Meeting Japan’s World War II orphans born to US soldiers and Japanese mothers • FRANCE 24 English
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- Опубликовано: 20 июн 2024
- In Japan, they are known as "children of mixed blood": those born after 1945 to an American GI and a Japanese woman and abandoned due to stigma. Eighty years after the end of World War II, we went to meet some of these orphans to understand more about their painful past.
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I was born to a Japanese mother in Tokyo 1958. I lived with her until age 5. I was adopted by American parents and came to the U.S. My mother never prepared me. The day I was turned over to my new parents I was brought to an office building and told to wait until she walked away down the hall. I never saw her again. My adoptive parents told me the same thing she put me up for adoption because of the prejudice I would face. I don’t exhibit many Asian features I look Caucasian. Never had any issues living in America. People are very surprised when I tell them I’m half Japanese.
Sad to hear, I'm sure you would like to know what became of your mom. My brother was born at Tachikawa Hospital (off base) in June 1959 and our parents married in May. That's a tight window that made me think later in life that my dad might've been thinking to leave her instead of marrying her...cause why would you wait that late. I never confronted him or rather asked him about it. He was a good father while my Jpnse mom was a great mother, couldn't ask for anyone better.
Anyway, sadly, lot of people who were also in same situation as you all over Asia where US troops were stationed...but best wishes!
purberri: how do you feel about your story? Are you sad? Do you feel Japanese at all? Do you feel you want to learn Japanese or visite Japan?
@@ВивсівідстійYou aren’t very bright.
It could be that she thought she was doing the most loving thing she could. She probably loved you far more than you knew. So sad!
@@purberri I am sure you looked a little bit asian. The whites just gave you a pass as a white. There's lots of people passing as white and don't even look white.😆
That "mama" was amazing, daughter of the Mitsubishi fortune. She sure put it to good use, bless her. What one person can do to change so many lives.
Thank you for taking an interest in this! My mother was also an illegitimate child. Although it was very hard for her, she was still lucky to have relatives who raised her with love.
@@user-jl2qr8ws1m This story has profoundly affected me.
My wife is a child of GI who worked for MacArthur and a Japanese mother. She is very fortunate because my father in law married my mother in law and brought both my mother in law and my wife to USA where they stayed married and succeeded in life against bigotry and other obstacles. Many of the Japanese war brides who did make it to the USA were abandoned by their GI husbands.
For those children who were abandoned, life was very difficult. My wife observed some of them in late 1960s sweeping streets.
That tunnel run is so sad and such a shared experience for those kids. It reminds me of spirited away… how you can be in one world, and then suddenly your life is totally different and confusing.
Imagine what the Japanese war brides and their children experienced in America when they immigrated there right after the war. Imagine it wasn't all wine and roses
Everything is about the bomb unfortunately. Of course, that's my opinion, and I think Spirited Away is no different. Furthermore, I'm currently plowing through Godzilla Minus One. It's the same thing. In fact this rendition with regards to the bomb is even more in your face..
This is an excellent video, by the way. I've learned a lot from this video... things I did not know... but I'm not surprised.
That's the same thought I had! I wonder if Spirited Away was also inspired by stories of children being separated from their parents.
Man imagine getting dropped off at the abandonment tunnel
I cried after hearing that especially after seeing the photo at 4:18 . They were so little.
Based on my personality, I would have never forgiven those who had made me! 🤷♂️
This was absolutely heartbreaking. I was a teacher of mixed-raced children in Okinawa. It was tough to see. As a half German and half English growing up between the two countries, we experienced a feeling of being abandoned by each county. Never German enough and never English enough. That’s the hard part.
We're people able to tell at first glance?
@@SongsAboutHappiness Absolutely.
@@SongsAboutHappiness yes easily! -grew up in Japan
@@SongsAboutHappiness If you are born in Sweden and always see swedes, you would be able to tell a fin, german, english out by looks alone. even if its slight difference
As the video says, Okinawa has had that problem much longer, sice US bases are still there. Anyway, Okinawans are more open than the rest of Japan so I hope those innocent children are not having a hard time. Thanks for being a teacher for those kids!
