The Other Hafu of Japan- A review of Hafu Film by Brett Fujioka

An excellent review of Hafu Film appeared in the Rafu Shinpo this week:

Is a ship the same if you take it apart piece by piece and replace its frame? No simple answer exists, as anyone who has tackled this philosophical Rubik’s cube knows.

The ethno-national equivalent to this riddle grows exceedingly more complicated with the swelling number of international unions each year. Statistics in 2004 chart that 1 in 15 marriages in Japan were international and that 1 in 30 children born there possesses a parent of non-Japanese descent. Japan’s ethnic constituency is rapidly changing and its people may need to rethink what it means to be Japanese in a country where blood and national identity are considered one and the same.

The same applies for the hafu (mixed Japanese) community. The lives for each individual half-Japanese vary from person to person and the filmmakers for the upcoming documentary, “Hafu,” and their subjects best represent this.

David Yano, who is of Japanese-Ghanaian descent, is among those profiled in the film.

“Hafu” is the tentative title for an upcoming documentary in Japan following the lives of several half-Japanese individuals as they explore their identities.

Both Megumi Nishikura and Lara Perez Takagi spent most of their lives away from Japan. Takagi is half Spanish and stayed in Madrid, Sydney, Washington D.C., and Ottowa due to her diplomat father’s itinerant career. She eventually completed her higher education at the Francisco de Vitoria, Complutense and Waseda Universities before finally returning to Japan.

Nishikura, likewise, lived her childhood spread throughout the world. She stayed in Beijing, Manila, Honolulu, DC, Berlin, London, and Los Angeles and graduated from New York University.

“Lara and I have unusual stories and come from international backgrounds,” said Nishikura in an interview with the Rafu. “I don’t know if that’s representative of a lot of the mixed Japanese community.”

There’s a reason why they’re so hesitant to pinpoint a grand narrative for the hafu experience. There is no all-encompassing hafu story and the eclectic subjects of the documentary are indicative of this.

David Yano, “the poster child” of the documentary is of Japanese-Ghanaian descent. Other individuals include the Mexican-Japanese Oi family, Venezualan Japanese “Mixed Roots” founder Edward Sumoto, and an unannounced Japanese American girl visiting Japan for the first time. The distinction they each share is that they bear one, sole Japanese parent.

They took into account during the recruitment process that there’s something of a “Hafu Wave” in the Japanese entertainment industry. Musicians, models, sports stars, actors, and even adult film stars of half-Japanese descent maintain a distinguishable mark on television. This may have made Japanese audiences more acquainted with biracial children in the modern world, but also introduced a set of stereotypes both filmmakers aspire to break.

“It’s on a superficial side,” Nishikura said on their presence in the media. “It’s like: ‘Oh they’re so cute. Wow, they’re so talented.’ It’s a motivation on our part to break the stereotype that there might be that all hafu are mixed with a Caucasian, bilingual, or model perfect beautiful,” said Nishikura.

“It’s impossible to make the perfect combination and address all the possible factors [in being hafu],” she continued. She listed several possibilities to prove this point. “Is your mother or father Japanese? What other nationality are you mixed with? Did you grow up in Japan? Did you grow up abroad? Did you go through the Japanese school system? Did you go through the international school system?” asked Nishikura.

The “ hafu experience” is extensive to the point that they acknowledge that they’re overlooking recurrent tales from this demographic like the children of American servicemen or military brats. “People want this seminal piece on the hafu experience,” said Nishikura. “And we have to address every single question and every single type of hafu. That isn’t very realistic.”

In fact, the same could also be said for Japan as a nation. The predominant philosophy in the country is that it’s a nation under one—not just one ideology and rule, but one race and creed functioning in perfect harmony within society. Former Prime Minister Taro Aso echoed such sentiments on Oct. 15, 2005 at the opening ceremony for the Kyushu National Museum. “[We are] one culture, one civilization, one language, and one ethnic group,” Aso said. He further opined that it was the only country to do so. This failed to bear in mind that hafu, indigenous Ainu, Okinawans, and other multigenerational non-Japanese immigrants are residents of the country.

This viewpoint carries its own set of ignored consequences including the bullying epidemic in Japanese schools. The Japanese Ministry of Education reported over 125,000 cases of bullying in the 2006-2007 school year.

