just googled them, such a big beautiful world we live in 🌌
I think this topic is great and so insightful. There seems to be something very deeply ingrained in at least some Asian cultures that is very racist and xenophobic. I lived in Korea for 12 years as an adult and know that the same story would be told there if you had similar interviews. "If your face doesn't fit, you don't fit." I realized that even if I had learned Korean and the culture perfectly I would never be really accepted. I was an adult, so it really didn't bother me that much, but I feel really bad for foreigners that are raised in Japan or Korea from a very young age. They know the language and culture as well as a "native" but they still aren't accepted. It is as if they don't belong anywhere. I think that is very painful and hard.
"I realized that even if I had learned Korean and the culture perfectly I would never be really accepted. " Ironically xenophobes are usually completely ignorant of their culture.
"If your face doesn't fit, you don't fit."
But that's not really exclusive to Asia tho. If you're going to a different country to be accepted then don't. And so what that my face fits in EU, that doesn't mean I feel anything towards it or feel any connection. Home is home where you live not where you're born.
The US is like this too. In fact most humans are xenophobic by default. I suspect it js due to how we form bonds and how we evolved for generations since the dawn of our species.
We evolved in close knit communities meaning we were related to everyone we created settlements with. Humans lived with large families and were selective of who they allowed in much like any other animal.
Modern civilizations introduced globalization and we are often forced to interact with people from different "tribes".
I am not offended when people do not see me as part of their tribe but I am offended when people assume this makes me less than them.
Or even when people assume they know my ancestry and identity based on my phenotypes.
Phenotypes are just genetic variations and proof of the beauty of human adaptability. Why features offend people is simply a primitive response and people who haven't been properly educated in critical thought.
Most people who assume identity from appearance are usually also people who rely on generalization.
Most humans still rely on generalization because we aren't taught to see nuance. The ability to make quick judgments is a primitive one that enabled the survival of our species but it isn't what we need to help us build a successful civilization.
We need to be more than just primitive. This is an issue of education that is present in all cultures.
We are also a species that relies of hierarchy so this further complicates our tribal dynamics.
@@bleachedout805 Yeah, don't forget that education is mostly focused on how great the country you are born in is and that being with the people around you who look and were born in that same place as well.
And they say with age comes wisdom.
This is just an exxageration and ridicolousness. Japan is not that xenophobic, and they have a lot af hafus who are accepted.
The 3rd gen Anglo-Japanese guy really resonated with me as a Chinese-Indonesian. Particularly the parts where he was raised to think of the UK as his home. This is similar to what we call in Chinese as 祖籍/貫籍/ancestral place, and is quite emphasized amongst Chinese diaspora. Also the part where he said it would be comforting to live in a country where you’re part of the majority. I’ve often visited my relatives in China since I was younger and gotten a taste of no longer being a minority, so that also struck a cord with me. In fact, the only difference is that he retains his ancestral nationality, but my family has since adopted our new nationality. Cheers mate and I hope you find what you’re looking for in the UK!
Same! As a Latino american growing up around mostly white and black people, going to Miami (which is overwhelmingly people from Latin American/the Caribbean), it was one of the first times I felt part of the majority. It was a bizarre feeling! Another weird experience; my family always told me I was handsome, but never believed it because no one gave me that much attention up in New York City. But when I went to Miami, it was the first time people hit on ME, not the other way around. 🤣 I love where I live, but I've never forgotten the experience.
We Whites no longer have our homes. The invasion of non-Whites and the criminalization of White cultures in Europe is proceeding apace. KALERGI.
You all talking about spending your lives as an ethnic minority where you grew up and then visiting where you look like the majority is really interesting to think about. As an American, seeing people that don't look like me isn't uncommon but as someone that is pale enough to almost glow in the dark, I am in the visual majority where I live. However, soon I get to take my first trip outside of the US and will be suddenly in the minority- I will very obviously not look like the locals. I think I really need to explore how this feels and reflect on the experience to better understand all of my friends that are immigrants from regions that are not predominately pale. So if you'll excuse me, I'll be hiding in the shade trying not to burst into flames in the low-latitude sunshine pondering all this, thank you for your insights.
@@theresaread6174 Lol Theresa! I'm glad to hear my silly little story made you see some things in a new way.
I couldn't care less if I'm a minority in a country.
I stumbled on your video and it's interesting as I have had the opposite life journey. My parents are both Japanese and were living in England during their 20's. Growing up in the UK, I faced a lot of discrimination and was picked on a lot at school (Flat nose, flat face, slant eyes, etc.). At 11 years old, we moved to the US and again had trouble "fitting in". Not only was I Japanese, but I spoke with an English accent and didn't know much US English vs UK English (fries vs chips, lorry vs truck, etc.). I visited Japan many times, and even though I looked like everyone, I didn't fit in there either. Whether it was my clothing or how I carried myself, Japanese people knew I was an "outsider". Throughout all my experiences, I realized one thing, people will either accept differences or they won't, regardless of the country you live in.
Another commenter, Jack Straw, mentioned that just because you're not native, people expect that you can't speak the language. I had a similar experience in the US. Again, born in England, and have spoken English my whole life, yet when I got to the US, they put me in 3rd grade instead of 4th grade because of how I look, I was bumped up to 4th grade after 2 weeks. Fast forward to the time I started applying for colleges/universities and they're requiring me to take a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) in order to apply. I've been speaking English my whole life, but have to prove it because I was born in a different country.
Despite all of the negative things, I wouldn't change how I grew up and the cultures I experienced for anything. It made me more empathetic, understanding and accepting of differences, something the world needs more of.
Don't feel too bad. I am British, born and raised, from a white family that has probably been in the UK for a thousand years or more. My family moved to the U.S. when I was 20, and I started my freshman year in university, and the university admin office tried to make me take a TOEFL test to see if I could handle classes in English, as I wasn't born in the U.S. Until I laughed in their face and said, "Um.. no, not doing that". There are stupid people everywhere :)
It's so interesting to hear your story.
It is imperative to require foreign-born people to take an English examination before admitting them to university.
@@earlysda ROTFL, not if you are born in England, a country where we only speak English. In fact, we invented the language :)
@@MichelleTopham Michelle, perhaps you didn't understand what I wrote. Please try reading it again.
I feel this. I’m Chinese-Filipino, look 100% Chinese, but was born and raised in the Philippines, and I speak English as my first language. I felt completely alien when I’d visit China, and people would stare at me in the Philippines and call me strange for not speaking Tagalog (even though my Tagalog is like 70% acceptable). Ultimately I felt comfortable living in the US, where different cultures coexist together and I can be heard and understood with a language I’m comfortable in. The world is so very strange indeed.
It ain't strange reall tho. If you think about it, that's how any sentient would react or think...
As a non Asian, when I was younger (ignorant) I thought all Asians were the same. That's how us stupid Americans thought, being we're kind of one culture in America
I'm Japanese but was born and raised in the US. I feel well-integrated in the US that I sometimes forget I'm Japanese. But if I were to go to Japan, I'd feel out of place and "foreign" despite physically blending in with the crow do too barely able to speak Japanese. I think Japanese people think I'm retarded for speaking really broken Japanese lol.
@@stophittingyourselves understood
The consistency is insanely good. I always wonder how you manage to find all those people and edit the videos in such a short time. Keep it up!!!
Me too, I was thinking that he probably walks up to people and asks them questions on the spot then compiles them later.
@@kafalotofeao462 yea you could tell he just randomly finds people like that by the his clothes since it changed every clip which probably means all those clips are from different days
最後の二人「国に帰れ」って言った子の事笑いながら流してるけど、本当は結構辛いからねそういう事言われるの。うちもそういうさべつを味わった一人だから
わかりました。六合に帰りまーす。
Are u an Afghan?
