0:00:18.524,0:00:23.175
Based on the way I look,[br]where do you think I'm from?

0:00:24.777,0:00:26.949
India?

0:00:27.467,0:00:29.919
Mexico?

0:00:29.919,0:00:32.453
How about Italy?

0:00:32.453,0:00:35.370
What about Kyrgyzstan?

0:00:35.370,0:00:39.133
These are some of the places[br]people think I'm from.

0:00:39.133,0:00:44.798
What I actually am is half Japanese[br]and half Irish American.

0:00:44.798,0:00:48.656
There is a term commonly used[br]to identify people like myself,

0:00:48.656,0:00:52.007
and that is "hafu".

0:00:52.007,0:00:54.316
In my day-to-day experience in Japan,

0:00:54.316,0:00:58.001
people are often surprised[br]to learn that I am hafu.

0:00:58.001,0:01:00.719
Strangers will come up to me and say,

0:01:00.719,0:01:02.555
"Okuni wa doko desuka?" --

0:01:02.555,0:01:04.992
What country are you from?

0:01:04.992,0:01:08.515
When they learn[br]my last name is Nishikura,

0:01:08.523,0:01:12.535
the next question usually is:[br]"Nihonjin to kekkon sarete masuka?" --

0:01:12.535,0:01:15.570
Are you married to a Japanese?

0:01:15.570,0:01:19.541
I often reply with:[br]No, my father is Japanese. --

0:01:19.541,0:01:22.039
"Jitsuwa otousan ga Nihonjin desu."

0:01:22.039,0:01:27.541
But what I really want to say is:[br]It's because I'm Japanese.

0:01:29.515,0:01:32.468
I'm very fortunate, in that[br]I come from a loving family

0:01:32.468,0:01:34.756
that had the means[br]to give me the opportunity

0:01:34.756,0:01:37.694
to spend my summers[br]in the United States.

0:01:37.694,0:01:41.777
So, I grew up[br]between two different worlds.

0:01:41.777,0:01:46.497
In Japan, I remember going[br]to the local matsuris, the festivals,

0:01:46.497,0:01:50.196
and trying my darnedest[br]to scoop up that goldfish

0:01:50.196,0:01:54.493
with that paper scoop[br]but always failing.

0:01:54.493,0:01:58.101
And, in America, I remember going to[br]the local shopping mall

0:01:58.120,0:02:02.935
and being in awe of how the stores[br]just stretched out for miles.

0:02:02.935,0:02:06.496
For a young girl, it was paradise.

0:02:07.638,0:02:12.218
But wherever I went, once I was beyond[br]the comfort of my home or family,

0:02:12.964,0:02:16.272
I always felt like I didn't quite fit in.

0:02:16.272,0:02:21.191
I wanted to belong, which I think[br]is a natural human desire.

0:02:22.498,0:02:27.214
In Japan, I wish my teachers[br]at my Japanese elementary school

0:02:27.214,0:02:31.143
wouldn't single me out[br]for being able to speak English.

0:02:32.223,0:02:35.257
And, in America,[br]I wish I had blonde pigtails

0:02:35.257,0:02:39.413
like the girls in[br]my grandmother's neighborhood.

0:02:40.453,0:02:43.961
While I was lucky[br]to have never been picked on in school,

0:02:43.961,0:02:48.011
I know that there are[br]those of us who have.

0:02:48.011,0:02:51.282
Simply, whether innocent[br]or malicious intent,

0:02:51.282,0:02:55.928
simply by the way somebody[br]says something to us or looks at us,

0:02:55.928,0:02:59.961
we are acutely reminded that[br]we are not like those around us,

0:02:59.961,0:03:02.769
that we don't belong.

0:03:02.769,0:03:07.201
And, sometimes, that desire[br]to belong is so great

0:03:07.201,0:03:11.690
that we are willing to hide or change[br]that part of us that is different.

0:03:11.699,0:03:14.685
But it's not as simple[br]as buying a new wardrobe

0:03:14.685,0:03:17.205
to fit in with the cool kids.

