Ethnic Identity Formation of ‘Hafu’ (Biethnic) Students in Japan

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between the experience of ethnicity and self-identified ethnic identity in biethnic middle school students in Japan. The participants were 12 biethnic students, one of whose parents was Japanese. The biethnics are known as Hafu in Japan. We conducted semi-structured interviews and asked the participants about their positive and negative experiences of ethnicity and feelings about it, the presence of supporters and the participants' feelings when receiving support, and how they identified their ethnic identity. As a result, it was suggested that those participants who had positive experiences, such as being praised for being bilingual, could accept their ethnicity, which led them to trust in their surroundings. Conversely, those who had negative experiences, such as discrimination, gave up gaining the understanding of others and hid their ethnic background or could not accept being biethnic. These negative experiences included discriminatory remarks during class.

Keywords

Hafu (biethnic) / ethnic identity / Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA)

References

[1] Accapadi, Mamta. M. (2012). Asian American identity consciousness. A polycultural model. In Doris Ching & Amefil Agbayani (Eds.), Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in higher education: Research and perspectives on identity, leadership, and success (pp. 57-94). Naspa—Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

[2] Chong, Vanessa & Kuo, Ben C. H. (2015). Racial identity profiles of Asian—White biracial young adults: Testing a theoretical model with cultural and psychological correlates. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 6(3), 203-212.

[3] Cooley, Horton C. (2016). Human nature and the social order. Palala Press. (Original work published in 1902.)

[4] Cross, William E., Jr.; Seaton, Eleanor; Yip, Tiffany; Lee, Richard M.; Rivas, Deborah; Gee, Gilbert C.; Roth, Wendy, & Bic, Ngo. (2017). Identity work: Enactment of racial—ethnic identity in everyday life. Identity 17(1): 1-12.

[5] Erikson, Erik. H. (1994). Identity and the life cycle. W. W. Norton & Company. (Original work published in 1959.)

[6] Glasser, Barney G. & Anselm, Strauss L. (1996). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine Publishing Company. (Original work published in 1967.)

[7] Goffman, Erving. (1986). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Touchstone. (Original work published in 1963.)

[8] Grossman, Jennifer M. & Liang, Belle. (2008). Discrimination distress among Chinese American adolescents. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 37, 1-11.

[9] Huynh, Virginia W. & Fuligni, Andrew J. (2010). Discrimination hurts: The academic, psychological, and physical well—being of adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20(4), 916-941.

[10] Kich, George K. (1992). The developmental process of asserting a biracial, bicultural identity. In Maria P. P. Root. (Ed.), Racially mixed people in America (pp. 304-317). Sage Publications.

[11] Kinoshita, Yasuhito. (2003). Practice of grounded theory approach: Invitation to qualitative research. Koubundou.

[12] Kinoshita, Yasuhito. (2007). Live lecture M—GTA: Practical qualitative research: All of the modified grounded theory approach. Koubundou.

[13] Kinoshita, Yasuhito. (2016). Basic characteristics of M—GTA and its analytical process: Renewing possibilities of qualitative research. Journal of Health Care and Nursing, Juntendo University School of Health Care and Nursing, 13(1), 1-11.

[14] Kobari, Yoshihiro. (2014). The identity formation process of Japanese university students with “foreign roots”: A look at the relationship between language and identity. Journal of International Relations, Asia University, 23, 155-180.

[15] Laar, Colette; Levin, Shana, & Sinclair, Stacey. (2008). Social identity and personal identity stereotype threat: The case of affirmative action. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 30(4), 295-310.

[16] Miller, Seizo. (2015). The management of identity in interaction: An analysis of narrated identity and enacted identity. Accumulation and Evaluation of Interaction in Contact Situations: Language Management in Contact Situations, 12, 1-14.

[17] Miller, Seizo. (2018). Thoughts on identity construction principal: An analysis of narratives in an interview. Accumulation and Evaluation of Interaction in Contact Situations: Language Management in Contact Situations, 15, 26-44.

[18] Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. (2018). The vital statistics of population. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/jinkou/kakutei18/index.html

[19] Minoura, Yasuko. (1994). The cultural identity of children who were raised in cultures other than their own. The Japanese Journal of Educational Research, 61(3), 213-221.

[20] Miville, Marie L.; Constatine, Madonna G.; Baysden, Matthew F., & So—Lloyd, Gloria. (2005). Chameleon changes: An exploration of racial identity themes of multiracial people. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(4), 507-516.

[21] Morikawa, Yoshio. (2009). The voices of children from intercultural families: Category, ethnicity, identity. The Journal of Human Rights, Osaka City University, 9, 67-75.