正直さ、日本人て基本ガキの頃とか日本人しかいない教室で育つじゃん。
だから「人種差別」がいかに重大な冒涜かわかってないんだよね。軽視してるというか。
移民増えてるつっても、ここ10年くらいの技能実習生であって、まだ外人の子孫とか、ハーフとかも少ない。
だからわかんないんだよね自分が知らないから。周りにいないから。
今後はたぶん増えると思うんだけどね。東南アジア系がね。増えてくるとたぶんだいぶ変わると思うけどね。
韓国とか中国とかだと価値観が似てるから移民増えてもあんま変わらんのだよね実際。
権力側は変えたくないから中韓移民ならOKだったんだけど給料安くなって今度は東南アジアにシフトしてるから
東南アジアはちょっと価値観違うから変わるか変わらんかで言えば変わると思う。もちろん西欧、アフリカ、南米、あたりも増えて欲しいけどね。
It seems like maybe in some industries (like service) sadly might face that issue in the future.
隣人がアフリカ人ですがおそらく日本育ちかもしれないと思い、初対面のときから日本語で話しかけました。
職場もアジア系外国人がたくさんいますが日本人と仲良いです。
むしろ学校も職場も日本人同士の方が仲が悪い。
外国人に「国に帰れ」と言う日本人は一度も見たことないけど、日本人に向けて「お前は出ていけ」という日本人ならたくさん見てきました。
I believe it’s less about being a “foreigner” and more about being an “ethnical minority”. Even in the west if you go to an area where your people is the minority you will be treated differently. It’s just that in Japan there is _nowhere_ where the non-Japanese makes up a significant majority.
As far as I know, Japanese citizenship is not given just because you were born in Japan.
as it should be, and western countries doing the opposite are making a mistake and will regret it later on if not already.
@@georgewilliamgutarracampos6262 birthright citizenship is not as common as you think it is. Its not in Europe and not in most parts of the world.
@@georgewilliamgutarracampos6262 "Birth in Japan does not by itself entitle a child to Japanese nationality, except when a child would otherwise be stateless. Foreign nationals may acquire citizenship by naturalization after living in the country for at least five years and renouncing any previous nationalities."
@@johndoe-fq7ez i assume that you are trolling. if not, i am curious about your reasoning for this belief.
To the first person: It’s heartbreaking to hear that someone born and raised in japan feels he has to “return” to a country where his citizenship is (UK). You ARE Japanese. If YOU identify this way! I also think it’s interesting because if this person was Japanese-passing in looks, it would be an entirely different experience. This duality of identity is so difficult - I’m kind of the opposite where I am Japanese and Japanese passing (citizenship and parents are Japanese) but raised in America. I’m American and Japanese but not accepted as such on either side. I am both. It’s aggravating when other people try to tell me who I am. I hope in the future we won’t be so caught up in this type of labeling and just all be humans of earth 😂 All these people you interviewed were so well spoken and lovely. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Sakura.
Because you are japanese not american.
I am curious to what degree ethnic Japanese people accept non-ethnic Japanese people. These are not foreigners from an American perspective.
Having lived in Japan you have a the common western idea of identity. I knew many kids growing up that had one japanese parent, spoke japanese at home, never left for more than a week yet were still called gaijin in the street. It's just a society that doesn't see much immigration and thus has a very different view around identity.
youre not accepted in the US? most people i know here wouldnt bat an eye or questiom your nationality even if you have an accent or race
I’m a blue eyed, blonde haired American who moved to Japan when I was fifteen and attended an all Japanese high school and college. I spent a lot of my most informative years there and I often feel more at home, comfortable, and accepted around Japanese people. Maybe it’s because I came when I was older but I never got told things like “go back to your country”, instead I got told things like “I always forget you’re a foreigner!” Or “to me you’re just Japanese like us”. However when I went back to the United States and tried to tell people about Japanese culture or different ideologies I was discriminated against for identifying as mix-cultured. I was told that because I’m white and not ethnically Japanese I had no say in the argument. Meanwhile the Indonesian-Japanese kid who didn’t speak a word of Japanese and had never been to Japan was openly welcomed to speak. It’s sad how little people around the world realize that culture isn’t what you look like or the color of your skin, it’s what’s inside you and what you’ve experienced.
たぶんそれはあなたが良い奴だったからと思うよ。性格悪い奴は基本肌の色に関わらず嫌われる。
俺がそう。俺日本人だけど性格悪いからあんま友達いなかった。
Merica land of the freely choosen ignorant!
People can get way too caught up in tying culture to race (obsession with race in general), especially ironic since that sentiment is especially strong in America (a melting pot) these days. Culture isn't what you look like, it's how you formed as a person. And if you formed in another culture, then that's simply how you are.
That's because in America unfortunately people aren't that open minded in regards to learning different cultures but they are perfectly fine when people from other cultures engulf American culture. This is why I prefer the open mindedness of Japan over America. They are open to anyone learning their culture while simultaneously being open to exploring the American side of things as well.
@@わわ-l8w 日本の田舎にいるアメリカ人として私はアメリカ代表のような立場になってアメリカ人や外国人が嫌われないように色々気をつけました！日本の文化もちゃんと身について日本語も上手くなってできる限りいいやつに見られるように頑張りました！
The woman from Iran had such a beautiful accent when she spoke Japanese. Very cool to hear that fusion of persian and Japanese in her voice
Although our situations are different I can relate a lot to the first guy. I was born in Scotland but have lived in New Zealand since I was seven. Like him, I grew up seeing the UK as my home, seeing myself as British. In my friend group, in my school, I was always the Scottish one, that was my label. But then as I got older I came to realise that I wasn’t very British. I watched RUclips videos and stuff about the UK and I saw the people in the videos and I realised I was very different to them. I can relate more to a kiwi than a British person. But for me this has left me feeling lost. I based a big part of my identity around being British, I became more patriotic to Scotland than the average Scottish person but it turns out I don’t really know anything about the country. I only know few things that I had learnt as a young child, I know barely anything about the country and the culture. But at the same time, I am not a kiwi. I grew up eating Haggis and Jaffa Cakes, surrounded by British traditions. I know nothing about New Zealand family life because I have only experienced British family life because I have British parents. In New Zealand people see me as British, in Britain people see me as kiwi. My friends think I have a strong Scottish accent but another Scottish person would probably not call my accent Scottish. Wherever I go, I am seen as an outsider. There is nowhere That I just fit in. I feel like I am left unable to identify with either country and am left without a home. When people ask me where I am from I no longer know how to answer.
Just say you came from earth like the rest of them, walk, eat, drink, laugh, cry, and living like the rest of them, and that's what matters. So many people feel others are distant to them because of cultural difference, when it doesn't matter that much to begin with. It's like drums, I swear to God there are different drums all over the parts of the world with different names, but they all sound basically the same, the way you play it is basically the same, it's under the same category, just from different places, but not that it matters. Once you see someone as a human and not another person of a certain ethnic group you'll feel the difference, and a bit of relief.
We have some many people in Sydney from so many backgrounds you might find your tribe here.
Dont worry we all (who are born in one country and then moved to another to live) has same problem-lost of national indentity ..I felt the same - but i realize its actually advantige as you can see negative sides of both and not being cought in this national game-you liberate urself and become citizen of planet Earth with choice to feel good about urself as person not as kiwi or British or USA citizens...Now i think its blessing having such life
Thanks for sharing your experience. You expressed it very well
Understandable. My mother is British, father is New Zealander. I was brought up in NZ but don't really feel like a kiwi at all. My wife is Japanese and when I'm visiting Japan I feel I may actually fit in there better. Strange I know.
I consider myself a international person. I've done a bit of travel which has contributed to that
The hero we need but don't deserve has once more uploaded at the right time.
A bit of an aside as I'm a foreigner living in Thailand but I have a similar experience as the last lady. While Thai culture is famously tolerant and welcoming, they're still often 'afraid' of Westerners or 'shy' or some other emotion, and will often just blank out that you're speaking in perfectly coherent Thai to them, and say in terribly broken English 'no speak, no speak Angrit'... I've had dozens of 'conversations' over the 2 decades I've lived here that involved me speaking Thai and just being blanked by people who simply assume that because I have white skin, I must be speaking foreign.
