basketball

Hachimura, Japan's mixed-race basketball star who once 'hid from the world'

17 Comments
By Natsuko Fukue

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Let’s be absolutely clear about this: There is only one human race. End of.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

One of the VERY few Afro-Japanese people who is being used as a specimen of Japanese egalitarianism. For one Hachimura there are tens of other Afro- Japanese children whose families were torn apart by the covert apartheid-like system of Japanese eugenicists causing deep trauma, dreams deferred and broken families. In all this we still celebrate the Hachimuras and Osakas , who , not surprisingly, the Japanese claim in totality because of their success.

7 ( +13 / -6 )

basketball star who once 'hid from the world'

Did he really hide from the world? He went to play for Gonzaga. That is an NBA pipeline school. I don't call that hiding. Out of curiousity, why doesn't anyone mention Yu Darvish? While I don't watch baseball, I remember living America and first hearing about the Japanese pitcher with an Iranian father that was going to take pitching to the next level.

Still what makes what Hachimura did so amazing is that Basketball is the hardest sport to go pro in. Each year only 60 players are drafed. That is out of 9,099 at the Division 1 level alone. There are still lower division players and the possibility of high school players.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

And, here we go.

The usual tired tropes from the usual crowd here.

The world media heavily fixates on whether Japanese accept Hachimira, instead of focusing on the fact that many Japanese like him. You can tell the world media oh so badly wants Rui to talk about how horribly he was treated as a kid, blah blah blah. As they do with every single mixed race Japanese person, whether Osaka, Yoshikawa, or Miyamoto.

So. Utterly. Predictable.

-5 ( +7 / -12 )

@jetplane

Did he really hide from the world? He went to play for Gonzaga. 

In another article outside of Japan, Hachimura spoke about his eagerness to leave Japan because of the racism that he experienced especially when he played basketball in Japan. He wanted to be around people who did't look or treat him like "an animal".

“They have a lot of challenges in sports, not just basketball but other sports,” Hachimura said of biracial Japanese kids. “There is a lot of discrimination. It’s not crazy, but I don’t want them to feel bad for themselves. I want them to enjoy playing sports in Japan. …

The young man's own words! Japanophiles, where you at?

11 ( +14 / -3 )

"They looked at me like I was an animal''

Says it all.... poor kid(s). Good luck to you and everyone else.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

oldman_13Today 04:25 pm JST

And, here we go.

The usual tired tropes from the usual crowd here.

The world media heavily fixates on whether Japanese accept Hachimira, instead of focusing on the fact that many Japanese like him. You can tell the world media oh so badly wants Rui to talk about how horribly he was treated as a kid, blah blah blah. As they do with every single mixed race Japanese person, whether Osaka, Yoshikawa, or Miyamoto.

So. Utterly. Predictable.

I'm always grateful for this public space afforded to us by JT. Being in a public space also means that I have accepted that there will be some comments which may differ or even be acrid to my own views and belief systems. Meanwhile there are those who think themselves omniscient and take it upon themselves to brownshirt others. They won't run anyone out of town..that's clear.

One can't help but notice that even he, Hachimura himself, is still struggling to come to terms with some stuff. Some may still be bottled-up inside of him and may also help in fueling his ambition, I'd like to think.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Like I always say, the anti-Japan crowd loves topics like these.

Here is a response Rui gave in March of this year:

https://theundefeated.com/features/gonzaga-nba-prospect-rui-hachimura-wants-to-inspire-biracial-athletes-in-japan/

Notice he does not say anything about being treated like an animal. Yes, he did mention facing incidents of discrimination and taunting growing up, but at the same time, he says it wasn't crazy and was treated good in junior and high school. And in another article, Rui himself states that racism in Japan was overstated. There are MANY countries around the world where a mixed race child, particularly half black in a majority homogeneous non-black society, will face a lot of discrimination and racism. That is hardly unique to Japan. Yet, the world media wants to fixate on this to highlight their preconceived notion that Japan is the 'most racist' country in the world.

And unfortunately these athletes and celebrities feel a need to exaggerate things that fit that narrative. So if Rui becomes a very good player, expect the world media to continue to fixate heavily on "do Japanese consider Rui Japanese" and Rui to offer increasingly bitter stories of growing up half black in Japan. The narrative goes from "discrimination wasn't too crazy" to "they treated me like an animal." Same thing happened with Miss Universe contestants Priyanka Yoshikawa and Ariana Miyamoto.

So. Utterly. Predictable.

-8 ( +2 / -10 )

Yet, the world media wants to fixate on this to highlight their preconceived notion that Japan is the 'most racist' country in the world.

I don’t know if it’s regarded as the most racist, but it does have a reputation for being racist.

