News

Daikons in the Rough: Making Friends in Japan
Anthony Palmer reflects on the ups and downs of trying to make freinds in a foreign culture. Check it out in our Writer's section!

On Stereotypes and Trust
Anthony Palmer takes a look at stereotypes in Japan on both sides of the looking glass. Read about his thoughts on the subject in our Writer's section!

Need to promote an event?
Looking for some more exposure for your cultural event? You can now submit your event for listing on our events page!

Calling all writers!
Got something to say? JAFA wants to hear from you! We're looking for articles on promoting cross-cultural communication for publication on JAFA. See our submissions page for details!

Join JAFA!
If you are interested in participating in some of our upcoming events, please go to our Sign-Up Page.

Kansai & Kanto Events
For anyone living in the Kanto or Kansai areas, check out our News & Events page for a listing of some upcoming activities, parties and events.

Savannah Kansai Flea Market ACTV Black Tokyo

Letters to JAFA

Got a comment about something - an article, an event, whatever? Let your voice be heard! If you'd like to submit some public comments, please use this form to drop us a line on whatever's on your mind.

Disclaimer

In the interest of keeping with the concept of openness, JAFA will retain only limited rights to the material that you submit, and agrees not to distribute your material beyond its presentation on this site. You keep all rights to your submissions. However, in the interest of maintaining quality on the JAFA site, we retain the right to make spelling/grammatical changes to our local copy. We also retain the right to add annotations as we see fit. All annotations will be deliberately marked to maintain the integrity of your letter.

You agree, by the acknowledgement of this disclaimer, to not hold JAFA responsible for any injury, mental or physical, resulting from the publishing of your letter. Also, if anyone sues you for slander from an article you submit that we decide to publish, you agree to not hold JAFA liable.

Lastly, JAFA cannot guarantee that every letter will be published.

Submitted Letters

Name: satoko fujiwara
Letter:To whom it may concern,

I am a Japanese teacher who is teaching Japanese students at a college in Tokyo.
A student of mine is interested in what JAFA has been doing. He wants to know what JAFA has done in order to promote mutual understanding between African Americans and Japanese, what kind of difficulties JAFA has met so far, etc.
Could any of your staff members in Tokyo give him a chance for interview, preferably in Japanese?
We are thinking of a small donation in return.
Name: Zebada Ulima Beverly
Letter:I'm a Freshman in high school and I have no idea what to expect when I go to Japan for a semester next year. I am worrying that I won't enjoy myself because I don't know the Japanese language and customs. I love Japan, I have since I can remember, so you'd think I'd have more of a enthusiastic approach to this situation. Yet I have to be realistic. I know people say that the Japanese are humble and want to meet foreginers, but being a black female doesn't give me any confort. There's so many stereotype people can depict from me just by looking at me. Also I am unsure of what college would be right for me in Japan. I mean I wish I could learn the language, but classes cost a lot of money and the "do it yourself" stuff doesn't work for me at all. But now that I've found this website, I have a bit more hope. Seeing all this, maybe I don't have to worry so much.
Name: Ella Hanson
Letter:I would just like to say thank you for having this website up here. I am an african american teen leaving in the states and have always had interest in japanese culture since 5th grade. I am however some times ridiculed and some times made fun of because of my interest but this is a realy helpful and insiteful community where i can get information from people who actualy do live in japan and are african american.

Thanks!!!!
Name:
Letter:Well done!
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Name: Regina Mullen
Letter:This case is very interesting. I think you might benefit from a fresh set of eyes on the problem.

If someone is willing to send me the documents on file (particularly the arguments made by the other side), I'd be willing to take a look at it. in my experience, both as a US civil rights lawyer and as an African-American lawyer who has worked for a Japanese law firm, I can probably offer some objective insights. I am also willing to try to mediate this case, if both parties are willing.

R. Mullen, Esq.
rmullen@adrdiversity.com
Name: Yumiko Ichikawa
Letter:First, I am glad to find out of JAFA organization. As a mother of Japanese-AfroAmerican child myself, I am sure this site will be very helpful in the future.
I read the article, and first thought I had was "is Kokujin a word of discrimination, as you stated in the article, "equivalent of nigger"?"
I have never thought of the term has such a negative meaning as niggers. We simply do not have any terms for black people in our language. We can call Africa-jin for African, and America jin for Americans, but what about "black people"? Japan is not as pc conscious society as multi-racial societies as US or Europe. Even when my child gets 20 years old, I don't think Japanese will find a correct term to call Black people other than Kokujin and will never be replaced for the sake of politically correct sence.
In this incident, however, the store owner should be sued for harrasment for treating cutomers as he did by using such a negative terms. He would probably discriminate anyone regardless of color of skin. He treats people poorly because he did not like them, and them could be me or my mother. We all deal with people like him in somewhere in our lives, and we have to deal with them. I would have taken him to the court as well for harrasment. I am sorry for the insatisfactory reslut by the court though.... But this news should get more publicity in this country and give people something to think about.
Anyways, I just wanted to say I disagree with the idea of Kokujin is discriminatery term in our language.
Name: DANIEL ESSIET
Letter:DANIEL ESSIET,
EDITOR,
PATHWAYS AFRICA MAGAZINE
34 FALOLU ROAD SURULERE,
P.O.BOX 1085,SHOMOLU,LAGOS,
NIGERIA.