[22] Murphy—Shigemitsu, Stephen. (1997). American—Japanese ethnic identities: Individual assertions and social reflections. Japan Journal of Multilingualism and Multiculturalism, 3, 23-37.

[23] Ogaya, Chiho. (2016). Family and identities for Filipino Japanese youth: Narrative and life story analysis (1). Ferris Studies, Ferris University, 51, 1-27.

[24] Oikawa, Sara, & Yoshida, Tomoko. (2007). An identity based on being different: A focus on biethnic individuals in Japan. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 31, 633-653.

[25] Park, Gum R.; Son, Inseo; & Kim, Seung—Sup. (2016). Perceived ethnic discrimination and depressive symptoms among biethnic adolescents in South Korea. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, 49(5), 301-307.

[26] Phinney, Jean S. (1992). The Multi Group Ethnic Identity Measure: A new scale for use with diverse groups. Journal of Adolescent Research, 7, 156-176.

[27] Phinney, Jean S. (1996). Understanding ethnic diversity: The role of ethnic identity. American Behavioral Scientist, 40(2), 143-152.

[28] Poston, Carlos W. S. (1990). The biracial identity development model: A needed addition. Journal of Counseling & Development, 69, 152-155.

[29] Rivas—Drake, Deborah; Hughes, Diane, & Way, Niobe. (2008). A closer look at peer discrimination, ethnic identity, and psychological well—being among urban Chinese American sixth graders. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 37, 12-21.

[30] Rockquemore, Kerry Ann, & Laszloffy, Tracey A. (2005). Raising biracial children. AltaMira Press.

[31] Shimoji, Yoshitaka L. (2018). “Mixed race” and “Japanese”: Social history of HAFU, double, mixed. Seidosya.

[32] Strauss, Linda C. & Cross Jr., William E. (2005). Transacting black identity: A two—week daily—diary study. In Geraldine Downey; Eccles, Jacquelynne S., & Chatman, Celina M. (Eds.), Navigating the future: Social identity, coping, and life tasks (pp. 67-95). Russell Sage Foundation.

[33] Suzuki, Kazuyo. (2008). Multicultural environments and the inheritance of culture and language: From the perspective of parents of intercultural children with Japanese ancestry. Bulletin of Saitama Gakuen University, Faculty of Humanities, 8, 75-89.

[34] Swann, William B. (1987). Identity negotiation: Where two roads meet. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(6), 1038-1051.

[35] Taguchi, Yoshitaka, L. (2016). The life stories of Hafu in Japan: Family, school, work, and the street. Hitotsubashi Bulletin of Social Sciences, 8, 57-66.

[36] Tai, Eika. (2003). Multicultural co—living and its potential in Japan. The Journal of Human Rights, Osaka City University, 3, 41-52.

[37] Tatum, Beverly D. (2017). “Why are all the black kids sitting to get her in the cafeteria?” A psychologist explains the development of racial identity. Basic Books. (Original work published in 1997.)

[38] Ting—Toomey, Stella. (2015). Identity negotiation theory. In Bennett, Janet M. (Eds.), The Sage encyclopedia of intercultural competence, Volume 1 (pp. 418-422). Sage Publications.

[39] Törngren, Sayaka Osanami, & Sato, Yuna. (2021). Beyond being either—or: Identification of multiracial and multiethnic Japanese. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(4), 802-820.

[40] Toomey, Adrian; Dorjee, Tenzin, & Ting—Toomey, Stella. (2013). Bicultural identity negotiation, conflicts, and intergroup communication strategies. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 42(2), 112-134.

[41] Wardle, Francis. (1992). Biracial identity: An ecological and developmental model. Institute of Education Sciences. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED385376

[42] Williams, David R., & Williams—Morris, Ruth. (2000). Racism and mental health: The African American experience. Ethnicity and Health, 5(3—4), 243-268.

[43] Yasui, Miwa; Dorham, LaRue C., & Dishion, Thomas J. (2004). Ethnic identity and psychological adjustment: A validity analysis for European American and African American adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19(6), 807-825.

[44] Yip, Tiffany. (2018). Ethnic/racial identity: A double—edged sword? Associations with discrimination and psychological outcomes. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(3), 170-175. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0963721417739348

[45] Yoshida, Tomoko, & Oikawa, Sara. (2012). Differing reactions to growing up biethnic in Japan and what predicts them. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 15, 15-32.

[46] Yoshino, Kosaku. (1998). The discourse on blood and racial identity in contemporary Japan. In Frank Dikötter, Frank (Ed.), The construction of racial identities in China and Japan: Historical and contemporary perspectives (pp. 199-211). University of Hawaii Press.

[47] Yoshino, Kosaku. (2007). Youth and nationalism in contemporary Japan: Enquiring into the issue with university students. The Annual Review of Sociology, 20, 2-12.