Do any of you seriously wish you are Japanese?

[shiroihana 182]

Japanese people aren't perfect physically. While Japanese features can be very alluring or distinct there are still many Japanese who aren't viewed as conventionally attractive same applies to every other group of people. I do like their skin complexion, hair texture, and distinct facial features but genetic variability exists within every race of people. Living conditions in Japan are much rougher than where I live, and that's not factoring in the language and racial barrier. If you love Japan enough to work hard and ignore any social barriers then I could see why one would wish to look Japanese in order to easily assimilate and blend in with the natives. It's probably more feasible to wish to be fluent in Japanese not to actually be Japanese lol

 

 

 

 

[platy 3018]

I wish I had thick hair like asian people, apart from that I'm proud of where I'm from and who I am.

I appreciate a lot of things in Japan, but I couldn't live in a society where people are so secluded from each other, some of their customs are the complete opposite from my country (by that I mean social norms and way of being mainly) and yeah... I'm happy this way. Although I'd love to live there for a few years, I couldn't stay there all my life i think. The isolation would kill me.

[heresytrash 250]

I used to when I was a teenager [annoying], but I like who I am now. I appreciate their culture and lifestyle, but I like being Filipino <3

[vanivani 558]

I've always been fascinated by the Japanese culture and language, but I've never had the desire to be Japanese. I'm content with who I am. 

[jiangshi girl 8]

Perhaps, it's hard to choose. Japanese people are generally richer, the air is cleaner there, the subway stations are better designed, but if I'm Japanese, I would grow up listening to all those horrible cheerful Jpop songs which made my head ache during my trip to Japan last year, and my English is likely to be even worse than it is now.

[desparejo86 160]

Fuck no. Very comfortable in my own skin, wouldn't trade.  *shrug* 

Plus... that shit would SUCK. Economy's all bad. No one listens to visual anymore. China's creeping. Nah, I'm good.

 

I am a hardcore visual fan for many decades, but I am fine with admiring from afar. Have no desire to go to Japan, even on vacation. 

Edited January 25, 2017 by desparejo86

[Seileen 15]

I don't wish I was born Japanese, as in "having Japanese features", but I sometimes wonder if my life would have been better if I had been born in Japan. I wish I could have experienced the atmosphere there, and by that I mean the possibility to see lives of my favourite bands on a regular basis, which is impossible in my country - maybe I would have been able to see some bands that today don't exist anymore -, the possibility to hang out in cool places and meet people who share the same music and passions as me.

I might have been happier in that way, or maybe not, but I guess I'll never know. ^^"

 

I wonder if someone else feels or has ever felt this way too?

Edited October 12, 2017 by Seileen

[jaymee 405]

I don’t wish I was Japanese (ethnically) but I would apply for citizenship if Japan would allow dual citizenship. Otherwise there would be no benefit to naturalizing since no one would believe I was a citizen and it would prevent me and the hubs from being able to live elsewhere should we ever become displaced due to the next big earthquake, Mt. Fuji erupting, North Korean missle attack, etc. that the news is always telling me could happen any day now lol

 

Expats in Japan have a saying: “The only thing worse than being a foreigner here is being Japanese.”

[p0pp3r 27]

Being Japanese, I'll have to say it REALLY depends on your preferences. 
In terms of physical features, many Japanese have glaring issues such as being short, single eyelid, flat nose, round faceline, crooked teeth in comparison to not only western folks but to many asian countries as well. 

I'm sure most of you on this forum already know but even the hot VK guys aren't exactly all attractive without makeup lol.  

Ofcourse, there's some positives too such as having a fairy good metabolism (no srsly it's hard to get fat), fair skin, thick hair, and overall cute face. Maybe this is why you don't see much girls going for the "hot" look but more towards being cute. It just suits them more. So like I said, preferences XD
 

When it comes to growing up and  living in Japan it's hit or miss. On the bright side, Japan generally is clean, convenient, and safe. Aside from the overly crowded central cities it's quite comfortable. Work and human relationships however is a disaster (in large cities. I can't speak for less populated places cuz I never lived in any) People are narrow minded, secluded, picky, perfectionists and most importantly fake(they have a culture of smiling on the outside 24/7 and hiding any negative thoughts). Basically robots lol. I think for anyone non-Japanese. speaking Japanese and making Japanese friends would be awesome but I doubt you'd wanna be Japanese XD

[Triangle 345]

Naaah, I'm good with who I am. I love Japanese culture and music and I really am missing Japan very much, but, to be honest every country, culture, person has their own positive and negative things so, instead of wishing to be something/someone else, I'd rather stick with myself. Yeah, I would love to live there again, as a foreigner though. To me, it seemed easier to live in Japan as an "outsider" rather than a Japanese person. Maybe it was because I could get away without being judged for everything and without people being too awkward around me.