To be fair to them, it’s not an unnatural assumption. It’s human nature to make assumptions like that, it’s not a personal thing, please don’t take it personally. If they are still rude or unwelcoming after they find out you speak their language, that person isn’t worth speaking to. I hope you find comfort in your new home.
@@MrMinimerlin He’s talking about a strange psychological phenomenon where they “blank out” that you are actually currently speaking their language, and try to speak English back to you instead of Thai…not because they’re being unwelcoming or rude but because this exceptional foreigner’s ability literally hasn’t yet registered.
I'm sorry you had those experiences. I've traveled to Thailand a few times and had similar experiences when it came to spicy food 😂 They did not think I was ready.
Overall though the people were awesome, just liked to party more than me
This happens a lot, I also lived 4 years in Thailand. And I am quite good at the language and I know some sentences I speak absolutely flawless because my boyfriend and thai friends tell me. But the amount of times thai people and especially girls at a local shop or 7/11 get some kind of 'blank 1000mile stare' or ask my boyfriend the exact same question and he responds exactly with the same answer and then they say 'oh oke now I get it ha-ha' really stopped me from being motivated and learning the language and at times felt really bad and lonely. Because even if you try they don't accept you
I always imagined that when someone looked at me with that "deer in headlights" look, that they just didn't realize I was trying to speak their language.
Have you ever picked up a drink expecting one thing and getting another? It's a similar experience.
They're likely nervous and trying their best to understand the "English" you're about to spit at them to the point that they don't even recognize their own language. I've had it happen to me when I first started trying to learn Japanese and someone spoke perfect english to me. 😂
The first guy is from UK originally, but I was not expecting his English accent to be similar to an American one. 😂
Again, the diversity of the people in this video is just awesome.
Good job, Takashi-san! ✌️
He said he lived in America for a bit as a kid and he attended an international school in Tokyo so I guess it makes sense he would have an American accent. He was surrounded by a lot more American accents than British. His parents were also born in Japan so they probably don’t really have British accents either. I mean his dad is half British and his mum is a kiwi so they most definitely don’t have British accents. I was a bit surprised by it too though. I knew he probably wouldn’t have a British accent but I was expecting maybe it would sound more Japanese.
Truee. I was caught off guard with that. People of british descent using American accent as their main accent is pretty new to me.
I noticed the American accent too. I was expecting a British or Australian accent. Maybe he picked up the American accent from international school. It would’ve been cool if he had a Japanese accent.
@@jjencakes Yeah, though he mentioned that he lived in the US for quite some time, but still, I was not expecting the American accent. 😂
International school
That was so interesting. Each person had such a unique story. It’s really hard to integrate even in less homogeneous countries, so I imagine Japan to be one of THE hardest societies in which to integrate. I also love hearing about “third culture kids” and would love to watch more about each person you featured!
So thought provoking! Tysm to everyone who shared their thoughts and feelings about something so personal! ❤
It’s very interesting to hear this “born to a foreign land” perspective outside of the united states. I live in a culturally diverse area in the US so I have many personal friends and acquaintances with similar stories, but I have never considered how it might make these sorts of people feel in a much more mono-ethnic society like japan. great video!!
It's very difficult if you're a foreigner that was never taught their native language. You don't belong where you live because it's not your ancestral home, but when you go back, you can't speak with the people. It's very frustrating.
@@JohnFromAccounting Hmm USA doesn't quite have the "not your ancestral home" problem because the vast majority of people here do not have indigenous american roots
@@reidleblanc3140 Very true. USA is one of those countries where you can't really tell anyone to go back to their country, because odds are that person saying those things also aren't indigenous American. For the most part, anyone can be "American" and have little to no trouble assimilating or being accepted as American. In these ways USA is far superior to Japan. My Japanese exchange student friend at my college told me how he liked the idea of being considered "American" with either citizenship or being born in the country. I read online how a lot of expats that go to Japan have children and jobs and pay taxes and even learn the language fluently but are still considered "gaijin" foreigners.
@@reidleblanc3140 American Roots - It's really only if you're a direct descendent of the Native American Tribes; Sioux, Apache, Cherokee, Iroquois, Leni Lenape, Huron etc...
My story is pretty similar to Joshua but the opposite: I have 100% okinawan blood and I look like one, so many times people in the past would ask me where I was from or suffered racism. Not so much now thank god. But because of that, I was pretty confused until my teenage/adult years, when I realized that Identity and nationality sometimes can be two different things.
When I went to Japan, I could get lost in the crowd and nobody could tell the difference if I didn't spoke a word (It's too obvious I'm not a native speaker). But In the end of the day, I was culturally more latinamerican than japanese.
Sometimes you can have only one nationality, but regarding identity, it's a 100% unique to you: how you feel, the different cultures and traditions you were raised in and experienced...
O.o I didn't know that Okinawa's people would feel in that way. I'm suprise to hear that somebody from Okinawa' feels more comfortable saying that he is more like "Latinamerican". Could you please tell me more about? I'm a pretty interested as a Latin living in Japan
@@luisafmcanime Porque aunque mis abuelos de ambos lados sean okinawenses, las generaciones que nacieron fuera de Okinawa, nos criamos en una cultura diferente. La sangre es solo sangre, aunque a ella esté ligada un montón de historia. La cultura es lo que practico y recibo cada día, hablo español y tomo mate, me gusta más la comida del país que me vió nacer aunque muchas veces la acompañe con gohan, los domingos me suelo juntar en familia y el saludo con amigos y familiares es con un beso y/o un abrazo (al menos en esta parte del mundo).
@@jacqnk5468 ohhh! muchisimas gracias por tu respuesta! definitivamente estoy de acuerdo. Es muy bello ver cuando una cultura esta abierta a recibirte. Siento que esto es algo muy propio de Latinoamerica. Saludos y un abrazo también!
@@luisafmcanime de nada! Esa es mí percepción, habrá quien se sienta completamente diferente también. Por eso decía que es 100% personal. Amo las dos culturas igualmente. Saludos!!
I have friends who are originally from Latvia. They have lived here for about 15 years and have 2 kids (14 and 12 years old). They all have Irish passports and the kids can speak Irish better than they speak Latvian. English is the kids first language as with most Irish people. They all consider themselves to be Irish and I consider them as Irish too even though they are first and second generation.
I had a very sobering experience when babysitting those kids about 5 years ago. I was putting the boys to bed and I was using this toy (an interactive globe) to test their geography knowledge. I asked them can you "point out your country on the globe". Both kids immediately pointed to Ireland and I felt so stupid for posing the question. A mistake I will never make again. Of course they consider themselves Irish. They were born and raised here.
As for their parents, they told me that Ireland did more for them in 5 years than lativa did in 20. Which is why they haven't even taught the boys Latvian. Personally I find that a little sad because learning any language is beneficial but it's also nice to know about your culture and routes.
Regardless, I think most EU countries are very accepting to people calling a country their home, despite where they originally are from.
Ireland is particularly good at this because we have such a strong culture of emmergration ourselves. Personally I spend 1 year in Canada, 2 in America and I'm moving to Australia in January. This is a very common thing to do here. Also, throughout history the Irish have had mass emmergration events such as after the famine or during the 80's - economic downturn.
There were very few foreigners living in Ireland until the late 90s/early 00's as we were relatively poor. In the past 20 years Ireland has become much more multi cultured. It would be hipocritical of us to be anything but accepting to immigrants, based on our history of being immigrants ourselves. This certainly doesn't mean that there are not xenophobic or racist people living here, but most immigrants that I know personally feel very welcomed and are proud to call Ireland their home. I think Irish culture really helps with that as its very community based and friendly here, generally speaking.
