I understand the the Japanese don't typically accept "gai-jin", or foreigners, but are they accepting of foreigners of Japanese mixed ancestry, in other words, "nikkei-jin"? I'm asking because I'm one-quarter Japanese - it shows somewhat in my appearance and I personally identify as nikkei-jin. I intend to live in the country for some time in the future, possibly to study abroad, or live there more permanently. I wonder if I would be treated differently, or if I would possibly be looked down upon in Japan.
Any thoughts are appreciated.

i have a friend whos korean, but one fourth japanese. he didnt even know about it til like when he was 18 years old. He was talking about his grandparents and told me his grandma was from japan. I was like, wait your grandmother's japanese? He said yes. And i was like, dude that makes you fourth japanese. He's like really? Oh cool, i'm fourth japanese.

He doesnt even see himself as "japanese." He doesnt have any interest in anything japanese either. I think he would be considered to be just korean.

I think you will not be looked down on if you can speak japanese fluently. communication is important. It will make a huge different. If you cant speak the language at all, you would be just looked at as another foreigner. If you could speak the language, i think you would do very well.

Japanese is more accepting than most other Asian countries. Just look at their entertainment industry, many are mix. More so than other Asian entertainment. If you really want to know the answer, go to japanprobe.com and ask the people there because most of the people there are living in Japan and are foreigners (mostly americans) who lived there for many years.

They're accepting in some ways and not in others. It's a really strange society.

They usually treat foreigners with some sort of respect, but differently at the same time. Because you're not one of them, you shouldn't be treated as one of them. And that way of being treated differently is what most foreigners find disappointing. I've never seen Japanese people upright run away or insult foreigners simply because they're "gai-jin", maybe excluding those rude ones who are rude to everyone. But I've seen them space themselves, maybe talk about the foreigners from afar, even be amazed. Just remember that even if you do become accepted by the people around you, the government will never consider you fully Japanese.

Are you 1/4 Japanese and 3/4 non-Asian? Cause it'd make it somewhat more obvious, than if you were Asian, they tend to not notice you're not Japanese.

Apparently you guys do not know what you're talking about.

Koreans are treated worse in japan even if they have japanese mix.

And to daidai, shut up if you dont know anything seriously. Japan is still thinking they are better then all asia.

amen to that

Of course you would be treated 'differently'. Just like I'd treat a foreigner in America, I'd have to cater to your stupidity. I'd become extremely patient when patience usually isn't in my forte. First question I got to ask is can you speak Japanese? I mean that's the whole key to any country. If you can actually communicate then the door is wide open for you to storm through. How well you adapt to becoming Japanese is another thing but then again it's just like trying to fit into a new group of friends in school or something. If you can figure these things out, then I'm sure you'd have no problems other than the occassional jerk-offs and d!ck-heads.

I'm one-quarter Japanese and three-quarters caucasian - I feel like I don't fit in living in America with my caucasian adoptive parents (who I love very much), because even though it's just a little bit of Japanese heritage, it makes me look different from them. My whole life people have noticed that, commented on it, and sometimes guessed that I was adopted just by looking at me and my family, or tried guessing my ethnicity because I seemed not completely "white".
I understand also, though, that I won't really fit in so much in Japan, either.
Thanks so much for your feedback so far, I appreciate it.

I haven't had the opportunity to learn the language yet, but I fully intend to study it extensively this year at college. Hopefully after two semesters of college-level study I'll have a firm grasp on it, and continue to expand upon that in more advanced language courses and abroad study in Japan.

Thanks for your feedback, ryukyu magic.

Language is utmost importance in any Asian culture. More so than other cultures I find, as in you can live in Europe and America without knowing the language. Two semesters of college-level study in Japanese isn't nearly enough sadly, that's exactly what I did and when I got to Japan, it was a whole different level. Unless all you want to be able to do is be like "toukyou tawa ha doko desu ka" or "biggu maku kombo onegaishimasu", then you don't even need to take Japanese.

I suggest you go to Japan for a couple weeks and figure out whether or not its for you. Many of my friends have gone to Japan, planned out two years, and found out that it really wasn't their thing. They weren't used to the huge differences between Japan and America. I don't mean to sound discouraging, just be careful. For me, going to Japan reinforced my urge to move to Asia, but at the same time increased my appreciation for where I live.