Dear Editor,I am the Editor of Pathway Africa magazine,a leading transport journal within the Nigerian transport industry.You can write to the Federal Ministry of Transport,Abuja to ask information about PathwaysAfrica Magazine.i believe in genuine business networking that can lead to mutual benefits.i am looking for business representation opportunities as i am looking forward to quiting fulltime journalism practice soon .I want to represent reputable organisations in Nigeria who are looking for individuals with intergrity and credibility.I dont have money to deposit for any form of franchise.i believe in my person and that all.I can work withJAFA to verify enquiries from Nigeria.I hope for an opportunity to begin a fruitful relationship that will lead to a favourable image for Nigerians worldwide.Thanks.
Daniel Essiet
Name: Ralph Duncans Jr.
Letter:i never found that article about that shop owner. When I run into people like that I just say to myself that they are jealous that they did not have the same advantages that we do now. When you really think about it, that old man and others like him have a much deeper problem. I think it is the fear of change. boycotting is a good idea but a better idea would be to give him a present from time to time or just kick his fucking ass. Either way would work, but the later would have serious consequences if caught.

If a kkk member in America can get over the fact that his daughter married a non-white, then anyone can and will change in time. I am in the process of not even letting things like that bother me. I would look at it like it is extra money that I can put into my own bank account and not in his or others like himself.

I will say it is hard. How can they hate us, when they are walking around with the same color private parts as ours. Their women have the same color private parts, too. Sometimes, I tell them that.

I look at it like this. Life is to long to have to be concerned with such foolishness everyday from people who in reality are not anyone important in our lives, directly, anyway. I mean, I have to respect the plants more that I do people because the plants actually provide for me.

Our biggest problem is that we need to not look at ourselves as black people but to look at ourselves as gods which we are. Go check the Bible for you believers. Remember the white man divides and conquer. It moved from the physical body to mentality. If you control the mind, control everything. We as Black people, let me rephrase that, we as gods need to get our selves on an individual level, together.

Why put ourselves in a container. I am not saying don't call our selves Black. What I am saying is find out what Black really means and is. Then you will understand that we are human being. What does the word hue means? Step out of the frying pan and be the fire, the water, the air and whatever else you want to be.

A white French writer wrote, "everywhere I went the was a Black was presence." You will have to find what book that was. Grow up and out, not down and in.If God can turn his back on his own son, then why cant we turn our backs on ignorance. Unless God wants them to know, they will never know.

It is not our job to change people, it is our job to change ourselves. Leading by example is the best teacher. plus what are we here for anyway. To live a live like Jesus or whomever your savior is, die and go to heaven? Right?

So like I said life is too long to have such headaches when it is not life threatening. Every one changes whether you know it our not, want to or not. It is how you handle the grey hairs, the wrinkles and lost sex drive, the ability not have children, the lack of money and the rest that make champions and failures. Not to leave on a down not. Life is not like college. If you get a fail and repeat a class the highest grade you can get is a "C." In life you can fail and still be president. That is if you create your own business, corporation and etc.

Figure that out and I am sure you will not give a care about who does and who does not like you. if you can't build your own castle in the sky whose fault is it, especially now-a-days.

Name: Jeffrey Daniel
Letter:Dear JAFA ,
I have read the story about a particular shop owner shooing away Blacks from his business . Well , before we all get up in a huff and cause any really big comotion , let's inhale then exhale and look at the bigger picture .

In my experiences since 1983 in Japan , i have also encountered racial discrimination and was surprised at first , but later saw the same people do a 360 degrees turn after they got to know me ( probably the first Black they met personally) . If i thought Japan was a racesist country particulary toward Blacks , i would have never invested so many years over there .

What the real problem is ,is that Japanese and Blacks don't have a guide book on how to accept eachother's cultures before the encounter and therefore build a ignorant assumption of what the other race is about .

Yes , some Japanese see Blacks and other gaijins in a darker image , but it's up to us to clearify that image and i mean all Blacks in Japan .

We have some Blacks in Japan painting the worst picture of our race on a day to day basis and that needs to be addressed too .

When i first came to Japan in 1983 , i was ushered into clubs and sent to a table and the manager would whip out his business card and they were estatic that a real Black was in there club . School girls would follow me down the shopping street giggeling with curiosity . So tell me , how did that image do such a drastic change in these past 20 years ?

Now this particular shop owner's problem may be a different matter , but i found that Japanese don't hate us from the heart the way White Americans do . They have no reason to . They are predjudice from the head and that head has been converted on many occassions by myself , with Ojisan shop keepers too .

In the mean time , we need to check other Blacks who are doing ill activites in Japan and pave the way for the new generation of Blacks and a whole nation of half Black children who will join the Japanese society .

My solution , we need to form a way to teach Japanese how sensetive we are about human relations and discrimination and we need to be sensitive to the Japanese sensitivities too . If that particular shop owner really hates Blacks , then boycott his shop and get Japanese who are on our side to help boycott him , or just ignore his ignorant ass !

But we really need to give our image in Japan a face lift to correct 20 years of ill activities by "some" brothers over there who have damaged it.

I just moved back to London in January ,but still maintain my place there and i'm still a Japanese Alien registration card holder ,so this is an issue i had to take notice of .

Brothers , let's help clean up our image in Japan and let's also show them how loving we are and how we can be a credit to their society and we can do this without returning hate or ignorance . After all , we survived some of the world's worst disacrimination in America and Africa ,so this should be a cake walk.

Love to you all ,Jeffrey Daniel