After 20 years here, I’d say the reputation is deserved to some degree.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

@Oldman

Like I always say, the anti-Japan crowd loves topics like these.

Here is a response Rui gave in March of this year:

https://theundefeated.com/features/gonzaga-nba-prospect-rui-hachimura-wants-to-inspire-biracial-athletes-in-japan/

Notice he does not say anything about being treated like an animal. Yes, he did mention facing incidents of discrimination and taunting growing up, but at the same time, he says it wasn't crazy and was treated good in junior and high school. And in another article, Rui himself states that racism in Japan was overstated. There are MANY countries around the world where a mixed race child, particularly half black in a majority homogeneous non-black society, will face a lot of discrimination and racism.

LOL! We all know Mr. Hachimura is looking for that Ms. Osaka Nissin type endorsements. His sports agent is a fool. Here is the young man being honest before the NBA draft.

“They looked at me like a fxxxxxg animal or something,” Hachimura told Bleacher Report. “It was part of the reason I wanted to come to the U.S. Everybody is different. I thought it would be good for me.”

RUI HACHIMURA IS HOME AT LAST

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2809276-rui-hachimura-is-home-at-last

https://nextshark.com/rui-hachimura-biracial-basketball-star/

LOL! You can't deny that young man's experience!

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Maybe we ought to stop pretending that the of offspring of a black v white is black, because they're NOT.

Just like Hachimura's case!

:)

Hachimura quote:

"The culture is different. I'm black, but I'm totally Japanese.

Nationality and ethnicity are not always the same!

2 ( +4 / -2 )

"Nationality and ethnicity are not always the same!"

What about his DNA?

It doesn't count, does it?

The offspring of an Asian v black, CANNOT be black.

The one drop rule is not universal, I hope you're aware of that.

Just go to places like Brazil. Portugal or Spaim, to see what I mean.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

@Peeping_Tom

The offspring of an Asian v black, CANNOT be black.

Hachimura is phenotypically black.

The way the magic of DNA gene work is that each gene has a pair, and the recessive gene is turned off by the dominant gene.

So Hachimura's African genes are activated except for his mitochondria only inherited from his mother, which puts Hachimura at a disadvantage compared to Africans as African mitochondria is more efficient in energy production than non-African mitochondria.

Of course this doesn't continue in 2nd gen, as his African and Japanese genes are crossed over during DNA replication for sperm production, so 2nd gens are true hybrids.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

"is raising the profile of biracial sportspeople in a homogeneous country where mixed-race children still face prejudice."

In other words, mixed race children do not face prejudice in countries that are not homogeneous?

SImply not true.

Search on mixed-race children us or mixed-race children uk and you will find that such kids do have problems in the US and the UK.

To cite one example that received some press attention, there is the case of Misty Copeland, the first mixed-race woman to make it big time as a ballet dancer in the US.

https://time.com/5401055/how-ballet-dancer-misty-copeland-shattered-barriers/

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/nov/07/misty-copeland-interview-ballet-broken-disney-nutcracker-prince-obama

Misty Copeland is a 21st century American.

Non-white beauty contest winners in 21st century America have faced virulent racism.

And, of course, there is Barack Obama, a haafu in Japanese terms, who was (and is) the object of racist attacks in the US. Although he grew up mostly in Hawaii, just about the most hetrogenous state in the US, he experienced overt racism as a child, something he has spoken about.

https://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/obama-racism-childhood-225577

It is one thing to describe Hachimura's experiences in Japan. It is something else again to imply that he could not have had similar experiences elsewhere.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Henny PennyToday 04:42 am JST

"is raising the profile of biracial sportspeople in a homogeneous country where mixed-race children still face prejudice."

In other words, mixed race children do not face prejudice in countries that are not homogeneous?

My, that's some serious deflection there. There's no way that the author's intent is to claim that mixed race children don't face predjudice in non-homogenous countries. You're simply seeing what you want to see.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

NBA star Hachimura and Tennis star Osaka both are top players in the world, not only for Japanese. All biracial children won't lead similar fame and they are not either Hachimura nor Osaka. They need an equal opportunity to lead normal life regardless of their color and other differences. What the heck Government and society oppress such children and their family implementing tactical covert operation - all those invisible abuses?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

highlighting the problems often experienced by so-called haafu -- mixed-race people in Japan -- although attitudes are changing among younger generations.

this sums it up pretty well. we need to wait for the new generations, but boy oh boy, is it slow!

and let,s not forget that everyone now loves Hachimura, including those that made him feel like an animal. i,m sure he,s well aware of that - if you,re successful and put Japan on the map, Japan loves you, whether you,re white, black or blue. if not, well... we still need to wait a little bit more.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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