Not really, I'm half of each and I can't say I've ran into much trouble in Jp if any.....overprotective Korean fathers are more of an issue for me

yea like there arent japanese overprotective fathers out there...

LOL You're such a b!tch! And you think Japanese are treated well in Korea? Korean treats mix people much worse. hahaha Like I said, go to japanprobe and ask the people there.

I'm half Japanese, but unlike some people, I don't make a big deal out of it.

I didn't say there aren't but Japanese parents in general seem more open to the idea of their kids dating non-Japanese than Korean parents with their kids dating non-Koreans. My run ins have been with Korean fathers

woah. thats crazy. i know a guy like that too. something like, he was half korean, half japanese at birth, but his adoptive parents are korean. and they never told him until he was like 18 too. he never told us until like wayyy later too.

we went to the World Baseball Classic in the Japan vs. Korea game (semi finals), he was heckling Ichiro when most of the other Korea fans stopped heckling Ichiro.

Brazilians of Japanese ancestry are treated like dirt in Japan.

I know i suffer form the same affliction. Being 1/4 japanese i have always wondered would the ancestors on my japanese side accept me. Cause i get told all the time that im still wouldnt be accepted by them. The fact of the matter is, would they look down on me as some kind of black-japanese hybrid or as one of their own.

Oh god. Not that. Whites are usually never fully excepted even if their Japanese is perfect. If you look almost fully Asian then they'll expect you're Japanese to be flawless because you're Asian, and therefore you should be able to speak Japanese (weird but true). Halfies are kind of in the middle it depends on if you look more Japanese or if you look more white. Whenever i go there to visit my family I get weird looks. People do double takes like they're trying to figure out if i'm Asian or not. No one will ask you though. Also expect to hear everyone tell you how great you're Japanese is. Even if it sucks. They're not saying it as like a good thing its more... like a dog that can do a trick. They'll be amazed that you can speak Japanese at all. All this is null if you become even slightly famous. I have no idea why but it's true. Finally expect to get flirted with alot if you're a guy, because every girl wants to say they "went out" with a halfie/white guy (nothing serious will come of it though), and if you're a girl expect alot people asking for sex because foreign girls are considered kind of slutty in Japan. Finally don't try to jump immidialy into the pop culture world. There was a guy like that in my cousins building and it was really weird. He got there a normal american looking guy, and by the next week he was all Japanese street fashiony. He looked really fake, and it didn't make him any more "cool" or whatever my cousins kids (my cousin is like 45 and her kids are like 15-18) were like stiffiling laughter every time he walked by. This wasn't even in Tokyo or anything this in Higashiyama-ku in Kyoto.

Ohhh I know hat you mean. I have the eyes and facial features of a japanese person but i have caramel colored skin. Unfortunately I also have long nappy hair while my sister has straight asian hair. So i'd say I look asian except for the color and hair.

"Unfortunately"?

Delectable.

Live Long.
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Man's Inhumanity To Man Say's:"Self-hatred is one of my favorite things. It's convenient and it's flavor lasts a long time.

I have notice that on AF are many topics where people ask questions like this about some nationality...
In EVERY COUNTRY in the world there are good and bad people, nice and assho...s, thin and fat, small boobs and big boobs, short and long....
@Killthebuddha - in any case, I think that you will be just fine, and that you will find some normal ppl that won't care even if you were from Mars.
Anyway, good luck!!

lol you really hate being black dont you?

lol haha

i was kinda thinkin that too

lol a bit to late but anyway....

I don't hate it. Infact I love being partially black. But my hair is so hard to comb that I now just keep it braided. But it really hurts when I comb it! all though since my sister has asian hair she has no problem braiding and combing hers.

I'd love to be black...

Can you clarify a few things for me? Are you trying to say that Japanese girls who flirt with you are never ever going to go into a serious relationship with you? Also, the fasion thing... what if you're already into Japanese street fashion, does it look fake to Japanese then? I'm curious as to what your cousin was wearing, did he dress like one of those kids straight out of fruits magazine or tune?

says the b!tch himself.

Why do you think koreans treat japanese people mean? Gee, I wonder why?

And of course mix people are treated worse in korea you dumbass, korea is a homogenous country. Its either you're full korean or you're a outsider. I dont mind mix people but hell, I prefer if my family, friends all were full blooded koreans.

