ABSTRACT
Currently, one out of 50 newly born babies in Japan is a mixed or “hāfu/half” child. This fact might debunk the myth that “Japan is an ethnically homogenous society (tan’itsu minzoku)” and reveal a more realistic picture of Japanese society. Since the 2000s, the term “multicultural symbiosis (tabunka kyōsei)” has been popularized as both a buzzword as well as a depoliticized discourse. However, discourse of “multicultural symbiosis,” which is now widely recognized and accepted in Japan without any political or economic context, is itself problematic. This superficial tolerance of cultural diversity that is embedded in this discourse, in fact, espouses a narrow social and academic gaze toward mixed race people, in addition to legitimizing violence and exploitation against them. This chapter explores how “hāfu/half” or mixed race people are historically “othered” and ignored in various ways by the Japanese state and society.
