Mixed race Japanese nationals rejoice as Osaka's U.S. Open tennis win brings positivity to their identity

Record ID: 1355965

  • Title: Mixed race Japanese nationals rejoice as Osaka's U.S. Open tennis win brings positivity to their identity
  • Date: 12th September 2018
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (SEPTEMBER 12, 2018) (REUTERS) JAPANESE TELEVISION PERSONALITY, JUN SOEJIMA, EXITING VAN VARIOUS OF SOEJIMA GETTING READY IN WINDOW OF VAN SOEJIMA COMBING HIS HAIR IN MIRROR SOEJIMA CHECKING MIRROR AS HE COMBS HIS HAIR SOEJIMA COMBING HIS HAIR VARIOUS OF SOEJIMA BEING FILMED WITH A GREENGROCER FOR NHK PUBLIC BROADCAST BREAKFAST SHOW SOEJIMA SPEAKING TO NHK CAMERA FRUIT IN SOEJIMA'S HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE TELEVISION PERSONALITY, JUN SOEJIMA, SAYING: "She (Naomi Osaka) is such a wonderful person. I was bullied at school and became a little cynical, but she doesn't seem to be like that at all. I think she is great as a woman, an athlete and as a person."
  • Embargoed: 26th September 2018 14:08
  • Keywords: Naomi Osaka biracial blasian black African American haafu racial identity Jun Soejima
  • Location: TOKYO, JAPAN/ NEW YORK, UNITED STATES/MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA/LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City: TOKYO, JAPAN/ NEW YORK, UNITED STATES/MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA/LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Race Relations / Ethnic Issues,Society/Social Issues,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA0018XBKHFR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: At 195 centimetres high (6 foot 4 inches) or 215 centimetres (7 feet) with his trademark "Afro" hair, Japanese TV star Jun Soejima, 34, is one of U.S. Open tennis champion Naomi Osaka's biggest fans.
    He is possibly one of Japan's most recognisable mixed race celebrities, appearing weekly on national broadcaster NHK's popular breakfast show.
    Like Osaka, Soejima is black-Japanese. But unlike the Grand Slam winner, he does not speak a word of English and had never travelled overseas until two years ago.
    Like many mixed race Japanese people, he says he struggled to fit in, particularly as a child in a country that values conformity over diversity.
    Osaka, who beat Serena Williams in the U.S. Open final on Saturday (September 8), is the daughter of a Haitian father and Japanese mother. She is also helping break new ground in Japan as her biracial identity challenges the country's self-image as a racially homogenous society.
    Osaka is the latest black biracial athlete to enter the limelight in Japan following sprinter Asuka Cambridge, who is half Jamaican and half Japanese.
    She, however, left Japan when she was three and was raised in New York and Florida. She holds both Japanese and American citizenship and addresses fans on camera in broken Japanese - which has helped win over the public here.
    But while Japan is becoming more ethnically diverse - one out of 50 births is to biracial couples these days - there is still plenty of prejudice against "haafu," or mixed-Japanese, including cases of bullying mixed-race children because they look different or have different names.
    Black-Japanese part-time model Joe Oliver, 35, was born and bred in Japan, but told Reuters he felt "unusual" and "distanced" to others, beginning from childhood, due to his appearance.
    In his modelling work, he is often offered stereotypical rapper looks or street fashion, which he turns down on principle, he added.
    He hopes Osaka's success will help tennis fans of different backgrounds and nationalities "become friends," he said.
    Public attitudes are slowly changing as Japanese society becomes more integrated with the global economy, and the emergence of more ethnically mixed celebrities, especially in sports, is helping.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register