Hey, my name’s Kyle Yukawa and I’m from West Virginia in the United States. My father’s Japanese and my mom’s American (the white kind). I’m on my second year of the JET program but if you count the time I spent in Japan as a student it is closer to four years. I’m placed in Higashisonogi which is a really small but cute town in between Sasebo and Omura city.
Being half Japanese and having family within the prefecture allowed for interesting conversations with my teachers and other local people in my town. In my opinion, they took me more seriously in regards to my capabilities as an ALT. They came to me first when there was a problem or when something had to be said to another ALT. They openly asked me to translate documents, MC events, and mentioned how I was a reliable ALT. Regardless of my race I attribute this to my abilities as an ALT, but I do think that being part Japanese contributes to their treatment of me. This is due to, in my opinion, the idea that because I’m half Japanese I can get the job done in a Japanese manner. Now, this could be totally different if I were to be more white-passing or if I couldn’t speak Japanese. I’m sure my fitting the Japanese stereotype of what a half Japanese is in Japan perpetuated their treatment towards me. Nevertheless, these things were all positives in my eyes. The extra responsibility made me feel useful and more grown-up. Surprisingly enough though, because of these very things, I also had some really hard times.
I felt as though I was expected to perform my job just as a Japanese person should: always busy and always hard working…or at least to seem that way. Every time someone looked over to me, or when someone walked behind my desk I felt like I was being judged. Teachers have openly criticized me for studying Japanese at work even though I had no classes or lessons to prepare for. I have also had coworkers make passive aggressive comments on how free I look even though I am given no projects to work on. In the latter part of my first year, I became slightly depressed at work.
To top it all off, my experience as a Japanese-American was completely white-washed by my coworker so as to create this fake façade that I was a ‘normal’ American. I believe this might be unique to mixed race people whose appearances are somewhat vague. If I were to look undeniably Japanese in my appearance I think this would not have happened; nevertheless it did. Anytime during class when the subject of Japanese-Americans or my family would come up, my English explanations of my experiences were undeniably changed when my JTE translated my words into Japanese. For example, when explaining American Thanksgiving traditions, I stated that while many families in America eat turkey, my father’s side of the family preferred sushi. When my JTE translated my English, she said, “On Thanksgiving, Kyle-Sensei goes to a Japanese person’s house and eats sushi.” Being in this type of environment at work shifted the way I represented myself in the classroom.
I identified strongly with being half Japanese, but I felt like I needed to represent America in a ‘white way’….so I stopped talking about my unique experiences as a mixed race American and stuck with the status quo for a while. I have seen so many ALTs of color in Japan who are so comfortable with their race and I do strive to be like them, but the uncertainty of whether I had the right to speak on behalf of Japanese-Americans and Asian-Americans alike, was now staggering for me. Because let’s be honest here ya’ll, I look pretty white.
After coming back to Japan from a trip to America, I realized that there’s not a deep understanding of “different-ness” here. Whether Japan wants to admit it or not, there are kids in all of our classes who are different from the rest. As PoC educators, and leaders in the classroom, our race is a wonderful tool to show our students that being different is good, being different is a strength, and being different is special in its own right. This led me to create English presentations covering subjects ranging from the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S., to the mixed cultures of Japanese diaspora in Hawaii and Brazil. Through hard work, I was able to establish good relationships with most of my teachers and students and provide opportunities for learning about history in relation to race, and culture.
One of the most rewarding moments I’ve had so far as an ALT was when one student wrote for their homework, “I want to be like Obama. He was the first African-American president. Even though America had a lot of racism, he still wanted to be the first Black president. He is a creative activist, and I want to be like him”. Hearing even one student touched by my words was reward enough to continue being different and facing adversity in this country.
Don’t get me wrong though, Japan is an amazing and accepting country full of people who have a genuine curiosity in foreign cultures and people. However, I think there is a lack of exposure here that leads to ignorance. This hole in their education system is something that cannot be organically taught by Japanese teachers themselves. Without pushing our western views onto Japanese children, I believe this is our chance to introduce foreign countries in a way they might not have ever been presented before.
Having all these ups and downs as a mixed race Japanese-American in Japan, I am glad that I was challenged to work in the situation that was given to me. I worked hard to carve out my own place in not only my school, but also in my town’s community. I’m enjoying learning about my own culture as well as educating my students about issues that are important to me. As we say in the JET program, every situation is different. It is up to you to make the best out of the situation you’re put in. That being said, it is difficult for me to give you advice as I don’t know what situation you will be given, but I will say this: think of this as an opportunity to open the hearts and minds of those around you and always be open to learning just as much as you’re willing to teach.
by Kyle Yukawa, 2nd year ALT in Higashisonogi