Not all of the Japanese people are narrow-minded and stuff, but to the core they still give that kind of awkward vibe. Maybe it's just me, obviously I've yet to meet all the Japanese people on this planet, but from my short experience of one year in Japan this is what I came with.

Not to take Japan's side, but we all have our narrow-minded side, because really, it's kind of natural to think about something that you haven't seen/experience before as "weird".

The people I met in Japan who were Japanese they were very welcoming and open to new cultures and new views. Even the people I worked with and met while being a part-timer at a traditional restaurant were super nice, even though I stood out a lot and would make way too many mistakes haha XD.

But, in the end, we all have different experiences of the Japanese culture. I've talked with people who had it worse than me and I felt really awful hearing stories like that and at one point I would feel kind of labeled as the "innocent mascot gaijin", but I tried to see the positive things in everything.

Or I may just be lucky enough to encounter nice people.

[The Bread Wolf 231]

3 hours ago, Triangle said:

Not all of the Japanese people are narrow-minded and stuff, but to the core they still give that kind of awkward vibe. Maybe it's just me, obviously I've yet to meet all the Japanese people on this planet, but from my short experience of one year in Japan this is what I came with.

Not to take Japan's side, but we all have our narrow-minded side, because really, it's kind of natural to think about something that you haven't seen/experience before as "weird".

You have to admit though, that historically speaking Japan doesn't have a rich immigration culture like the States, that was founded on immigration, or a lot of progressive European countries. That's why they think outsiders are outsiders, no matter how nice they are. You are not one of them. You are not viewed as Japanese, no matter how many years you've lived there. You'll always be gaijin. 

 

So in contrast, I do think Japanese people are more narrow-minded than for example, people in the UK (or at least Scotland, to my experience) or the States, where immigrants are every day life. It's not their fault. At least not the current generations, because they had no say in Japan staying closed to the west for as long as it did. But it directly results in treating immigrants as some rare animal that's passing through the country.

[Triangle 345]

27 minutes ago, The Bread Wolf said:

You have to admit though, that historically speaking Japan doesn't have a rich immigration culture like the States, that was founded on immigration, or a lot of progressive European countries. That's why they think outsiders are outsiders, no matter how nice they are. You are not one of them. You are not viewed as Japanese, no matter how many years you've lived there. You'll always be gaijin. 

 

So in contrast, I do think Japanese people are more narrow-minded than for example, people in the UK (or at least Scotland, to my experience) or the States, where immigrants are every day life. It's not their fault. At least not the current generations, because they had no say in Japan staying closed to the west for as long as it did. But it directly results in treating immigrants as some rare animal that's passing through the country.

Oh yeah for sure. That's really the main reason why some of them were nice with me, because I was the child gaijin, who doesn't know anything.

Yeah, many people told me that Japanese people are more narrow-minded than others. I don't know, some people in my country are kinda on the same level too, so maybe that's why I didn't feel it that strong there. But I do understand the point of view from people coming from countries with rich immigration culture.

It's really interesting to hear all sort of perspectives and experiences.

 

Speaking of being treated as a rare animal I remember being asked if you could travel from my country to another one by plane. Or if my eye color was real XD.

[YuyoDrift 1540]

While I wouldn't mind living in Japan, I wouldn't go as far as to say that I wanted to be Japanese (or anything else for that matter).

Well that's wrong. I'm 1/5-10 (I don't know how it works) Japanese from my mothers side, but this from generations ago, and I know very little to no Japanese, so its never worth mentioning.

While I was not born in any Latin American country, I am cool knowing that the majority of my ancestry came from there. With that said, being born in the USA is what I acknowledge to be where I come from the most. I'm American until I die.