I really went off on a tangent with this comment lol. Sorry to anyone who bothers to read it.
Yes but you guys are awesome and very special people.. Many people around the world have Irish near and dear to our hearts because of solidarity shown when there are bad things happening around the world.. Irish have always stood up for justice for others and that is incredibly admirable.. small but mighty!!!
Wtf 😂
Maybe, maybe not. A dog born in a stable is not a horse.
You don't move overseas or cross borders and become part of a heritage.
Citizenship does not equal nationality, which is an important difference.
It was really nice reading this comment! I'm indian and I have quite a few friends and relatives in Ireland as well!
@@JumpingJacksismfor most cases citizenship does equal to nationality but not all nationals are citizens. The UK for example has 6 different British nationalities for e.g “British citizen” that being someone from the UK and “British overseas territories citizen” this being someone from a British oversears territory for e.g the Falklands, British overseas nationals aren’t British citizens but their nationality is British. Full British citizens from the UK are British nationals and British citizens.
If you are born in a country and raised in that country, attended school in that country, and you "FEEL" like you are from that country, then you are indeed from that country. Regardless of your ethnic or your family national origin, if they feel Japanese and they love the country, they are Japanese.
I'm from Puerto Rico a small island in the Caribbean, we have had people who weren't originally from our island. However, they came to live and work there, they fell in love with our island and they learned our culture to the point they felt they were from there. When they past, they were buried in the island they love, and our country recognized them as countrymen.
Is time to let go of old attitudes about race or national origin, regardless of what we look like, we are more alike in a lot of ways. We all want to be happy, have a job, care for our family and friends and that is a universal feeling for everyone.
Anyway great vid Takashii-san...
I can barely find the words to thank you for pointing these things out. I would have given anything to meet someone who thought like you, growing up. Where I lived, I was ironically, surrounded by different minorities and groups who cannibalized each other for supremacy - forgetting that despite their differences, the most important thing they had in common was that they (including me) were all born here. I had to learn these things you speak of, in the most harsh, bitter way imaginable. It's ironic that because of these experiences, I no longer feel welcome or that I belong in the place where I was born. You are very insightful to point out that belonging is about more than simple ethnicity but an actual feeling of attachment to the land and people. Thank you again.
@@madpoetsociety2917 I appreciate your kind words, thank you. It is really unfortunate that you feel unwelcome in your own country due to those bad experiences. However, I'm sure that there are people who probably think the way I do, somewhere in your country but, maybe they are not outspoken due to appearances or because they don't want to "rock the boat" as the saying goes. You can still love your country regardless of those ignorant people or at least you can always be proud of where you come from, because that can never be taken away. Look for the positives, even if they are not many, and forget about the negatives if you can. Keep on moving forward my friend.
@@loonabutterfly Wepa! :D
Beautifully said.
I'm not Puerto Rican like you and some of those below, but I share a similar sentiment.
I am always pleased to meet new canadians no matter where they are from. they move here, work here, learn here, play here and so i see them as canadian. And I am always pleased to learn something new from them as well. new canadians new stories after all!
@@theKTCalamity That is awesome!
I'm surprised about the amount of Iranian/Persian people you usually find in your interviews, including half Japanese-Iranian people. It's a country that is relatively distant from Japan and you usually don't see people talking about it when it comes to Japan-relationships.
It seems that East Asians try or want to look West Asian, or at least Central Asian.
I don't blame Iranian people wanting to live in Japan, no one wants to be dominated by a crazy religious government where you have no freedoms and can be jailed for anything like you can in Iran.
@@michelleg7 no one?
@@Akkhinus it’s an exaggeration, but it’s a common belief that the current regime represents 30-40% of Iranians and that 60-70% of Iranians would prefer a more modern regime. The Revolution there was very multi-faceted, it could have easily become a secular commmunist or socialist country in different circumstances.
I think it’s a interesting thing, especially since there is supposedly on 10k at most in all of Japan. But one of the most famous baseball players is half Japanese half Iranian.
Japan and Iran have had good relations for decades.
Very nice to hear other people's thoughts on this subject. I live in Sweden but have a foreign background (and face I suppose) and have personal experience with people asking me "Where are you from?" and when I respond with the town I live (and was born) in, they usually continue asking things like "Where were you born? What country do you come from? Where are your parents from?". I think "some" people just want to find any angle from which they can see you as a foreigner.
Being a half Japanese American from a small town, I definitely have felt a lot of mixed emotions growing up in rural America and moving to Tokyo as an adult. Who and what I identified as wasn't as straightforward as it is for a lot of people. I really appreciate your content as well as all these people sharing their own experiences. ありがとうね！
Having anything to do with America and identity is generally complicated.
@@RambleOn07 especially when your dad is a US soldier which is how many asian women and their mixed kids end up in rural America.
@@RambleOn07 ^
@@RambleOn07 not really....stop with that, that's really mostly a California and NYC thing, the rest of Americans aren't crazy like that
Thank you, I learn a lot from life and opinions in Japan thanks to you. From my tiny village in Normandy, learning so much is a blessing.
I can relate to this topic. I was born in Russia but have lived in Thailand for more than 7 years. Can speak Thai and understand Thai culture. But for Thai people everyone foreign-looking is automatically dumb, cant speak and understand any Thai, cant eat spicy food and is easy to be cheated. This behavior is shown by people of any age and generation.
Why would you even want to be accepted as one of them?
@@paimei2339 wanting to be treated with basic respect in a place some has lived for so long shouldn't be too much to ask for.
Wtf, im so sorry for you. Im honestly so tired of east asian countries being this horribly racist
It’s funny how the US is always criticized for this kind of stuff, but the majority of countries are actually just as ignorant if not even moreso of foreigners than Americans are.
@@msv4865 It’s not racist so much as it is xenophobic, and honestly, I must admit this has its upsides. You see, in cultures that are not diverse at all as opposed to somewhere like the US where it is extremely diverse in most urban places, there is a lot more trust in the community. This is not something that would happen if no one in a community was racist or something like that, as the reason it happens is because of cultural differences.
This is my favorite video that you have made! I can deeply relate to what they are expressing. It is so important to tell stories like these that share the hybrid identities of individuals and their different perspectives. This is very special. Continue the great work!
Such a fantastic interview Takashii! It really shows how us as a planet should come together and love each other no matter where we come from. At the end of the day we are all one species: human, but we can be so separated at times just because others are “different” from us when they truly aren’t.
while I agree with what you wanna convey, imo "love each other" is too much. Even "like each other" isn't necessary. Just "live in harmony" or "tolerate each other" is enough.
Yes, we are all humans but tribalism has been around since the dawn of man.
In fact this interview shows a bit differently also. Seeing as Joshua felt comforted when he went somewhere people looked like him and he was the majority for once.
Makes you think maybe it's not so bad that people are separated and live in different places, and that making everywhere a melting pot isn't the smartest choice.
@@kristoffer8609 Agree 100%!!!
@@kristoffer8609 Seems a bit overblown to me. Just because there are some tribalistic instincts, that's not an argument to give into them. Living in a super homogenous society like Japan, it's inevitable that he'd feel some level of comfort being outside that environment, especially if he faced any kind of discrimination like the others in this video experienced. The solution isn't to create a place where someone else is uncomfortable. It's to create a place where no one is uncomfortable.
You are a very good interviewer. You asked intelligent questions and let the people you were interviewing express themselves. It was very interesting to hear from different perspectives. I am an American living in China, so I am used to the "usual" questions from local people. It can be frustrating to have the same conversation over and over for over a decade. Your interview was refreshing in having thoughtful questions. But it also reminded me why I get the same questions repeatedly. Because people are curious about each other. And that is okay.
I really wanted to hear that first guy's English as soon as he explained his background. He sounds so American! That was a bit of a shock.
This is the story of many in America. I moved to Texas from Mexico young. Even though I went through the process to become a citizen and speak English fine, many will never see me as an American.