Tony seems like such a good dude. I wanna give him a hug
Yes, many of them, during Korean War, Vietnam War too.
Every war since the beginning of time.
Yes east Asia and westerners such as American occupation.
@@user-er3ri6sc3j compared to the japanese imperialist who just rape the local women wherever they went right?
Those whom the GIs brought home were the lucky ones. There are many more who were abandoned as they were the result of rapes, brothels and fun nights. The men just disappeared.
For those who got married at that time with mix-cultures were brave. Considered what happened between two countries just few years ago.
For those who was abandoned, it was a tragic because children are innocent by their birth race.
Most arent married, most are considered rape by westerners standard
What a wonderful school at the end! The students look happy and confident.
Yes 👍 One of my neighbors is a Ghanaian man. He was married to a Japanese woman. When his daughter was young and going to a Japanese elementary school, she was bullied. He went to the school and spoke to her teacher. (I wondered why his wife didn't go. She wasn't working, so she could've easily gone instead of him.) If he had a great job, he would've sent her to an international school. But the tuition was too much, so his daughter had to go to a public school. His daughter might've thrived at that school in Okinawa. I wonder how much the tuition is at that mixed race students only school.🤔
@@M-Is-For-Margaret I hope it’s free
Those children are absolutely beautiful. Every single one of them.
police offier this one right here🤮
@@oliverkat Get your own mind out of that gutter lmfao, OP didn't make it look weird, you did Oliverkat.
@@nzrock1 🤡
What's messed up about this, for those who would've liked to have lived in the U.S. who weren't adopted, is the Amerasian Homecoming Act excluded kids who were born in Japan and the Philippines. WHY?! Doesn't make any sense.
It was more than those two countries. Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand also excluded and Korea.
Well it’s been done to blks in other countries.
@@f430ferrari5all Asian country! Want a coincidence 🙄
British, Canadians and Australians left children behind.
every time soldiers are in the country of the enemy they leave children behind. This happened in most wars over millenia on all continents.
@@silviaquesada2499 it don't have to be enemy lands...
So did Germans… it was part of their policy
African American GI’s left children in England, the Netherlands and Germany after ww2
The Elizabeth Saunders home mentioned for example was almost exclusively half American kids. The American military kid population was pretty unique in size from WWII to modern day in Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Americans put up numbers like Spain did during the conquest of the Americas. Unlike the nations you mentioned, the American children were born almost exclusively out of wedlock, because most of these kids were and are born to soldiers. There werent British, Canadian, or Australian military bases in Japan, and countries with British or Australian bases just dont see the same amount of interracial orphans as with American soldiers.
American GI's left abandoned women & children all over the world.
There are probably cases, wherever a US military base is.
Wherever any military base is.
Why are you only saying American? There are Many countries and peoples who have done it, sometimes much worse as well. It certainly isn't only an American "thing".
@@breezymango4113 Because the US has more than 800 military bases all over the world and involved in almost all the significant conflicts in the last few decades. Hence, by sheer numbers, american bastards numbered the most and hence the most visible.
@@breezymango4113because the video is about American GIs that’s why they’re mentioning Americans
@@breezymango4113 That's right. It's a Caucasian thing.
My father was in the army and stationed in Japan during the occupation (1946 to about 1950). He was in his late teens and was a little on the wild side. Ive always wondered if he fathered any children while there. Is there somewhere where i could look into this?
Do your DNA on ancestry. They may be looking for you.
I think many people want to know their roots through DNA testing. However, it is not very common in Japan, and since thery are grew up in Japan, I don't know if there is anyone who can understand English after the analysis. I would like to look into it too for my mother.
@@user-jl2qr8ws1m , The world is more globalized now. There is the possibility some of them are no longer in Japan so DNA testing is an option. Try Ancestry for the test. You may find cousins elsewhere in the world.
