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I am Japanese now 2014/10/13 02:38
If I got a citizenship in Japan as a Japanese citizen, is it ok that I can say I'm Japanese? I heard that japanese people take offense to someone who is not japanese calling themselves Japanese, but in America, if you get a citizenship as an American citizen, you are more than welcome to say you are an American. So I don't know what to think.
by Kisukeyo  

Re: I am Japanese now 2014/10/13 11:04
You sound terribly naive. In the United States anyone can say pretty much anything, but naturalized immigrants who have a foreign accent will always be treated as foreigners by a certain segment of the population. In the more provincial parts of the U.S. this is the rule more than the exception. It isn't all that much different in Japan. You can call yourself whatever you want but that won't change the way people think of you.

In the United States sometimes even second and third generation Asian-Americans are asked "where are you from?" meaning where in China or Japan. I'm not kidding.

You just have to live your life and not get too bent out of shape by what other people think.
by Uma (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: I am Japanese now 2014/10/13 12:23
I generally agree with Uma that any country including Japan and the U.S. has its fair share of intolerant people.

That said, to precisely answer the original question, in the Japanese language you don't call a person "Amerika-jin" if the person has already surrendered his/her U.S. citizenship.

In English, you can surrender your ancester's nationality and still call yourself "Irish" or "Mexican" or "Japanese," because the -ish, -an, -ese part doesn't necessarily mean "own the nationality of."

But in the Japanese language, "(nation name) +jin" means you have the nationality of that nation. If you have surrendered that nationality you are "(nation name)+kei" instead.

And in order to newly gain Japanese nationality, you basically need to surrender your old nationality. So once an American newly becomes a Japanese national, (s)he can't really say (s)he is Amerika-jin although (s)he can say "I'm from America" or, of course, "I'm American."

Meanwhile, it's not that easy for a non-Japanese person to gain Japanese citizenship neither it may not be to surrender the old. Because of that, most locals tend to respect naturalized Japanese people.

Back to what Uma was saying, I remember waiting to buy some foreign bills at a bank in Tokyo one day (okay, I admit that this was back in the 80s), and a young American in a suit started chatting in English with a Caucasian man with a foreign accent. After a while the young American asked "Where are you from?" and the man with an accent said, "I'm American" in which the young one replied, "I never would've imagined." Needless to say, the chatting stopped there.
by Uco rate this post as useful

Re: I am Japanese now 2014/10/14 06:48
but in America, if you get a citizenship as an American citizen, you are more than welcome to say you are an American.

It's the same in Japan. No sane person will get offended. They may find it humorous or strange or intriguing but not offensive.

But, just like naturalized citizens in America, you won't be considered a "real" Japanese.
by . (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: I am Japanese now 2014/10/14 08:56
When people in Japan are talking about "being Japanese", it usually do not mean the nationality (citizenship) but it's talking about ethnicity.

When you do not obviously look like ethnically Japanese and say "I'm Japanese", people may look confused or puzzled or amused, but normally do not get angry or offended except those who are very narrow-minded and intolerant.
by . (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: I am Japanese now 2014/10/14 10:37
Perhaps you can just say you are a Japanese citizen, to clear the confusion. If anything, it probably leads to a conversation starter.
by Citizen Z (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: I am Japanese now 2014/10/14 23:24
Uma, so true about naturalized citizen in US. I've been living in US for 24 years, I am a US citizen , but still have a foreign accent. I am always asked where I'm from. Some people are just curious, but nice, from time to time I come across a hostile person.
When people ask me: "where are you from?", I usually say the name of the town I live in, some leave it at that. Some mention my accent and want to know more. Then I explain.
If I had Japanese citizenship, I would say:"I am a Japanese citizen", but I wouldn't say:"I am Japanese", because I think that statement includes person's ethnicity.
by Y.W. (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: I am Japanese now 2014/10/15 15:43
It is the same in most countries, unfortunately First generation immigrants aren't considered to be true citizens. Legally yes, but not culturally.

