Osaka in Olympic spotlight, but biracial Japanese face struggles

In 2019, Osaka’s sponsor Nissin Foods was accused of “whitewashing” over an animated advert depicting the 23-year-old with light skin, and a Japanese comedy duo apologised after joking she was “too sunburned” and needed “bleach”.

“So it really broke my heart.” This year, he published a children’s book called “Mio The Beautiful” about his daughter’s experience.

“Some people say, ‘for mixed people, bullying is inevitable.’ And other people don’t know there is discrimination, or pretend not to see it,” she said.

“For Japanese people, it sort of opens their eyes too, which is a good thing.” Representation ‘does matter’ Japan remains a largely homogenous society.

“People would whisper behind my back and make fun of me at extra-curricular clubs, or when I was walking down the street.” Looking to draw attention to the bullying and discrimination faced by some biracial Japanese, Omuro applied and was chosen to be a torchbearer in the nationwide Olympic flame relay before the Games.

Now, more people of black and Japanese or mixed Asian heritage are “raising their voices and addressing their experiences of discrimination or racism”.

“We need to create a society where people can feel at ease, even if they are different.” Kinota Braithwaite is painfully aware of how discrimination can affect Japanese biracial children.

“This happened to me when I was a kid growing up in Canada, and I thought that the world was a place where this wouldn’t happen any more,” he told AFP.

“But I want people to pay attention to the issue of racism.” So seeing Hachimura and Osaka represent Japan on the global stage is important, said Torngren..

Read Full Story