I can be whatever the hell I want honestly, regardless if I have the physical traits or not, so since being "American" has no physical trait, it's perfect.

 

So my answer would simply be that I can be anything I would like to, as I have the freedom to nowadays, and being born into a country comprised of an immigrant background, allows me to learn from firsthand experience, the cultures (like the Japanese) at my leisure. I don't think I could have it any better.

So I don't wish to "look" Japanese, simply because it would mean that I am somewhat vain, and even if there were some sort of "privilege" from looking Japanese, I wouldn't want it because as someone who strives for equality, I don't feel that's right.

 

 

[xBandō 8]

My mom is half german half japanese, my dad is half murican half bosnian, so im a weird mix of all. I enjoy living in Germany, and i had to struggle quite a while to find my "identity", but in the end knowing a lot of people from completely different cultures has become one of my joys, especially when it comes to traveling, as i can always communicate in some sort of fashion. Back to topic, i think that a lot of people glorify japanese upbringing and life, what you see when you travel there is not what you get when you live there. Work life is hard and exhausting, and society is pretty unforgiving when you fail. However, for some people thats the way they want to live, and im okay with that. I do visit whats left of my japanese family every now and then, and overall i prefer life there to life in germany. But again, its not for everyone.

[Koumori 58]

Well, I used to when I was a child. Probably like many of us. But now I am happy with the person I am and wouldn't want to be anyone else.

 

I have been to Japan though and I'd love to go there again!

[CAT5 9075]

Japanese is a gorgeous language, and their culture is...interesting.

 

But do I wish I was Japanese? Hell nah. My genes are fuckin' impeccable.

[RaeDesu 189]

I have been to Japan, and experienced the culture, and although it's a beautiful place to visit, I don't think I would want to have been born there. I like who I am as a person, and I have nice genes from being hispanic (I'm 30 and look like I'm about 18, so thanks mom for that). I also learned Japanese, but I don't want to be Japanese.

[TheZigzagoon 670]

I’d definitely visit Japan, as I’ve always loved the culture since I was a child. However, I wouldn’t say I’d wish I was Japanese, I couldn’t handle their crazy work ethic xD 

[colorful人生 2777]

Going against the grain here.

 

Gimme those sweet-ass Okinawan genes.

 

I'm probably like .005% b/c I'm a genetically Asian clusterfuck on my mom's side. Too bad I got almost none of the health benefits o_o".

Edited January 29, 2019 by colorfuljinsei

[hermitosis 7]

I wish I was born Japanese just for their public transportation and bullet trains. Driving everywhere sucks.

[sleepy coffee 1476]

4 hours ago, hermitosis said:

I wish I was born Japanese just for their public transportation and bullet trains. Driving everywhere sucks.

This times 100, as someone in socal, theres never a fun day on the road 

[Paraph 826]

i mostly just wish i could have naturally straight and oily hair for a day tbh.

[Total Saikou 735]

The one thing I envy the most about the Japanese is their long lifespans. I'm a combo of two ethnicities with really low life expectancies and was born in a country with with a low life expectancy to boot so I'm not slated for a long life, I don't think... Also, Japanese culture is so cool and I wish I could spend a lot time with it. More than now, even! I'm learning the language but being born into it, that's a sweet ticket.

 

That being said, no one can change their race, so lamenting it is pointless! Also, it's kind of really depressing to do so if you're not white. Observing and enjoying other cultures is just a part of being human because there's so many out there that you can't be all of them, can ya?  At the end of the day, I'm glad to be my race mixture [Half Russian/Afghan] and to be from my birth country [Uzbekistan]. Also the benefits of having thick, healthy hair and never getting sunburns aren't things I'm gonna easily give up!

Edited June 7, 2020 by Total Saikou

[Keiyuh 53]

No man 

Your traditions and beliefs are half of what you are I'm glad I was born where I don't remember but Atleast you know where you were born I just go around finding meaning or a reason

Like turkey might seem a pretty dull country but I've never seen a that treats its guests like family and UK and france delightfully people I've also been to America Canada Germany Czech Norway Sweden Scotland Egypt Libya  palestine irak Yemen and I've got to say every place is own identity and I see no difference