Alex Oi, one of the children documented, is of Japanese/Mexican descent and got bullied at school due to his grammatical struggles in juggling a multilingual repertoire of Spanish, Japanese, and English. Nishikura and Takagi told similar stories of getting teased in school for their alien appearance, but were reluctant to describe it as a general occurrence for hafu.

They did, however, invoke the suicide of a half-Filipino girl as an example to how far it can go. On Oct. 23, 2010, 12-year-old Akiko Uemura hung herself at her family’s home. Her father, Ryota Uemura, reported that her Filipino mother sat in on an observation day. That’s when the bullying began.

“Like Alex was being bullied, it’ll show that it’s happening and its part of his story,” said Nishikura. “I think it’s good to show that it’s not the first time that it’s happened where kids are being bullied for not looking entirely Japanese.”

Perhaps with Japan’s evolving social constituency, these isolated stories may someday become a thing of the past. Each filmmaker denies that being hafu is the remedy to current prejudices or Japan’s economic woes as Masaru Tamamoto implied in an Op-Ed for the New York Times, “Japan’s Crisis of the Mind,” on March 1, 2009.

“We’re not trying to make a specific comment about this being the future and if everybody mixes Japan will be saved,” said Nishikura. “I think that’s stretching it too far.”

Despite the reality of hafu diversity, they still strive to discover a consistent thread in these stories to develop common themes in their lives and garner support from their viewership. At the same time, they dream of a place where children are free of the schoolyard taunts of yesteryear. Where multiculturalism is more commonplace to the extent that it’s readily accepted.

“I think that’s a Japan I would like to live in,” Nishikura said. “Where it’s assumed that you’re Japanese first before something else.”

“Hafu Film” is planned for completion later in 2011. For more information visit hafufilm.com.

Walking Along the Sea in Okinawa- Photo Exhibition @Osaka, January 27-30

Photo by Makishi Osamu

The Save the Dugong Campaign will be holding its first annual photo exhibition in Osaka to spread awareness about the intangible beauty of Henoko Bay that is threatened with destruction. The Japanese and U.S. governments intend to inundate the bay with concrete as a part of its relocation plans for the U.S. military base currently occupying Futenma, Okinawa.

A Walk along the Sea in Okinawa- Henoko and Oura Bay
Photo exhibition of the work of Makishi Osamu
January 27-30- 12pm-7pm

*Talk session on the potential extinction of the dugong on the 30th from 2pm-4pm (Free entry with drink order)

 Cafe/Gallary Cassiopeia
(Map here: http://cassiopeia.moo.jp/)

Located along the tracks between Hankyu Kandaimae or Senri Stations (Five minute walk from either direction)

Information in Japanese:
http://www.sdcc.jp/pdffiles/umisanpo110127-30.pdf
http://www.sdcc.jp/plan/2011.1-postcard.pdf

Freelance photographer Makishi Osamu was born in Kose, Okinawa in 1950. After living on the mainland and working in the magazine industry as an editor and copy writer, he returned to Okinawa. He currently serves as a semi-retired scuba instructor and scuba guide in Henoko and Oura Bay.

Photo by Makishi Osamu

On a recent trip to Okinawa in December, Democratic Party of Japan leader and current Prime Minister Naoto Kan stated that the relocation of U.S. military bases to Henoko would be a "better" option, demonstrating that the Japanese government proceed with relocation plans despite Okinawan resistance.  Considered one of the last remaining habitats of the endangered dugong and other rare flora and fauna, construction of a base in the fragile and bio-diverse bay would resound in disastrous impacts on the ecosystem beyond compare (See analysis by Gavin McCormick at Japan Focus here).

U.S. and Japan governmental officials claim that U.S. bases offer hope for a struggling Okinawan economy. However, scholars, citizens, and economists alike contend that the tourism industry is by far the largest contributors to the Okinawan economy. U.S. military bases only threaten the vitality of this industry by destroying the environment and taking up potential land for the tourism industry. Valiantly, Okinawan people and their supporters have not wavered in their movement to prevent the construction of the base by holding daily sit-in demonstrations at the relocation site and other events and rallies throughout Japan, and world-wide.

