Disadvantages In Japan As An Asian American
One of the struggles of an Asian American living in Japan is the fact that he/she is assumed to be Japanese the exact opposite of a Caucasian living in Japan. While some people find that this is a good thing, others find it to be negative. Of course there’s the fact that you can speak Japanese whenever people talk to you which helps with the learning Japanese but it also comes with the expectation that you speak perfect Japanese.
I am a Chinese American who was born and raised in Hawaii. My mother tongue is of course English and I started speaking Japanese when I was in intermediate school. Just like most Chinese Americans, I am unable to speak Chinese at all but I can understand a little. I first moved to Japan 5 years ago and studied abroad a Keio University located in Tokyo for 1 year. After graduating college and working at JTB in Hawaii, I returned back to Japan in 7/2017 and have worked here ever since. I took over 30 interviews until I finally landed a job. I noticed that the interviewer would always ask me if my parents are Japanese or what part of Japan my family is from.
The expectation that I speak perfect Japanese because I look Japanese comes with various disadvantages. I worked at a Japanese company and when I talked to business partners sometimes they are very rude. The reason for this is that they think that I haven’t been…