0:03:17.205,0:03:21.185
Denying who we are,[br]even one part of us,

0:03:21.185,0:03:27.017
creates the suffocating feeling,[br]like we're not good enough.

0:03:27.971,0:03:32.121
Even today, I catch[br]a glimpse of myself in the mirror

0:03:32.121,0:03:34.705
of a restaurant where I'm eating[br]with my relatives,

0:03:34.705,0:03:38.569
and I go, "Wow, I look so different.

0:03:38.569,0:03:40.895
How is it that I am related?

0:03:40.895,0:03:43.828
Do I even belong here?"

0:03:43.828,0:03:46.250
But then a moment later, I am moved.

0:03:46.250,0:03:48.978
Moved by the fact,[br]that despite their differences,

0:03:48.978,0:03:50.981
both cultural and racial,

0:03:50.981,0:03:53.514
my parents found love.

0:03:53.514,0:03:56.015
And those differences[br]were once so great

0:03:56.015,0:04:01.075
that my grandparents[br]were on opposite sides of a war.

0:04:01.075,0:04:04.705
Knowing the value of respecting[br]and loving both cultures,

0:04:04.705,0:04:09.981
my parents raised me to believe[br]that I was both Japanese and American.

0:04:09.981,0:04:12.639
However, in Japan in particular,

0:04:12.639,0:04:16.541
society has trouble[br]reflecting that back to me.

0:04:16.541,0:04:19.863
People don't even often recognize me[br]as being half Japanese;

0:04:19.863,0:04:22.586
they just see me as a foreigner.

0:04:22.586,0:04:25.443
Now, some might say[br]this is understandable

0:04:25.443,0:04:29.009
with only 2% of the population[br]in Japan being not Japanese,

0:04:29.009,0:04:32.731
and there being[br]few ethic minorities here.

0:04:32.731,0:04:37.448
But as somebody who has grown up here,[br]and is Japanese by birth,

0:04:37.448,0:04:42.484
why is it so hard to be recognized as one?

0:04:42.484,0:04:45.291
So, what does it mean to be Japanese?

0:04:45.291,0:04:48.191
It seems like there's[br]this unspoken definition.

0:04:48.191,0:04:51.045
One must look Japanese,[br]speak Japanese,

0:04:51.045,0:04:53.930
and abide by all its customs[br]and traditions.

0:04:53.930,0:04:58.120
And, if someone can't check off each box,[br]a hundred percent,

0:04:58.120,0:05:02.627
then he or she is not Japanese.

0:05:02.627,0:05:06.385
But people like me are becoming[br]more and more common every day.

0:05:06.385,0:05:10.964
Today, 1 in 18 marriages[br]is an international union,

0:05:10.964,0:05:16.848
and, as a result, 1 in 49 babies[br]are born between such couples.

0:05:16.848,0:05:20.683
That is over 20,000 hafus a year.

0:05:20.683,0:05:24.547
With such changing demographics,[br]I think the current understanding

0:05:24.547,0:05:27.290
of what it means to be Japanese[br]needs to change.

0:05:27.570,0:05:29.590
[A new definition of Japanese]

0:05:29.590,0:05:33.830
The definition of Japanese[br]needs to expand to include hafus.

0:05:34.195,0:05:38.698
"Konna kao demo Nihonjin[br]de arieru shakai ni nattehoshii." --

0:05:38.698,0:05:44.082
Maybe you can look like me[br]and sound like me, and still be Japanese.

0:05:45.671,0:05:49.476
As a film maker, exploring these questions[br]came naturally to me

0:05:49.476,0:05:51.468
through the lens of a camera.

0:05:51.468,0:05:54.300
So, it began in film school,[br]where I made short movies

0:05:54.300,0:05:58.044
about my personal identity and my family,

0:05:58.044,0:06:01.479
to upon graduating,[br]where I started producing videos

0:06:01.479,0:06:04.685
for organizations[br]that fight racial prejudice

0:06:04.685,0:06:08.038
and foster multi-cultural understanding.