Of course, korean parents prefer if their kids married another korean so they can have korean grandkids and keep their korean tradition growing. I have a cousin who is full blooded korean. She dated a korean guy once but he moved to another state, then she dated this white guy and now they are married. Her mom is korean and her father is white. My family and her relatives wont even talk to her anymore. Before, they used to talk to her alot. Now, its the other way around. My family do talk to her mom because shes my father's sister...

Dudes... JAPANPROBE is the LAST place you want to go to to find an opinion on Korean people. They're so biased it's not even funny.
One trend I notice at JapanProbe is that they'll kiss Japan's @$$. But when Japan does something that makes their country angry, they start bashing and criticizing. And then they post something about Korea or China that's negative and then they'll feel better. It's like they try to balance what's posted and said so it appears that they aren't bias. And sometimes they'll often post something positive about Korea or Japan to show that they're neutral. It goes something like that. You read that site everyday and you start to notice

helanio above just admitted to Koreans racism, gave an example of racism in his family and clearly stated himself that he too is a racist.

I'm half Japanese, I doubt they would accept me--which I would expect. I'm American raised and I only speak English. I look Asian caz I'm half Chinese. And people think I look Korean or half white.... I went to Las Vegas last week and every freaking Asian I encountered was trying to guess my ethnicity. But I also want to visit Japan someday. I've only visited China.

Yes, that's true. I just noticed that when asians admit naturally they prefer if their kind or family were native, people seem shocked. Sometimes the obvious is so obvious, we start pointing fingers at the minority. The majority of whites as well as any ethncicity prefer they marry within thier group or race including usual friends and associates and most would not dare to call them racist for that as it's rationalized or minimized. It's this kind of random and arbitrary judgement that I find suspicious and more a case of picking on those who are easiest to budge or give in.

My thread was not only closed but deleted. It was deleted because it was true and hit too close to home. Without criticism, things cannot improve or change and unseen bondage prevails. Without honest criticism minus window dressing, there is no real justice or honor. The worst part is it's breeding unchecked to end up socially or politically hurting others for the sake of some people's weakness by traitorism and sneaky cowardice. It's actually healthier to bring these issues out in the open so they lose power. What a pathetically unliberal and unprogressive forum licking it's @$$ in conformity.

How is that racism? Maybe my family who is korean want to have a korean family tree? Whats wrong with korean families keeping their families korean? I know my parents would want korean grandkids and their kids to have their own korean kids.

This isnt america where everything is open. This is korea.

carry on tradition brotha

I could perfectly understand you having a preference toward people of your own Culture, people who understand and fit into your Culture and people who speak your language. Yeah, I could understand you not finding people of a particular race attractive because they're not attractive in your eyes. I could understand you not being friends with an Indian kid because you just don't understand his Culture, the things he does and you really don't care to understand it.

But when you say something like....



Then yes, that is racist. Why exactly is there a preference for a FULL-BLOODED Korean over a MIXED Korean.. as if you already knew what all Mixed Koreans are like. You need to change your attitude or maybe next time word it better..


And if you're talking about a Mixed Korean in Korea, wouldn't that tradition more than likely still exist?

Who said I didnt like hanging out with indians? I have indian friends.


I dont have a problem with mixed koreans, I just dispise mix koreans because I was raised in a strict korean traditional family where all my relatives married korean and keeping a long korean family tree. Except few relatives that did married out but the rest of my relatives dont speak to them much.

Depend on how ghetto the person is mate!

While not excusing it, it is, at least, understandable why persons of Japanese ancestry wouldn't be seen favorably in SK.

Plus, tens of thousands of Koreans were forcibly moved to Japan, unlike any Japanese person in SK.

dont listen to dai dai.

Hey I am trying to date a korean girl but she accepts me for who i am even though I am part japanese and am also black which is a double whammy. So not all koreans treat us japanese bad.

The white guy wasn't my cousin. He was just some random guy that lived in my cousins building. And no, he dressed in that sort of breezy daikanyama fashion.

arent you 3/4 black?

her parents are sellout

yes, I am but I represent both sides equally.

so you over represent your japanese side?

No but since this thread is about japanese then I represent it here. While if I was in a black thread I would use "We black people." It is the way that I represent both of my races.

difference is you're 3/4 black not 3/4 japanese

ya i guess you are somewhat right even though my parents urge me to be proud of both my races.