Has Naomi Osaka’s rise to stardom been a turning point for how Japanese view hafus (mixed-race people)?

I don’t think her ascension has had much of an impact on how Japanese view biracial Japanese. I think most see a cute biracial Japanese girl. However, the pushback against the whitewashing or makeover of her image by Nissin, one of the world’s largest instant-noodle companies, has generated public discussion about why such a thing was done. That may lead to discussions of the challenges that face Japan’s growing number of mixed-race couples and their offspring.

You don’t like to use the word “racism,” so instead you use “presumption.” Why?

Words like “racism” have a tendency to shut down conversations and have all parties retreating to their respective foxholes, with nothing resolved or even meaningfully addressed. This can be particularly true when dealing with Japanese people: The brand of propaganda popular here pretty much dictates that Japanese are incapable of being racists because they only have experience with, and direct exposure to, one race over the course of their lifetimes.

But I’ve found that people are more open to discussing problematic behaviors like asserting presumptions at unknown entities, something everyone can recognize in themselves. Whereas, people are seldom willing to recognize racism, at least not aloud. Over the course of such a discussion, participants generally come to the conclusion on their own about how their presumptions can easily lend themselves to racialization, and even racism itself, if done on a larger, more institutional basis.

What have you learned from writing a newspaper column for five years?

I’ve learned my own knowledge of how diverse blackness is in Japan was limited. Through the column, I’ve learned of black lawyers, university presidents, stuntmen, filmmakers, J-pop idols, entrepreneurs galore, even true expats with political aspirations. This had the impact on me that I was hoping it would have on our Japanese hosts.

Second, I learned how writing is a form of activism. I never intended to be an activist but it’s inevitable that if you take on issues with passion and persuasiveness that will lend itself to activism. By virtue of your prominence, people will look to you for leadership. It’s a hell of a responsibility and has placed me and my work in the cross hairs of some unsavory elements over here, some of whom labeled me and any black person with a similar “can’t sit silent and still and accept the nonsense” mentality as dangers to Japan.