This archive report was first published on 24 July 2021.
On July 23, 2021, Naomi Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, a moment that thrilled many, including biracial teenager Emili Omuro. However, Omuro, who was born to a Japanese mother and a black American father, says that Japan still has a long way to go in accepting people of mixed heritage.
Osaka, whose mother is Japanese and father Haitian, is a four-time Grand Slam winner and a global sports icon. She was joined by Japanese-Beninese NBA basketball star Rui Hachimura, who was one of the flagbearers leading Japan's team into the Olympic Stadium.
Despite their success and popularity, many young people of black and Japanese heritage still struggle in Japan's often conservative and homogenous society. Omuro, who was a torchbearer in the Olympic flame relay, wanted to draw attention to the bullying and discrimination faced by some biracial Japanese.
Omuro told AFP, 'There were many times when it was hard. People would whisper behind my back and make fun of me at extra-curricular clubs, or when I was walking down the street.'
Omuro's experience is not unique. Kinota Braithwaite, a black Canadian, has spoken out about the racist taunts his daughter Mio suffered in second grade in Tokyo. Braithwaite has written a children's book about his daughter's experience and gives talks in schools to raise awareness about racism in Japan.
According to an analysis of government data by Kyodo News agency, just 20,000 of 1.02 million babies born in 2014 had Japanese and non-Japanese parents. However, more people of black and Japanese or mixed Asian heritage are now 'raising their voices and addressing their experiences of discrimination or racism.'
Even stars like Osaka and Hachimura are not immune to racist language and tone-deaf depictions. In 2019, Osaka's sponsor Nissin Foods was accused of 'whitewashing' over an animated advert depicting the 23-year-old with light skin, and a Japanese comedy duo apologised after joking she was 'too sunburned' and needed 'bleach.'