The  Save the Dugong Campaign is one many organizations that has been contributing to the opposition movement for the sake of wildlife in the bay and the Henoko Bay-area residents who will be adversely affected by noise, air, and water pollution and the atmosphere of violence and anxiety that goes hand in hand with the presence of U.S. military base.

For more information about the Osaka and Tokyo-based Save the Dugong Campaign Center, visit their homepage.

Below is an informative video report (in English) on SDCC resolutions proposed to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature World Congress 2008 in Barcelona.

IUCN Congress report from the Save the Dugong Campaign Center from Mio Yamane on Vimeo.

Voices for Umekoji: One Night of Musical Protest against the Kyoto Aquarium- Friday, January 21

Kyoto’s Mayor Kadokawa has given Orix Corporation the go-ahead to build a massive aquarium/dolphinarium on Umekoji Koen, a public park, despite local protest. On Friday January 21st The Commitee to Protect Kyoto (京都を守る会) will be hosting an awareness raising musical event at Urbanguild to let people know what they can do to protest against this ridiculous decision. 

Deep Kyoto believes it is paramount that they act  on behalf of the public's interest: 

Besides issues such as the cruelty of keeping dolphins in confined conditions, the 5,400 tons of carbon dioxide that the building will exude per year into the atmosphere, and the lack of vision in developing this city with its unique position in Japanese history and culture, there is the issue of public accountability. Umekoji park is very popular with the local people but the aquarium that will be built on it is not. The plan for the aquarium was made behind closed doors between the city administration and private business with very little public input and despite strong public protest. There is something inherently wrong with a system that allows the city mayor to arbitrarily dispose of public land in this fashion.

Now, there are those who say, “Look they’re already building this aquarium. You can’t stop it now. Isn’t it a done deal?” Well, no doubt we can’t stop the Kyoto Aquarium being built. But we have to try. This beautiful city of Kyoto, is considered the “heart of Japan”. How can we not fight for it? And if we can focus enough national and international media attention upon this, perhaps the city administration will be more careful about making this kind of decision again.

For more information, click on this link to access the Deep Kyoto page or follow the links below for details on the (de-)construction:

• Raw Feelings for a Fish Tank (Chris Rowthorn writing in Kansai Scene)
• Fury at Kyoto Aquarium Plan (my piece for Japan Today)
• Why you can’t read my KVG article on the Kyoto Aquarium online…
• Our Protest Against the Kyoto Aquarium at Kiyomizudera
• Think Outside The Tank (a selection of local opinions)
• Information in Japanese here: 京都水族館（仮称）と梅小路公園の未来を考える会
• Sign a petition against the aquarium!

Advice from Takayuki Okazaki (岡崎享恭）-Opportunities for students to travel abroad in Japan

Many students in my classes express an interest in travelling abroad and learning a foreign language, and some of them do not know where to start. After speaking with Takayuki Okazaki (岡崎享恭) a lecturer of English at Kyoto Sangyo University (京都産業大学） I got some ideas for resources that I can share with my students.

Mr. Okazaki seriously decided to start studying English after he visited his sister in Seattle, Washington. She herself was doing an exchange program. After being able to use some of the English he learned in high school in conversations with Seattle-ites, he decided that he wanted to study more so that he could communicate with more and more people around the world. After a year abroad at Leed's University, and a an exchange program in the Carolinas, he graduated from Kobe University and decided to get his Master's degree at the University of Hawaii in Second Language Aquisition. From there, he became the first ever Japanese person to be hired to teach at the English program there for students coming from other countries. After that, he worked for Peace Boat where 岡崎享恭 coordinated the Global English and Spanish programs onboard. He is currently a full time lecturer at Kyoto Sangyo University (京都産業大学） and has also taught a varitety of classes (see　岡崎享恭's English Social Issues syllabus here and other syllabi) at Shibaura Institute

Some of the advice he gave for the students was:

1. Try out Peace Boat. It is a 3 month trip around the world and you can even enroll in a language program on board for Spanish or English. Here is a short description with photo of him in action on the boat explaining the three phrases of the day!, and another photo of him talking about his NGO work in eradicating poverty.

2. If you are enrolled at a university, find out what kind of exchange programs they have! You can earn credit while studying in another country and learning a new language at the same time. Here is information about one of the programs at Kyoto Sangyo University for an exchange with Hawaii.