Many soldiers were famous for assaulting women as well. Of course these men won’t ever tell you if they assaulted women overseas. Curious if you can find relatives in Asia, and they can tell you their story about your father
if you can't go in person, contact a tourist consierge person, send photos, pay the employee well, you are hiring a private investigator.
Roberto Duran the Famous boxer was the child of a former U.S. Marine stationed in Panama.
Yeah but he has a tribe unlike these bastards
I did not know that, Thanks for the info.
This report makes me choked up 😭
People are so strange and toxic in their ignorance. Those who mistreated these children would be horrified to find themselves in a similar situation.
japanese don't fall for that dei bullsht
I'm Japanese-Brazilian and Miki Sawada's story is pretty well-known among the Japanese community. Especially because she left Japan in the early 1960s with a number of her orphans to naively found an self-sustaining utopia in the Amazon jungle. With disastrous results I must add. Still one remarkable woman who did good with her fortune.
Are you sure you got the right person? I haven't found any Amazon community related to her.
I do remember reading about such a community, but I do not believe it involved Miki Sawada, and in a quick online search I don’t find anything (you would think it would be on her Wikipedia page, for example).
It’s happen in every conflict
A famous actor in Japan Kusakari Masao was also half Japanese and half American. His Japanese mother kept him but faced prejudice and was otracized. He only found his American family last year by NHK.
Lots of people, including me, cried when watching that documentary last summer. It was emotional to see him meeting his family in the US for the first time.
@@215nekoit doesn't make sense. Why does he feel emotional for the family that essentially occupied his country and possibly assaulted his mom into pregnancy?
Japan was an Axis power that started WWII they weren't victims
Great report. Thank you
Great report!
Interesting and compelling.
wonderful video. Thank you so much.
My great grandfather and great grandmother also met during the war but in Italy. My great grandfather was a British soldier stationed there and then he met a young Italian woman. My great auntie was born in Italy during the war then when all the soldiers were returning home, my great grandmother illegally immigrated with them. My Nana was born in England and grew up very English. My great grandmother never taught her daughters Italian despite the fact she could barely speak English, I think it was because she didn’t want people to perceive her daughters as foreigners. Unlike the Japanese children, my Nana and great auntie didn’t face problems due to race as both countries were European and my great grandfather never abandoned them so I think they were quite lucky. From my understanding, many Italians didn’t support the Italian government during the war, so I think the prejudice wouldn’t have been so bad hopefully.
It’s crazy to think about how manny similar stories there probably are from across the globe. So many children abandoned by their military fathers. I live in New Zealand now and during the war there was American soldiers stationed here and many of them had relationships with kiwi women then abandoned them also. I hope all those children were able to find loving homes and grow up happy.
Good story about a loving Mama.
I used to work with Paul Iiyama in the 90s when he worked for a large Japanese food distributor.
@@TTKDMS yes. JFC. I worked for a food company that sold to JFC. I met with Paul regularly.
9:25 Wow! Granny definitely had a type! She gave up one kid for adoption (or more), married an American man, and never tried to find out about the child she abandoned. I guess she never told her new family that she had another child! Quite impressive!
These things happen because they became traumatic experiences for the mothers (some times). This happened to my Great grandma, and my family found out when my great aunt was looking for her.
I’m Brazilian and my father was a Japanese who immigrated to Brazil after 1960 just post war years. He told me that the Japanese children born from the Black soldiers and Japanese women were sent abroad for adoption because at that time the Japanese society would not accept them in Japan. There are many mixed children left behind In Okinawa by the American soldiers. I went there and I saw some “hafu” or half which means mixed kids in Japan. They look mixed but they’re Japanese. The governor of Okinawa is one.
Crazy how this still happens
Is there one of these videos on the mixed children of French soldiers and Vietnamese women?
Good point!
Yes, they did one 4 months ago. How come you didn't see it then?
I met one family like this, in Saigon. Thought it was fascinating, and indeed, they looked unique.
I am lost for words.
