>Basic problem is it's too one-sided... isn't there any
>positive press about her in Japan to report?
>
>>Many people across the country are expressing their doubts
>>that a “hafu” (the term for someone who is biracial)
>
>first off that it puts it in the romajified version of the
>katakana word without referencing the fact that the word is
>our 'half,' which may not be clear to readers immediately.
>
>'Half' is also not (usually) a derogatory term.
>
>'Gaijin' also means 'outside person' only in the literal
>sense, as in the meaning of the ideograms; in practical usage
>it simply means 'foreigner.' So that's a bit
>disingenuous/alarmist.
>
>>Some have said that she does not “look Japanese”
>
>I agree.
>
>I don't know that I would say she looks like anything in
>particular...
>
>Also, that shouldn't be a problem in electing her as Miss
>Japan, of course.
>
>>” A
>>few are even complaining that Japan is not getting a
>>“pure-blooded Japenese” girl to represent Japan.
>
>No surprise.
>
>>Japan is one of the least ethnically diverse countries, with
>>98 percent of its people Japanese nationals,
>
>She IS a Japanese national! Isn't she? Hmm, maybe not, the
>article doesn't say.
>
>What they probably mean is 'ethnically 100% Japanese.' That's
>very different (though in general it is very hard to become a
>Japanese national if you are not of Japanese origin. unless
>you're a sumo rikishi.)
>
>and there is
>>generally a feeling that people of mixed lineage are not
>fully
>>Japanese. Not only is Miyamoto’s father an American but he
>>is also an African-American, compounding the problem of
>>“foreign” and mixed-race negativity.
>
>Eh, I don't know that there's increased negative perception
>about half-white versus half-Black. It's possible.
>
>It's not that Japan doesn't have its set of hangups about what
>it means to be Japanese and/or represent Japan... it's just
>that the article doesn't do a good job of examining it in even
>the most basic terms.
>
>