People call those who are 6th or 7th generation Texans from Mexican heritage, Mexican. They are not Mexican 🤣 They are more American then apple pie!
I would say, this is a universal phenomenon that has just increased with the ability of traveling.
Thank you.
It’s sad people are so ignorant and racist
I knew a fellow student in high school in Arizona who was two years old when his family illegally crossed the border from Mexico into the US. His parents wanted a better life for him, to the point that they never taught him Spanish, only English. He learned Spanish in middle school from other Spanish-speaking students, and they teased him for speaking with a "whiteboy accent."
He was just as American as I am, as far as I'm concerned. And pretty much all of us thought that. He thought that. As apple-pie American as can be.
It was one of the most horrible, eye-opening moments in my life when he didn't show up one day Sophmore year, and the next day we learned his entire family - mother, father, him and his then eight-year-old sister - had been "detained" and were to be deported. Many of the students and teachers signed the petition to pardon them, myself included, of course, the thought of being in his shoes was terrifying. As far as we knew, his parents had told him they arrived legally. What would that be like, to be forced to go to a country that you knew nothing about except that your parents had risked everything to get you away from because it was so terrible they broke laws to try and save you?
I never learned what happened to him. I heard there was a legal battle, but then I never saw him again. I don't know if they won or lost.
I really wish more people could knew that "being American" really has nothing to do with where you're from. It's what you bring to the potluck we're supposed to be having.
@@Ranger-sl3qq didn't realize being Mexican was a race. Is being Canadian or American a race?
@@Verbose_Mode BS. Illegals are illegal and should be deported.
@@themonsterunderyourbed9408 Yeah I read that too 😂 That guy is on something else.
I think a video on Ainu would be super cool! This video was awesome, too.
Broadening our understanding of things can broaden our perspectives in life, so I think your videos not only serve your viewers but also yourself as a Japanese person.
Yes I agree, it would be very cool if you could interview an Ainu person in Japan. It is not easy being an indigenous person in Canada because there is so much racism. The Canadian government is very patronizing and discriminatory in regards to their relationship with Indigenous Canadians in general. It’s a global issue the rights of tribal peoples. Thank you
I'm curious to see the differences between how older and younger Japanese view "foreigners" raised in Japan. Are attitudes changing? Will people be honest about how they really feel in these interviews?
Older Japanese very much dislike anyone that isn't Japanese. Younger Japanese like foreigners because of their uniqueness and because they are different. What I've noticed at least
I think it depends also on your upbringing, surrounding, and eduction. Some are open minded, some are close minded. I think age is sometimes an important aspect, but not always.
The first guy is so fascinating and sweet. He also has a very mature insight into his situation.
My kids are mixed. They look more like me than my Japanese wife. They have Japanese passports and my oldest can read and write in the 3 alphabets but her conversation ability isn’t too good.
I could care less to be Japanese. But because I’m married to one I work on the culture. My kids will have to decide when they are older if they want to give up their Japanese citizenship or not.
Thank you David!
Well they dont have to give up anything as the nations dont communicate in that aspect. All they have to do is "tell" the japanese government that they gave up their other nationality and want to be japanese. So in the end they have both nationalities while the japanese side believes that they gave up the other while the other just accepts that you have 2. Learned of that by talking to some japanese who played the system but when asked by officials they say they only hold their japanese one.
Most places have dual citizenship with Japan. I’d keep it for the free healthcare alone! I’ve friends who are both US and Japanese citizens. Sesame Street in Japanese is great for improving conversational Japanese with children
The expression is "couldn't care less", fyi.
@@iChillypepper "Most places have dual citizenship with Japan." Unsure what you mean as it remains illegal to have dual citizenship in Japan: my daughter has that choice coming soon, her British or Japanese passport/citizenship, one or the other, both are impossible as of 2022.
I can somehow relate to the first guy
Im german and was born in germany, but grew up in switzerland
I was always considered the german kid in class, my family was going pretty much every week to germany since we lived very close to the border and i never really spoke the swiss-german dialect
But then i went to Highschool in germany, while still living in switzerland, i really felt like a foreigner and everyday i went back to switzerland with the train it felt like i was arriving home , wich is weird because germany and the german part of switzerland aren’t that different but it somehow felt very different
It isn't where you are born or what your ethnicity is, it's where you grow up what defines your actual identity.
I liked this video and enjoyed Joshua's story the most. I have just lived in America and didn't go to another county until I was in college. It was not until I was 2017 when I was 38 when I visited Japan. It felt like a dream come true for me.
I had a classmate in high school who is Russian-descent but was born and raised in Japan. He and his family moved to North America when he was in 9th grade. We were in the same ESL class and thats how I met him! I remember being fascinated by his unique cultural heritage. Apparently most of his family members lived in Japan. He didnt see himself as Russian but more as Japanese. When he spoke English, it is with Japanese accent. The first time he ever bonded with other Russians (other than family members) was in that ESL class. They used to tease him because of his Japanese accent when speaking broken Russian but they all loved him. He then started hanging out with his Russian friends more than he did with his Japanese friends. We used to talk about sherlock holmes books 😆
so in the end his russian friends love him more than his japanese ones ?
このシリーズめちゃめちゃ面白い。あっという間に見終わっちゃった。ありがとうございます。
I'm also a foreigner born and raised in Japan. To be honest, I have experienced the good and the bad just like the people in the video. But when I look back now, I sometimes feel that my values are still Japanese.
When you are raised in a country its hard not to adopt the mainstream attitudes of that country. I think if you are raised in Japan you are essentially Japenese in attitude and culture.
Isocrates said that being Greek isn't defied by your bloodline or your birthplace but from the culture, the language and the education you have. So it's safe to say that you're Japanese
@@delta606 That logic doesn't hold true in mono ethnic Japan. In this country, only pure Japanese are Japanese and all others aren't considered Japanese. Even half Japanese are considered differently from pure Japanese. Therefore the first thing I do is to explain that "I'm a foreigner born in Japan."(私は日本生まれの外国人です) That is my way of communication. That way, Japanese people can converse with me without alarming me.
@@takosdon7754 I agree with you, obviously I don't know about that, yet I didn't stress that matter. I just wanted to say how some things should be and not how they currently are, it was more of an ethical analysis if you want.
Interesting though, thanks for your answer
@@takosdon7754 You are japanese, if they say something tell to them " Japanese Emperor Akihito have korean blood in their heritage" and a lot of japanese have some chinese/korean ancestres.
So that thing of "pure bloodline" is a joke because nobody is pure, the japanese even consider Ainu people as foreigners (even though they are the first people who living in Japan )
Thank you so much for watching!
Recently I’m really enjoying making videos!
Next video is going to be a collaboration with a famous RUclipsr in Japan!
Stay tuned!
Great videos
I saw your channel grew a lot
Ooooo can’t wait!
collab with Baka Gaijin Please, Fabio Linares too!
Takashii san, Tozen 労働組合とinterview していかがですか？
You have a great interviewing style, and both the questions and answers are really interesting! Thanks so much for taking the time to record these interviews.
I was born and raised until I was 9 in the UK but my mum and dad are Brazilian and Portuguese respectively. While I was little I considered myself to be English as it was where I had been born even though I remember being aware that others did not really see me as English because of my parents and my looks (dark hair/eyes, olive/tanned skin). At 9, I left and moved to Brazil where I lived for about two years. I was not considered Brazilian there since my grasp of the language was still quite poor and it was clear to everyone I could speak what they considered to be very fluent English. After those 2 years I left to Portugal where I lived for over 10 years. Funnily enough, because I had learnt Brazilian Portuguese, which has a different accent to the OG Portuguese spoken in Portugal, people bullied me a lot and questioned my identity all the time. Growing up I always told myself I was English since the only logical answer to "where are you from?" was to go to my birth country. I spent my entire childhood and teen years all the way to the age of 21 with this idea. Even when I was older and completely part of Portuguese society, I vehemently denied being Portuguese. Finally, at the age of 21, I returned to live in the UK under the illusion that I would finally be "at home" only to realise that I now do not fit here either and long for Portugal and to be around Portuguese people.