The same thing happened during the Korean and Vietnam War. Heartbreaking. 😢
I wonder if same thing happened in Iraq and Afghanistan
Racisme is unfortunaly everywhere in the world also in Japan. The world is not a perfect place. We are all humans with red blood
Racism is the worst in china, Japan and Korea.
Xenophobia is the issue. Some ostracize white people too because they're all about being Japanese. Some places won't allow you in unless you're Japanese. Even if you're Japanese and you dye your hair pink some will look at you sideways. Race is an American social construct, everywhere else is class, tribe, ethnicity. In my paternal country it's tribe and sad to say the ruling party has the nice gadgets, the most money and enriches their people even though we're from the same country.
I'm sure there was strong dislike and hostility towards yank-looking people in Japan at that time after Japan got obliterated by them, especially the cities that had the atomic bombs dropped on them. The native people needed to understand that those mixed Japanese children were also a victim and product of the yank hegemony and occupation.
Yea? No. It's most certainly a response mechanism from the subjects of racism. Oh! And there's that little tidbit of Americans having blown up their country, twice.
@@Anthony-dy5cq idk why Americans forget that 😭. Generational trauma from the event
Only registered in the US consulate in Japan. There were antimiscegenation laws in the US, they could not get marriage licenses, and they were practically just sex slaves.
Josephine Baker adopted kids from Elizabeth Saunders Home and she also donated a lot.
What a wonderful lady and I love her.
All the allied troops left babies behind during WW2. Americans, British, French, and Soviets.
Shame upon all their houses
What the Soviets did in Germany is very dark
American watching from the State of Rhode Island in the U.S.-wow great/interesting story guys-never knew of it before-always great content guys-Peace.
God bless the Elizabeth Saunders home. We need to love people with no discrimination based on origin, language or skin colour.
GIs are still abandoning mothers and kids today.
I live near Yokota and this happens often.
Then why do the women still get with them if this is seen all around already?!??? There are condoms and birth control methods NOW too!!!
The children are always the victims whether it's being abandoned by a GI, or being abducted by the Japanese spouse and denied access to their kids because the country's laws regarding joint custody change far too glacially.
@@Dangic23 if it happens so often then that’s on the women who allow for this to happen. There are such things as birth control methods out there, right? Or am I close?
The aftermath of war… 😞
Same as during the Vietnam war, many Vietnamese women were pregnant by American soldiers.
It must've been hard growing up for them as children.
what about the french soldiers kids in north africa and SE asia.
They coveved that already. How come you didn't see them?
maybe a French language media outlet could produce something, or if you feel strongly about it yourself, you could set up a social media link to highlight it?
1. BOMBASTIC SIDE EYE
2. On a more serious note, Mama Sanders had a big heart. Goodness bless every heart she touched. May her blessing reverberate for many generations.
The same thing happened in Australia, England and more with mixed race children. Today, they can use Familial Genetic Search.
They are not orphans have both parents dead, these are abandoned children whose mothers were spurned by there families and society.
Please make a movie about this please 🙏
And UK soldiers are doing this in Kenya
.. Meeting local women?
Exactly. Those poor woman and children are kicked out of their village.
@@BlackGirlUnsolved nope
@@natak.2287quit lyinh
Same happened with German soldiers and French women bearing their children..public humiliation was quite common for those women
Italians, Greek, eastern bloc and Jews.
Not the same thing
There all white/ European stock
These mixed race bastards are not
Don’t forget that the towns would grab the women when the ally’s came in and save their heads and rip their clothing for being with the Germans they would also be banished even with their children.
The thing is some of these women were forced and it had to for necessity
To say Japanese society is insular is a vast understatement. Look up RUclipsr "Ask Shogo" he's got some heartrending episodes about how badly he was treated in Japan as a 100% Japanese who merely spent *some* years of his childhood in the US.
I watched that video too. Unfortunately bulling is very common in Japan, and the authorities don't seem to care much about it.
JFC that Japanese guy is 60 and looks two decades younger than the American two. 🤣
😢😭
When stationed in Korea our unit sponsored an orphanage; and of the 400 kids living there not a single one was fathered by a GI, yet embedded Korean soldiers refused to aid in any tasks for the orphanage: their reason these are mixed kids.
