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  • I don't think they have disadvantages - Jealousy! - Yeah others are often jealous!

  • "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

  • that you enjoyed the content that we create. If you enjoyed it a lot be sure to subscribe and tick the

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

I don't think they have disadvantages - Jealousy! - Yeah others are often jealous!

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