Anyways, all this to say that identity as we try to view it is a stupid idea and does not work in the global world we live in. As more and more people immigrate and mingle, expecting a straightforward answer to the question "where are you from?" will not wield the simple results people usually want to hear from the question. It is important that we educate our future generations to respect this reality. In the end of the day, we are all just citizens of planet earth.
A very interesting personal journey. 🤔
Home is where the heart is , I guess. You've only lived in Brazil for 2 years but you have formidable years in Portugal 🇵🇹, correct? But there are childhood years spent in the UK 🇬🇧.
That's a nice little knot to unravel, yet you know where you feel most comfortable. You're in a very great space to be fluent in the King's English, fluent in Portuguese both from how it's spoken in Europe as well as Brazilian Portuguese. You are a rare find, my friend. I think your experiences were meant to serve people. The stuff going on in the world could use someone like yourself that fits in to three broad groups. All the best.
Really interesting and rather moving topic. If I could be so bold as to make a suggestion, I'd love it if you didn't script your questions so much and instead, respond more fluidly to what they are saying with follow-up questions etc. The Afghanistan Japanese person at the end especially, I really wanted to know more about what thought and felt. As a non-Japanese person who has lived in Japan for ten years, the otherness of foreigners is very interesting. So sad to hear the "go home"s getting said. Of course other countries can be worse in some ways to "outsiders" but Japan is pretty alienating for sure.
As an American who moved to the UK when I was 8, I definitely related to the question about seeing your home country as your nationality versus native nationality. I was too young to really get a grasp of the US while I lived there, and I definitely get culture shock whenever I return. I feel like I certainly view the US now more as a British person would rather than as an American, interesting to see how shared this experience is.
@carterkev lol
@carterkev lol
@@carterkev-345yes he can relate whether you like it or not. He grew up in the UK he is rightfully British whether you like it or not. I don’t want to assume what he identifies as but people in the UK would consider him British as he is rightfully so as he grew up here. Place of birth is exactly what the term suggests it is, a place you were born that’s it! Lots of people are born somewhere and grow up elsewhere and they identify with the country they grew up in rightfully so! So get your arrogant ass out of here.
@@carterkev-345people who grew up in a place are treated like locals. Plain and simple.
@@comady25 this is probably the best way to reply to his idiotic stupid replies 😂
Very interesting interviews. Yes, kids in school can be very mean and cruel. I think that is universal.
Though I do feel like parents and teachers here let it fly a lot more than in other countries. In the UK if a kid is being mean, or bullying, they'll be punished.
@@sanethoughtspreader also, outside of rural areas of the US, nobody really cares where you cane from due to it already being so diverse
@Zoran exactly. A little bit of "kids being kids" is important to teach people to face adversity. Too much is bad though of course. Balance in all things...
Most of the time Americans will say go back to where you came from when the other has been very rude or mean or speaks against our values.
No at all, I've been living in Germany with a german family for more than 1 year now and the kids here are so respectful with everyone, no matter what kind of background u have. That's because in the same schools they have different cultures and most important, the parents are aware that not matter where u come from, u have the same value as person🤷♂️ saying that kids can be mean and cruel is just an excuse for the people to keep the things how they are and not looking for a change
I was surprised by how much I related to the first guy in this video. I was born to immigrants in America and always fantasized about visiting what was considered "the homeland" since I was young. I grew up always thinking that I was my ethnicity before I was American and never thought of myself as properly American growing up. But when I visited my family's original country for the first time, I became extremely aware of how American I really was. It was an eye opening experience but also somewhat relieving too. It's nice to see this perspective being represented in the video like this and to know that strangers across the globe have similar feelings and experiences.
Glad to hear your story too!
Thank you so much Takashii. I really do appreciate you creating these kind of videos. This video made me feel like I am not alone and there are people who are just like me. Thank you for educating us.
This video was really interesting to watch, it's refreshing to see the experience of "foreign" people other than Hafu. For these people interviewed, it seems more difficult because it's a common way to think that you can only feel Japanese with 100% japanese blood, even though you spend you're whole life in Japan, so they can't even "argue" by saying they have a Japanese relative.
I think that every person who grew up in a country their family is not from can relate to these people and their experience
My parents are from Madagascar, I was born in France and mostly raised there. I would say I feel more French since I mostly speak French at home and that my mind thinks more in a French way :D
As said in the video, in Europe (and France in my case) the citizens from immigrant descend have to be treated as they were French. But it's not that easy because there are still some people who treat us as foreigners, and in both our countries. It feels like we can't belong to any community... so it's really hard to answer when someone ask where "we're from".
I feel you… I’m mixed and I can’t be in any community… I’m always too different. But the difference is where?…
I understand this feeling, too. Except I'm from England but my parents are immigrants. Western countries are pretty multiethnic and multicultural
so I feel that I'm accepted here, for the most part.
Because of this video I can't imagine what growing up in Japan would be like for someone like myself.
This was an amazing video! I truly admire how you are able to find wonderful people, film and edit the content, and upload with consistent quality. This is my favorite episode, even though there were a lot of great ones to choose from on your channel. It seemed to be more personal for me as well. I have best friends who share the same story as these folks, and like them, they have grown to be mature, wise, and positive. Thank you for amazing content!
Super interesting. Lived in Japan for a long time, married and had kids there and had to make the decision to leave when my oldest child got to schooling age, as the price of 'international' schooling was too high and he was constantly treated as an outsider. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it and hold no malice against the Japanese culture, humans the world over are prejudice to something from the outside, something different, it's just that in Japan seeing as most people are 100 percent Japanese by blood it's easier to stand out as a 'foreigner'. Me personally, living there as a foreigner, occasionally the exclusion or judgement or slander would annoy me, but generally I found that being 'different' opened up a lot of doors and shortcuts that are closed to Japanese. Subbed.
I have the same experience. Ultimately felt like I didn’t truly belong anywhere until I made it so myself. But that required years and years of painful dwelling through rejection, identity crisis, disappointment, emotional pain and not giving up hope and working on one’s own true happiness. And that is just a fraction of it.. regardless; respect to all of us multi cultural folks that live their lives to their fullest against any negative vibes!! We rock!
So far this first interview is a mind blower for me. Just to see someone also of European descent raised in an asian country. It's something I have never seen before. A white European who's Japanese is better than his english. Of course this is very common with the many immigrants in the US who's english is better than their parents countries language, but it seems much more rare to see it the other way around with a European raised in an asian country.
It’s far more common than you’d think.
@@julianneheindorf5757 It is simply not.
@@samuraijosh1595 Just because someones ethnicity is from somewhere else, doesnt mean you'll have the same language or sometimes even customs as their (grand)grandfathers if they are third/fourth gen onward. The first guy probably is more japanese than british despite his looks and what japanese people might say about him.
@@MaverickTsuki I'm disagreeing with him saying saying Europeans being full raised in Asian countries is far more common than you'd think.
Is there a reason for you to put “white” in the context of European. European is an ethnic group of humans, it isn’t a nationality. Me being a non-European, I’m very familiar with how a European ethnic phenotype human appearance look like. You must be an American if you need to add the word “white” in European.
As a UK person I am so envious of the English guy at the start of the vid. So much travelling and different cultures mixed in within your family and entire life. Would love to visit Japan someday
Am I the only one who finds it extremely messed up that someone, regardless of their ethnic background, is considered a Foreigner even though they were born and raised in the country they're currently living in? What the hell?
Yeah, even the video title calling them foreigners is weird. A foreigner is someone who comes outside of a place, these people were born and raised in Japan, that's their native home, they're not foreigners.
@@tylersmith3139 Japan is certainly no stranger to xenophobia.
