"Oh you're half American, speak English, do you eat burgers all the time" prejudices like that

Hi guys and girls on Ask Japanese it's CathyCat

Hafu is a term used for people here in Japan who are half Japanese and

whose other parent is from a different culture

well this is a topic we have brought up before many Japanese people say

they envy "Hafu" without actually thinking about the negative effects that it might have

and what kind of things people who are half Japanese might be struggling with in Japan this time

we're gonna go hit the streets of Tokyo and find out

what Japanese boys envy about people who are half Japanese and

what they don't. Let's see what critical opinions we might be getting and ask Japanese

Do you admire people who are half Japanese?

I personally don't admire them but they are so tall

and I envy that. - You are pretty tall boy.

He is already really tall. - I am 180 - I really admire half Japanese

people! - What exactly? - They have really defined

faces. I admire that. - What? -

Some have blue eyes and similar.

I try to wear colored contacts to look more like them. - I admire them.

They look so stylish. Their faces are totally different from ours right?

What ideal are you thinking of? - I personally

like half- Japanese half American. I like it buff. - You like strong

looking Americans? - Yes that is so cool. I think black people are the coolest.

I love people with black skin. - Europeans.

I admire their defined faces.

That's my ideal.

You said you admire how tall some are. What is your ideal?

Not 2 meters but over 180

I wish I had that. - You are 180! - You are tall already

What? - I want a little more. The taller you are

the better clothes will look. - If you have any friends

who are half Japanese, think of them and

think what advantages they might have in Japan

and what hardships? - An advantage is that their eye color is different

I think they are easier to remember with that trademark

Disadvantages... people might be prejudiced and treat them

like foreigners. I am not like that. I want to speak with them more. Half Japanese are cool

I don't think they have many hardships... - Jealousy!

True, people might get jealous of them. - Like how

do you think? - Because they are taller than most...

other will admire that and - Envy them for it.

You already stand out of the crowd being half Japanese

if you see them have a girlfriend you envy that. - They are more unique than others

I think.

Today we are asking everyone

if they envy half Japanese. - Totally. I wish I was half Japanese.

They are so cute. - What do you envy?

They can wear whatever clothes they want. They're so slender.

I envy that. - What style do you envy?

Their long legs and tall noses and deep features.

I admire that. - What do you admire?

I have black hair and look I have a very Japanese face but

I with I had the right opposite face, I wish I was cuter.

You wish you had a different face? - Well

Half Japanese have different colored eyes right

But if I was half Japanese I would also have another half

and that would be cute - You keep saying that

but what other country do you want to be from?

Something European like French or Italian.

I admire that. - I think somewhere in Europe too

You said foreigners have long legs, but yours are longer than this European's legs. - Nono

Your legs are longer than mine! - Its a tallness thing.

Let's keep it at that. - Now think please

what struggles and perks do half Japanese have in Japan

I heard from a friend who was half Japanese that

she struggled with people saying things like "you're half Japanese. Your dad is foreign"

and she struggled with that. Her advantage was that

everyone admired her. Because she was different she became the center of attention

I think there are good and bad sides. - Good sides

might be that half Japanese are so cool. Not just Japanese but

they are a little bit different. I think that's good.

Apart from that... because they have mixed heritage

some Japanese might only see the non-Japanese half of them

and focus on that too much. Like "You can speak that language right"

Do you think they won't be accepted as Japanese? - If they look too different

maybe. If they look Japanese that might not be

if they look foreign, people will treat them more like foreigners. Like for half US kids

"you speak English right? You eat burgers all the time!" things like that. - Stereotypes

will be expected of them? - Yeah - So

what did your friend struggle with? - She was my junior

and the had a religion she had to follow

from her other country, and had to practice it several times a day.

Because the had to do this, it would set her apart from everyone else

and she struggled with that.

She had to follow the customs of both countries but in the eyes

of Japanese that was too much. Others only knew how to live in Japan

and they wouldn't understand her for differences. - Also in sports

there is lots of discrimination. The half African kids were faster runners

people said "you only won because you're half African" when they won a game.

They blamed their loss on the heritage of the half Japanese students

I thought that was wrong. - Those students did their best! - They did!

that's why they won. People would say "Their heritage is too strong we can't win against that."

as a excuse.

I think Japanese should stop thinking like that. - You think that's jealousy?

They make excuses for themselves if they loose to Half Japanese students.

I think that's wrong.

I don't envy half Japanese. - I do. - Why so. - They have big eyes

I envy that. - The eye color? - Blue and green and such.....

Oh you picked up on that, thank you. What do you not admire then?

I think some must will get discriminated .... - In school

how did half Japanese students get treated?

There was a student of color in my school.

He got teased by others. - How? - I can't say

Do you have friends who are half-Japanese? - Yes.

Half Japanese and...? - Half American.

Did they struggle in school or have perks?

She was tall so people teased her for that.

"You are tall because you have American blood"

did they say that to hurt her or praise her? - Praise. - And about your school

with the student of color? - It was negatively meant.

That's why you said you don't envy Half Japanese?

So it looks like the boys are a lot more critical than the girls. We've done this interview with girls before

and they said "we don't really envy them that much because from experience there is quite a lot

of prejudice and being treated differently! Also we got a bit of jealousy going

round saying "you only won this because you are build taller than us" and stuff like that.

Couple of things have been mentioned before, I heard that before and again I like

the saying that people say "I am not a half I am a double. I have two cultures

with me" so there is hopefully gonna be some changes and people are gonna get a little more

accepted into Japanese culture now that many people from abroad are coming

over here and are building families together with Japanese people.

There will be changes. When I was still teaching here in schools I saw that there was

one girl or two who had dual heritage or at least had their parents

from a different country. But now it's changing so I am looking forward to seeing how it will be in the future here.

in Japan. So guys let us know what you think about the term "half" which

is also criticized quite a lot here because it's not the nicest way of saying

things to people. While others see it as a general term.

Let us know dual heritage or parents from a different country, do you have any friends

who maybe have a father or mother from a different country and how are they working

in your class, how are you getting along and do they have any troubles. Let us know

also don't forget. Hope you enjoyed this video and if you did leave like to let us know

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notification bell. Thank you so much for watching and catch you soon here for more stuff on Ask Japanese. Bye.