they are never happy with what they got, somehow the asian societies are so “surface”, the only thing that counts is having a pretty appearance. but unfortunately that makes asian people really ALL LOOK THE SAME. Because of that whole plastic surgery, double fold eyelid, white skin, western nose stuff…they should learn to accept and like their unique and natural appearances….ever seen a european or american who went to a surgeon and asked for “slot eyes” ?!

You are looking at it through a closed-minded view, a little bit.

Certainly the “special treatment” goes both ways: here, and I imagine in Japan it is (or was) similar, it’s more useful to think of this kind of racism as an implciit “geo-racial hierarchy” that people seem to have internalized. Races are associated with countries, and ranked according to those countries’ geopolitical “power” or “wealth” or “status” or whatever. However, because of the media that gets through here — predominantly white protagonists, such as on the locally very popular TV show Friends — and because of Korean’s general experience of homogeneity in their own country — America seems, for many, to be unconsciously imagined as a “white” country. (Even in music, it’s Bill Evans, Pat Metheny and Eminem who dominate African-American-led genres of music in the minds of many Koreans, even Korean musicians I’ve known. Miles Davis, for example, used to play shows in Japan relatively regularly, but as far as I know, he never got a gig in Korea, not even in the 90s.) So with Europe and America on top geopolitically, the race/power calculus placed them at the top of the global racial hierarchy… and Southeast Asians, South Asians, and Africans right at the bottom. But now anti-globalization and critique of the power structure is permeating culture, so maybe that pyramid — which anyway was always something people here were uneasy about, what with them being relatively far from the top — is being torn down in pieces. Or maybe there’s just a kind of ease in accepting some homogeneity once you get high enough up the pyramid you imagine organizes the world?

(I should note, if it’s not clear, that *I* don’t believe in that hierarchy. But I’ve noticed how widespread the idea seems here in Korea, anyway.)

Also, the change might be a backlash against the idolization of whites — their placement at the top of that imagined hierarchy — but it could also be that it’s a response to previous attitudes towards mixed-race people. That’s what is happening over here, anyway. It was the subject of a big buzz a few months ago: suddenly, on the occasion of Hines Ward’s visit (a half-Korean/half-black football star), people started talking about how it was wrong to discriminate against “mixed-race Koreans”… sometimes it was earnest, sometimes it felt like a way of claiming those people who were previously non-Korean as an acceptable object of pride. (Which unfortunately ignores the way tons of non-famous people of mixed race live, as several Koreans I know pointed out.) But it ain’t all bad: some Korean/black celebrities have “come out” in recent years and talked about how crappy life was for them, and elicited some sympathy. The younger generation is quite a lot more aware of this kind of thing.

If you are trying to say that the Japanese people are racist; well, they are. So, I wouldn’t argue about that. However, with half black and half Asian mix; I think it’s really because that combination is VERY rare. In New York, where you can see all sorts of racial combinations, I rarely see black-Asian couples. In my whole life, I’ve only seen 2 couples with an Asian man and a Black woman.

I have a feeling that, if there were more of them, they would indeed rise to fame just because of their looks. (Crystal Kay is a good example of this.) Now, I would argue that the reason why they would become famous is partly BECAUSE the Japanese are racist. Here I would define “racist” as treating people differently based on race, and that would include treating people favorably based on race.

what you’ll notice is that half-asian/japanese; half-black children/people are virtually invisible in japanese media/society. moreover, the japanese have no interest in them. i think in the last 30 years, probably the 3 that have approached the level public awareness are 1. (i’m sorry i don’t know his name) a half-black boxer who earned a heavyweight championship 2. “asia kong” a half-black, female professional wrestler who is portrayed more like an animal & 3. nesmith, a half-black singer/dancer who was part of the American Idol-like tv program “Asayan” 6 years ago and had auditioned to be a member of the pop duo Chemistry. i know i didn’t mention crystal kay, because she’s actually half-korean. i’ve never seen a half-black person workin’ in a japanese government office/bank/department store/train station/anywhere for that matter. can anyone explain to me why that is?