If you don't have japanese nationality
then you're a foreigner. When you have japanese nationality, you're
japanese even if your parents are not japanese.
@@kazuki10500 Joshua had to choose having dual citizenship (Australia and UK) over Japanese citizenship despite being born there because of Japan's ridiculous laws. Japanese law may technically see him as a foreigner, but it's odd seeing a Japanese person refer to someone else who is culturally nearly identical as a foreigner in casual conversation.
@@downhillupside There're some compelicated process to change the nationality but not strict conditions compared to other countries.
This was fascinating. I’m from Georgia, US and I just loved this. It makes me wonder how much more of the world I’m missing. I MUST visit Japan. Maybe I’ll get my husband to agree to go there when we retire. 😎 Thank you for creating this and sharing with the world. I am grateful to live in this timeline where I can see your work!
Show us someone who has moved from the north to the deep south, something at least I’ve noticed, is it seems like things are positively changing in the south. I was thoroughly expecting people to be quite a bit more wary of me, which doesn’t mean they weren’t offensive but at least they find me an interesting exotic specimen rather than Hitler’s nightmare If you know what I mean. I’m still a bit shocked by it though
This beautiful girl in the end 🥺🥺
Wishing her all the best🫶
Great video as always, Takashi!! Keep up the great work. From Malaysia
Thanks for this -- I found Joshua's experience interesting. My father is American and my mother, Irish. I went to elementary school for a few years in Ireland, but then grew up in America. I always thought of myself as both American and Irish until I went back to Ireland as an adult. They all viewed me and interacted with me as ONLY American -- even my cousins. Joshua did a very nice job of describing the experience of having to reconsider one's identity.
It's interesting to hear your experience. My girlfriend who is franco-irish is mostly treated as irish when she goes there, except for the direct family who treats her as french. She also has had to consider her own national identity. I wonder if the thing with american-irish is that the diaspora is so huge and old that maybe sometimes it's considered like it's own nationality. Also the american culture is so specific and so internationally dominant that I feel like americans stand out more than the other english speaking countries. But that's my personal feeling.
It's so funny how we assume our realities are the norm until we see how others see the world as their own normal, I'm from latin America and all countries here give nationalities easily. I have friends from European families, other latin American countries, Asia (including Japan) and not a single one of them identifies with those countries, they all consider themselves being from the country they grew up in. Actually I moved from Venezuela to Argentina 5 years ago and can now submit all required documents to get my nationality. Our culture is so based on cultural growth and immigration that seeing a 3rd generation still consider themselves foreigner is just crazy
In majority of European countries you get nationality within 5 years
Thanks so much for creating and sharing this video - the interviewees all have fascinating stories. It’s sad to hear that they face discrimination and exclusion, but props to them for seeing and appreciating the positives of Japan too.
Great interview! Good job Takashi san.
I lived in Japan for two years with a decent ability to talk and communicate but I still had similar feelings and experiences to the foreigners living there their whole life. It’s extremely frustrating! How you do improve your language skills if everyone just assumes you can’t speak the language. It’s ridiculous. Japan really needs to change its mindset about foreigners.
Frl. Japan and actually all east asian countries. They r so racist- and not only that but also fatphobic, homophobic, machistas (mysoginistyc) (tried to google how to translate machismo in english but i read it was also said in english so yeah), extremely superficial (they r all about looks and money), etc etc. The amount of bad reviews i read, watch and get from east asian countries every they from foreigners or east asiants themselves are incredible. I would NEVER in my life go to live there, I wouldn’t be able to handle the bullying my god-
Im actually very mixed and physically different from the country i’ve been raised in and i have faced bullying a lot but its not nearly as bad as it’d probably be in an east asian country.
I actually have been so brainwashed by their unrealistic beauty standards that (i have always hated myself but its 100x times worse now) i feel like i’ll never even be able to look pretty bc i dnt look east asian :). I truly hate my face, lmao
My story isn't very unique, but I'm of chinese descent and was born and raised in the UK. I was lucky in that, despite growing up in a small town, I only experienced occasional racism. I experienced microaggressions more often, but I think it was mostly born out of ignorance. I always felt both chinese and british at the same time. Whenever we visited relatives in China, it would be fun for the first week or so, but I would very quickly tire of being surrounded by chinese people and want to go back home 😅 I am interested in chinese history and our cultural past, but I think I definitely have more of a western mindset. When I was 20, I moved to the US and have been living here for the past 15 years. I don't know if I'm more british or american now, I think I just consider myself "western-minded" in general. I do miss the UK because in the end, I did grow up there. I even miss my crappy little hometown, despite wanting to leave it from a young age. However, I am now married to a dominican (born and raised american) and we have a half chinese/half dominican child together, so I guess I'm not going anywhere now lol.
This is so fascinating!
When I went to Japan first in 95, and then 97-98, my world changed. I LOVE it there. I speak basic Japanese and when I went, I ALWAYS received positive reinforcement for what I knew. Everything I knew was self taught. Even thought the internet existed, resources weren’t there in the same fashion. I also went knowing the obvious - Im a foreigner. But I was not treated poorly or less than. I had a lovely pen pal that I made friends with on the train to the airport. I truly love Japan and miss it greatly.
The thing that would scare me is that Japanese people say you're great at Japanese if you only know the word "kawaii" lol It's really lovely that you made a penpal!
@@satapon4129 it was still a different time, and you are right. I speak conversational Japanese, write a bit, understand a decent amount. So back in the 90s, to speak any, showed you had to either take professional classes, or be self taught (or some combination of both).
I told myself that I am not going to go to a country and not speak/understand/write at least some of the language and know the culture to the best of what I (edit) could learn. People were incredibly respectful that I knew more than they were used to seeing at the time.
This is really cool. I found it interesting as a person with Iranian parents, but hers going to Japan is such a jump in culture. But! A lot of things are similar too between the two.
Her farsi accent into Japanese was such a trip. Flawless 💖
Great videos, Takashii, I’m really enjoying them. I’m Chinese/English/Irish, grew up in Malaysia & Singapore so I relate a lot. The UK didn’t feel like ‘home’, even though I grew up ‘English’ so now call Australia home! I’d be interested to hear about the cross culture of religion/spirituality, as I grew up around many!
That was an amazing interview. I have lived in different countries as well but am in the States now. I am born Cape Town, South African, moved to Germany and now here. I have encountered the same problems. Even though I have been here for over 15 years I am still an outsider, whether conscious or unconscious but it’s there. I miss home but do not want to live there. I would love to live in Korea even though I will experience the same issues there. What gets me here is that I look like everyone else but once I open my mouth, my accent makes me stand out lol. Again… a very beautiful interview. Great job.
Thanks to everyone for your stories. I can relate.
Takashii you are getting better and better, keep up with the good work. Will ask you if you can interview people that listening to different music such as hip-hop, metal, punk or what ever and how they feel in Japan 😊 . Thanks once again for the great video
It's weird how different countries view people that aren't of that country's ethnical norm. I think here in England, particularly in bigger populated cities we are so used to having a huge variety of people from different cultures, that as long as they sound English then we assume they are British-born and therefore are generally viewed as English. It would be sad to grow up somewhere, understand their culture, language etc but still not feel like you are treated as a citizen of that country.
Yeah, it must suck honestly.
That's why England looks more and more like a third world country instead of you know, one of the greatest and most powerful country in the world.
I really liked this video!!! Thank you! As someone who has grown up hopping countries, learning there are people out there with similar experiences but with a completely different set of cultural backgrounds and how much I wish I could talk to people like them is very comforting to me. You made great questions! Thank you for this video🙏🏻
アメリカのスモールタウンの生まれ育ちのハーフなんだけど、子供の頃「お前自分の国に帰れ」とか、戦争のこととかでイジメられることがやっぱりアメリカでもありました。やっぱりどこにいても子供が子供だなと
日本に住んでてやはり差別されたと思ったこともあって、たまに辛いんだけど、僕みたいな人があんまいないってことを自分をリマインドするとまぁ、その相手の気持ちが理解できるっつーか。どこにいても住みやすい世界を作っていきたいですね😌
Even though I grew up in America, many ppl have told me to go back where I come from (even adults). I guess there are close minded folks in every country unfortunately. However, I think the nice ones outnumber the racist ones. The racist ones are just louder.
