Asian Group

... white having a Japanese mother and an American father (me) are really "Japanese". They've lived here all of their lives, though both speak English as well as their "native" Japanese.

Both have studied and lived overseas but both work and live in Japan now and probably will do so as long as they live.

To be sure I don't notice my children's "foreign" looks but others do. Recently, as western tourism has boomed, we get offered English menus in restaurants and store clerks try to use English instead of Japanese. It's good for a brief laugh.

And, no, it hasn't always been easy, it hasn't been without bias or prejudice, or without occasional discrimination.

Japan isn't and will never be perfect.

Still, it's where we live.