Nationality, Identity, Language and Culture - Making the Pieces Fit.

The first story appeared on a regional news website in the UK and concerns a band of British musicians who have broken onto the music scene while living in Japan (http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/content/articles/2008/11/12/watanabes_japan_20081112_feature.shtml). "The Watanabes", so called because they thought the use of a popular surname would "ingratiate ourselves with the locals," notched up a noteworthy local following around the town where they lived on Shikoku. Within a few years they decided to move to Tokyo; their first album was subsequently released earlier this month. The article concluded by saying that despite a burgeoning career in Japan, the band were now on their way back to the UK because, "we are longing to reach an English speaking audience who will be able to fully appreciate our lyrics."

The second article reported an exhibition that took place in London in October. Entitled "Hafu / Half Japanese", the exhibition comprised photographs and interviews of nine people who share the common thread of having one parent Japanese and the other non-Japanese. (http://www.hafujapanese.org/intro.html) These children of mixed parentage are typically known as being 'half-Japanese'; they have widely adopted the abbreviation 'hafu' to describe themselves. The photographer and sociologist who worked together to create the exhibition are themselves hafus. Despite being fluent in both parental languages, these two have decided to base themselves in neither of their home countries (Japan - Germany and Japan - Italy respectively) but rather in the cosmopolitan melting pot of London. Both expressed unease at being in their home countries, saying they felt that they didn't quite 'fit' in either place.

The third event that occurred involved my meeting a young Japanese man who is currently at University in the U.K. Shige was born in North America and received his early education there, until his father's job took the family to England. He continued to attend local schools with the addition of Japanese School on a Saturday. These classes are provided by the Japanese Government in major business centres around the world, so that the children of Japanese expats working overseas have a chance to learn and maintain their Japanese schooling. The classes endeavour to bring the children to the required Government standard to enable them to hopefully, slip back into the education system in Japan once their parents return. Shige's parents are now back in Tokyo where he visits them every two years or so - he decided not to return with them. He has never lived in Japan and confessed that despite being Japanese with fluent, native language skills, he actually feels more comfortable living outside of Japan and thinks that he will most likely spend the rest of his life doing so.

These three stories, while seemingly different, all resonate with the same questions concerning nationality, identity, language and culture. While these issues seem especially pertinent to Japan in its current situation, never has it seemed that conclusions able to satisfy the majority are so far out of reach. All indications point to the reality of the situation being far advanced from the systems that are currently in place to serve the best interests of society as a whole. Levels of immigration are set to rise considerably out of necessity to increase the working population, yet current immigration policy remains tight to the point that many are barred from entering. That said, there has been a certain amount of relaxation of the rules that makes it easier for those who are currently eligible for a working visa to stay longer. However, attaining Japanese nationality requires a colossal amount of effort and dedication and once attained, the candidate is forced to abandon the nationality of his birth. Cross-cultural marriages have been steadily increasing in Japan over the last few years, yet the divorce rate among such couples remains high (1 out of every 2.5 marriages) with 'irreconcilable cultural differences' being cited as the most common reason for the break-up. As a result of these marriages, more than 3% of births in Japan are to parents of mixed cultural backgrounds, yet the provision of education to enable these children to maintain close affinity with the non-Japanese side of their heritage (including language and culture) is extremely limited and depends more or less solely on the parents' efforts (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080804a1.html).

Despite having acknowledged the need to open up and address these issues, Japan still seems to reel under the burden of its past. The public debate is old and ongoing, yet there is still no real conclusion or identified alternative to replace the controversial term of 'gaijin' when referring to people who do not possess Japanese citizenship. Many non-Japanese who are long-term residents choose to ignore the idiosyncrasies that reinforce their differences and accept that these things are part of the territory; a very few are choosing to make a stand to try and improve the situation (www.debito.org).

Going back to our original three stories throws up some interesting anomalies. "The Watanabes" styled themselves according to local sensitivities which, if not entirely responsible for, likely assisted their success in the Japanese market. Yet the need for deeper appreciation on a linguistic and cultural level is urging them to return to their own country where it remains to be seen if they shall find the approval they seek. There is a risk here, for the band may discover that the formula that worked so well for them in Japan does not strike the same chords back in the U.K. This seems in contradiction to the creators of the 'Hafu / Half Japanese' exhibition, who, seemingly dissatisfied with being merely 'half' somewhere have chosen a third, entirely neutral country in which to further explore their creative and personal potential. Language here is simply not an issue on their agenda. This is also true of Shige, who, despite being fully 'Japanese' is coming to see that he feels something quite different on the inside and it is this that prevents him from wanting to sublimate himself into Japanese society. So while we can see that language, culture and nationality all have some bearing on identity, neither one can be said to be more important when it comes to establishing a sense of place or belonging. Clearly it is a combination of all these things, plus many other elements too subtle and numerous to list.

For all the perceived cultural barriers to non-Japanese making Japan their permanent home, visible signs of a change in national attitude are becoming more apparent. An increasing number of 'hafus' are gaining positions in the public eye, though how widely and deeply this acceptance runs is still within question. It is true that no country is without its problems when it comes to these issues and it may be some time yet before all nations come to value people for being who they are, rather than which race they are, which language they speak or which nation they belong to.