The only way I could see an Asian being told to go back is if they were voicing communist opinions.
Is he asian? ive also never seen an asian person told to go back to their country unless it was like in a viral video from a crazy racist person. You could easily get someone fired and canceled for saying something like that to you. thats messed up
one negative remark out of a million neutral/positive ones will always stand out like a big lighthouse, unfortunately.
@Reflections in the Bible just bc you’re privileged evening to have never experienced it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.
@TSG 302W clearly you don’t know the different ethnic between Europeans and Caucasians. It shows how short sighted you are. Because Caucasians are white appearance , same goes with Europeans but doesn’t mean they’re the same. And there’s no such thing as the “Caucasian race”. The correct term would’ve been an “American-European punk” but that’s too rocket science for you to comprehend.
This just goes to show that no matter how different a culture is there are universal aspects. Thank you for this video. I look forward to watching more of them.
You helped make me want to learn Japanese, I start my first class in a couple days, I memorized the hiragana chart recently though to get a head start. Hopefully I can study abroad summer 2023!
I can really relate to them as I was born and raised in Holland but am of Pakistani and Surinamese descent. Majority of my family lives in The United States, and we didn’t move there until I was 18 for college. When I moved to the states, I observed things from a Dutch perspective and people would ask me odd questions like if I spoke Dutch fluently etc.
I’ve been to Pakistan once when I was about 7 yrs old and never been to Suriname. I speak Urdu with a Dutch accent which is quite unique tbh. I realized I’m too western and too liberal for the average Pakistani and too conservative for the average Dutch person.
I can easily identify more and communicate with a Dutch person than I can with a Pakistani. I know most of my culture from home and absorbed Bollywood movies since I was little. basically. We attend a Pakistani mosque and there is where I get most of the interaction from most Pakistani, yet my friend group is super diverse. Then again, I know that I’ll never be truly Pakistani or Surinamese since I wasn’t born there, but will always be Pakistani/Surinamese-Dutch or just Dutch of Pakistani/Surinamese descent.
I moved to Canada a few years ago and know I feel i’m constantly fighting to identify myself. I’m Dutch, Pakistani, Surinamese, American, and now Canada is my home which alligns better with my values since I was born and raised in Holland.
At the same time, my face serves as an immediate identifier as a South Asian, yet linguistically I’m far more comfy speaking Urdu (I always get a bit nervous) , yet represent my South Asian roots at all time visually. Then the Surinamese aspect which is a whole different spectrum that ties South America, India, and Holland together. That’s why I dread the question “where are you from”
Heck I'd like to listen to your dutch Urdu accent man XD
In Bolivia I was asked every day if I could speak Spanish. I actually don't mind being asked. What I mind is people ignoring me and then if you complain they just say they didn't know that you could speak Spanish.
Hopefully you don't get too many where are you from questions in canada. I'm Canadian and usually when that question is asked I just say the city I grew up in.
It really comes down to your religion. If you are Muslim that impedes your relationship with the west.
If you were able to escape Islam, like I did, then you can be Western.
The idea in Islam that gays, apostates, etc should be killed really was off putting to me.
@@canaryinacoalmine7267 I have no idea what you’re talking about. My religion doesn’t hamper my relation with the west at all because I’m a product of it. I was born and raised in the west, and the west is all I know :)) I have friends of all walks of life, so no. The fact that you thought that people should’ve been killed off gives me the idea that you were badly influenced by people who didn’t teach you the religion right. Were you born anywhere in North America or Europe? In any case, I hope you found the peace that you were looking for.
Excellent video. Thank you for sharing your interviews, all of which were insightful.
Great video, mate! I've been in Japan since August as a high school teacher and have been trying to learn the culture, the language, the mindset. One of the things that I have found really interesting is this exact issue of people being Japanese born (or raised) but not feeling Japanese 'enough'. I teach lots of kids going through this existential struggle and its a really interesting cultural discussion.
This was a really interesting video. I would like to see some more of this particular topic.
I also felt that your questioning was getting better towards the end with the third person. If you do another video on this topic, please include deeper questions such as the discrimination they face and maybe have universal (the same) questions for all participants.
Great video 👍
this channel is really enlightening because often we have a different view about Japan but I think this program will help us to know and learn more about the Japanese people and foreigners living in Japan
I still find it intetesting that Japanese as a language has challenges with referring to people like this.
The english word "foreigner" refers to "coming from elsewhere", but is rarely used to refer to someones ethnicity.
I lived in Japan for many years and experienced very little discrimination or problems due to being a foreigner.
By and large people were very kind and helpful to me and I have great respect for Japanese people.
It's a great place to live and work and I often wish I was back there now rather than here in Australia.
Thanks for posting this video Taka-chan :)
I agree many people are SO helpful and nice. My hairdresser was always interested in whats going on.
I faced discrimination rather more with elderly people. I heard pretty often "gaijin".
I think many 70+ elderly do not like seeing more "mixed japanese" people
Love this... I sometimes forget my life in Japan and how fun and hard it was trying to become a normal part of the culture there. These videos make me want to return someday. Great content!
私は何年も前から、日本は完璧な国であり、住んでみたい国、家族を育てたい国だと思っていました。しかし徐々に、私の愛は決して戻ってこないことに気づきました。私は常に外国人とみなされるのです。
だから今は、日本は完璧な休暇先だと思っています。😁
I'm from Sweden and I have a friend whose parents migrated from Vietnam. I think he sometimes feel like an outsider which is strange and messed up when he is literally born and raised in this country. Just pointing out that even in europe, this can very much be the case.
exactly ! Europeans are just as racist as japan !
Your interview guests had some amazing background stories. Please keep up the good work!👏
I so appreciate these stories! I hope Japan becomes a little friendlier to people who have lawfully entered and successfully integrate and learn the language. Japan is obviously one of the best places in the entire world and everyone can learn from Japan’s systems: from housing to transportation to cleanliness to a spirit of community care. Arigato!
i'm from france and i found this very interesting, when the first person talked about the difference between 2nd or 3rd generation immigrants in europe in comparison to japan. i think that's true to an extent, but in france i think people that come from an immigrant background also stay very close to the culture of their country of origin. i think it depends on the country, but for example people who have a portuguese or algerian background tend to identify more with their portuguese or algerian side. france has a heavy colonial history and algeria used to be a french colony. algerian people struggled a lot to claim their independence and become their own country, so i think french citizens of algerian ethnicity don't want to forget the history of those countries and what their ancestors had to go through during that terrible time. when you go out in the street during an event it's more common to see people waving algerian flags than french flags. it's sort of a countrywide joke that everywhere you go you'll see an algerian flag and i think that's great! i think in general people of maghrebi ethnicity like to keep their country of origin close to their heart because france is a very xenophobic and racist country which expects everyone to conform to "the french lifestyle" and doesn't recognize the harm they have done to north african countries. so i think there's a stronger tendency to keep traditions and language learning alive for those groups of people than, let's say, a 3rd generation italian immigrant. the probability of a 3rd generation algerian immigrant speaking arabic or darija fluently is way higher than the probability of a 3rd generation italian immigrant speaking italian fluently.
Hi....I am Moroccan and I live in France... I don't think that France is a racist country ...the majority of people are nice and friendly.... regarding the Algerian flag thing , I don't think it's a maghrebi thing ... it's just an Algerian symptoms... it's like the Americans who are also into their flags a lot ...but the Canadian are the total opposite.
I am interested in knowing more about Japan and your channel is one unexpected way to go about it. Thank you.