Koreans are more racist then Japanese
Blood puritism exist.
It’s sadly an Asian belief
Crazy that these children born from US GI's from World War II are in their '80s now.
Mixed race children are so beautiful and special, they should be proud and reap the benefits of belonging to two diverse cultures.
they look creepy, and neither culture will accept them
Beautiful people
No.
@@KosherFinance Why?
@@refosco1993 not pure
@@KosherFinance wow you seem like a wonderful person…. You are talking to a gay person fyi, I hope you don’t catch it!
I tell you what that woman called Mom I cannot pronounce the rest of it sounds like a woman of Great character
Fast forward to what's happening today. When a Japanese spouse abducts their child from the foreign spouse. I'm an American and I recently had this happen to me with my daughter. I did not abandon my child and love her very much. Her mother had taken my daughter and cut communications after empting our bank account in Japan. I was forced to leave Japan. I have not seen my daughter for 2 months. She is 9 months old now.
Sorry that can be a serious complication I think if you keep reaching out and get help to do it like some siblings or friends you can push through.
waito piggu go homu!
Dude I'm the middle kinda looks like Stan Lee or hefner
A lot of us are born because of the 2nd world war both my grandfathers fought my maternal one was in Egypt firstly against the Italian army that was probably rough the Italians fighting in these parts were hardened from the war in Ethiopia my grandfather later was station in Back then British Palastine Jerusalem where he met my Greek Grandmother who was born in Jerusalem, my other grandfather fought as a R.A.F. Sgt pilot his task and the 1st Sgt Adam Mcraig was to fly over France and go to Germany to bomb I believe munitions factories over in Mannerheim, I think he achieved what was asked but on the way back through France the plane had sustained damage and the main pilot Mccraig wanted to do an emergency landing over France my Grandfather said we should just fly back to England we could make it but nah was not my grandfather's call most the men wanted to emergency crash land so landed in St Omer and all 6 survived the crash and I don't know if they were immediately caught by German forces but they got send to a war camp first in France but from him and the other mens escape attempts which was at least twice before they got pushed from France war came and got put in a war camp in Poland as I understand it.
I would love to find my Japanese cousin. We know his name but not sure how to find him. Our uncle was with J Force from NZ.
Random Japanese here. There are many Japanese people who were born to American father but cannot find the father. If your cousin is in Okinawa, a comment on web article (by an Okinawa woman who is searching American father) advised her where to contact.
Do a DNA test that might link you to a relative.. 23andme
@@eyeswideopen7777DNA kits are not popular in Japan so likely wont get any targets
2024 Philippines love japan.
He really looks like a mexican, colombian or peruan. But seems like such a sweet guy i hope he the best.
Its cool to see how mixing ethecities can make you appear as a complete different ethenicty
Nice to see a happy school of Amerasian children in Okinawa. 75% of US armed forces are stationed there, so mixed relationships between soldiers & local women, then as now, are not uncommon. 😺
They are very good looking.
That’s so tragic in a way that American men servicemen Mary over there and then when the water is all or some of them go but the majority of them stay it’s not right, but who am I to say?
God bless from the Philippines 🥰💟🙏
Wow he doesn’t look 61 to be fair
When will we realize, "One Race, the Human race'. 😇
Oh boy, it's gonna take some time to get there a realllllllllly long time to get there. I do truly want that 😢
japan doesn't accept DEI bullsht
Instead of saying 'many' why doing you give atleast ball park figures?
one earth
Now do orphans from Japanese soilders in ww2 there’s has to be a lot more
Soldiers and abandoning children overseas. Name a more iconic duo!
Well the females are to be blamed too. As they can't keep their legs closed.
It pains me so much to be reminded of the ignorance and narrow-mindedness of some people.
There are indeed different cultures, different countries, languages, religions, mindsets and personalities but there is only ONE HUMAN RACE and we’re all part of it, regardless of pigmentation!