To some extent it makes sense as even if we know a lot about our new country, we haven't experience a lot of its culture.
For example in my birth country (one of G8 countries) we have no formal graduation ceremony, no prom balls, no Halloween, US style football only came recently etc. etc.etc.

Also few young people buy a car unless they already have a steady job (one has to be 18 at least to drive; Until the late 1990s all fit men over 18 had to go to the army for X years, unpaid).
In many towns a car is not practical anyway as the cities are very old, gas is very expensive, major roads have expensive tolls..

One has to take ignorant comments with a shrug.. I have been told several times by managers in several jobs in Canada that I wasn't white because I was born in Europe...

So I told these managers that their ancestors were obviously from Europe too..a couple of them were offended!

On the other hands my co-workers from Asia, Africa, South America etc. became very friendly, when they heard the comments... until then they assumed I had an unfair advantage on them...

What shocked me was shopping with a lady friend from my building. She is Asian but she is 3rd generation in Canada.
Yet when we went to several stores or restaurants the "white" staff only talked to me...a "white" man.

She said it was because I have a look that means "I am here for business, pay attention to me"...It runs in my family.even ladies in my family have that look...

Then she admitted that she has been asked where she was born many times...even though she speak perfect Canadian English.

Next time we went out, I told staff that first came to me "please talk to her, she was born here, not me"..
by Red frog (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: I am Japanese now 2014/10/17 10:19
I wonder where Uma is from--most likely deep South, cuz what she described doesn't happen in more civilized states like California, New York, etc.
by Tokyonet (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: I am Japanese now 2014/10/17 12:59
Really, Tokyonet? I don't know where Uma is from, but don't bash Southern people.
From my experience, the most unwelcoming bunch of people I've met were upstate N.Y., just an hour drive from the city, where we bought our first house and lived for 5 years. Moving there from New York City was like entering a different world. My daughter was always put down by her teacher. Her teacher even said that she needs to pronounce her last name in a more American way, or change it (!). Another teacher from Scotland, that was married to a Cuban man, had the same experience. She was completely excluded by other teachers from social activities and her kids discriminated against. Her, and my Puerto Rican neighbors were my only friends there. It happens in small, close knit communities in the North and South. Big cities are different, probably because there are many immigrants living there, and people are not so close, not because they are more civilized. I live in Orlando, FL now and,in general, people are nice. I bet, in Japan, it is also easier for foreigners to get accepted in big cities than somewhere in inaka.
by Y.W. (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: I am Japanese now 2014/11/10 06:14
I agree with Uma as well.

In USA, because there are so many diverse people from all over, it's generally agreed that as long as you were born in, or have a citizenship in the USA, you are "American".

Of course even in USA, if you look East Asian, you will always be asked, "Where are you from?" or "What language do you speak?". I get asked this a lot even though the majority of the population where I live is Asian(mostly Filipino).
I think it could be partially because Asians are rarely portrayed in media compared to other races(so people aren't as used to seeing you), so they are less likely seen as "fluent English-speaking American citizens".
Then again, even some Asians will still ask you "Where are you from?", so it could be more like, "What is your ethnicity?". I myself do get curious as well when I see another Asian person, and wonder what their ethnicity is. It can be a good conversation starter among Asian Americans too...

Anyway, in Japanese, to say you are "nihonjin" is implying that you have the genes of Japanese people, and were born and/or raised in Japan.

It's mainly because Japanese society is not really used to foreign-looking people like American society is... the country is really homogenous when you look at the percentages. They're simply not used to foreign-looking people even if they've naturalized, because the appearance stand out so much.

Don't be offended though, because the majority of the time it's just plain curiosity.
It's really uncommon for racism to be a thing, especially with younger people who don't hold grudges over wars or westernization.

I can't really call myself just Japanese even if I still lived there, because I was not really raised as a Japanese native(even though I was born there), I will often point out that I am "half".
It can be tricky for me actually, since I am half Japanese and half Chinese-American... if I call myself "chuugokujin", they will think I speak Chinese/live in China, and if I say "amerikajin", they think I am part white/European. XD
For me I must say, "half nihonjin and half chuugokuamerikajin".
by Kouki Elska rate this post as useful

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