Treat others the same way you want to be treated.
It is ludicrous that half Japanese still face such discrimination today. There are quite a few hapas representing Japan in judo like Aaron Wolf and Sanshiro Murao. You also have Christa Deguchi who is half Canadian who represents Canada but could have easily played for Japan if things had gone differently.
Japan doesn't fall for that DEI bullsht. And no one would consider Barack Obama to be white either
Why not? The West values pure white genes. Japan can value their pure genes. No big deal. Get out of the country if you don't like it.
Ancestry is the best to test by, The most members too. 🙂
True, but Japanese don't do DNA tests much so finding that side is very difficult.
I need to go to Japan 😂
Shame on these American men who presently abandon their children in Okinawa. If the military doesn’t have rules to enforce child support, it should.
It's not just Americans that did this, Canadian military did this as well in Japan.... nearly every country military does take for instance what wars in the middle east do to each other.
I'm not crying!!! I'm doing face exercises godamn it!
We are all mixed , nobody is pure
Shame to the Fathers. SHAME! May your God judge you
Foreigner been treat like outsider 😢 it mix anything wrong ?
I wish they would seek DNA tests, I bet there are many Americans who would love to know them, I know my father was a Korean Vet in the U.S. Army, and if I had a Brother or a Sister from his military days, I would want to know, they should do a DNA test and seek their American relatives!@
Konketsuji isn't used in Japan anymore, except in private conversations, and really shouldn't be used in a documentary like this except to point out it's a bad label for us mixlings, in this case, haafu (ハーフ).
Mixlings isn't much better in English. Still derogatory
@@crissy2420 LOL. Comes from German, MISCHLING, which a German haafu called herself. It's MUCH better than konketsuji.
haafus aren't real japanese anyways. barack obama isn't a white man either
Its irresponsible to bring children to society that will not accept them. If it was rape then the mother is a victim but to mingle with foreigner for fun and new experience then have a child as a result then abandon him, this is cruelty.
Bareback is a sweet taboo. The military should teach their boys to wear a jimmy. Saves everyone a lot of trouble
Well the japanese females should keep their legs closed.
Sounds great in theory, but as you know there are tons of single mothers EVERYWHERE, not just in places where soldiers are stationed.
Disgusting soldiers is what this all means. And those local women - unless they were forced into prostitution - had no reason to be allowing for any bareback activities themselves!!! These women knew what they were doing.
We learn it at basic. Most just don’t care 😂
@@zacharykennedy3848especially if you’re Catholic we don’t use protection
Does every American soldiers do bad deeds outside their country it's becom norm for them to do...
This is the privilege of the victors. I always wanted to be like genghis khan
Obviously, some Japanese women did not learn anything from past mistakes. Soldiers may not be the most trustworthy people to start a relationship, particularly when stationed abroad.
They had a choice?
@@davanmani556 some of them are plain ho's
The country is still like that about “foreigners”👎☹️
You don't treat Asian people too well in America either, stfu.
You are right. Japanese women still pursuit their gainjin prince and destroy the lives of their children.
No, it's not. Said by someone who never lived there.
I have and yes, foreigners cannot completely assimilate into Japanese society. The longer you live in Japan, the more you understand the deep-rooted prejudice and superiority complex of the country.
It’s THEIR country. You don’t like it, then don’t stay there.
Mixed look either Latino or Central Asian
Shame children
That guy looks too young for his age
Why was this allowed? US military should have strictly prohibited such behavior.
Wow ! You must be new
@@nurlhaqchaniago6143 It's just an opinion....fraternization has always been frowned upon.
Dude has a european nose
lol they do it in America so…
My father is not American but Filipino , he was with USAF and he was an officer , he sure had a relationship with one during the Korean War while he was married to his first wife and possible the 2nd woman, he had a son. He didn’t marry her , so I assume he just left her. What an a** . I belong to the official second wife. I am the second to the youngest among the many sibling. We never met him but we would like to connect with him.I wish we knew them
🇺🇸👍🙂