0:06:08.038,0:06:11.917
All of which leads to this moment now,

0:06:11.917,0:06:15.035
where, through the hafu project,

0:06:15.035,0:06:18.223
I met three young hafu women like myself,

0:06:18.223,0:06:22.747
and together we came[br]to make a feature length film.

0:06:22.747,0:06:27.897
Through five stories filmed over a year,[br]we asked these very questions:

0:06:27.897,0:06:32.833
What does it mean to be hafu[br]and what does it mean to be Japanese?

0:06:39.186,0:06:41.881
(Video) Woman: He was started[br]to be called names:

0:06:41.881,0:06:44.728
"You are not Japanese,[br]you are Eigo-jin."

0:06:44.728,0:06:47.450
Boy: I was bullied every day.

0:06:48.029,0:06:52.467
[What does it mean to be[br]mixed-race in Japan?]

0:06:54.194,0:06:57.023
Man: I stuck out wherever I was[br]and people treated me differently.

0:06:57.023,0:06:58.827
I thought,[br]just treat me normally!

0:06:58.836,0:07:02.726
Talk to me just as[br]you would to anyone else!

0:07:04.387,0:07:07.767
Woman: I really believed I was Japanese.

0:07:07.887,0:07:10.627
So suddenly I felt like[br]I didn't belong anywhere.

0:07:11.475,0:07:13.723
When you're younger,[br]you don't want to be different,

0:07:13.723,0:07:15.865
you want to be like everybody else.

0:07:18.550,0:07:21.607
Man: I feel disconnected from Japan.

0:07:22.176,0:07:27.288
[Each year over 20,000[br]half-Japanese babies are born]

0:07:27.731,0:07:29.632
Woman: I feel like Japan is changing.

0:07:29.632,0:07:33.625
Everyday, you see these little,[br]half-Japanese children running around.

0:07:34.820,0:07:38.857
Man: I discovered that there were many[br]people that had similar backgrounds.

0:07:38.998,0:07:43.154
Woman: He realized that he didn't[br]have to try to become someone

0:07:43.154,0:07:45.946
that everybody else expects him to be.

0:07:48.541,0:07:51.017
Man: There's prejudice[br]and racism wherever you go.

0:07:51.042,0:07:54.849
I want to connect with[br]people who can see me for me.

0:07:54.849,0:07:56.950
Woman: Instead of disliking[br]what's different

0:07:57.007,0:07:59.925
if we embrace and learn from it

0:07:59.982,0:08:03.578
then Japan will have[br]such a bright future.

0:08:09.471,0:08:12.197
[SOPHIA[br]Australia x Japan]

0:08:14.884,0:08:17.869
[EDWARD[br]Venezuela x Japan]

0:08:19.217,0:08:21.838
[FUSAE[br]Korea x Japan]

0:08:23.780,0:08:26.755
[OI FAMILY[br]Mexico x Japan]

0:08:28.103,0:08:30.848
[DAVID[br]Ghana x Japan]

0:08:33.947,0:08:39.955
[Japan is Changing]

0:08:42.409,0:08:45.258
[HAFU]

0:08:45.963,0:08:49.120
[Meet the new generation[br]of mixed Japanese]

0:08:49.130,0:08:52.089
(Applause)

0:08:53.175,0:08:57.925
MN: Since we began filming,[br]the response has been tremendous.

0:08:57.925,0:09:02.326
Hafus and their families write to us[br]from all corners of the globe

0:09:02.326,0:09:05.292
offering their support and encouragement.

0:09:05.292,0:09:09.866
To me, this is a testament that the parts[br]of us that feels unrecognized

0:09:09.866,0:09:12.848
wants our stories to be heard.

0:09:12.848,0:09:17.652
The film was completed in April[br]and is now screening worldwide.

0:09:18.594,0:09:22.059
None of us hafus chose[br]to be born this way.

0:09:22.059,0:09:24.739
However, having come from two parents

0:09:24.739,0:09:27.711
of different cultures[br]or different phenotypes,

0:09:27.711,0:09:29.578
by our mere presence,

0:09:29.578,0:09:33.262
we've been given an opportunity[br]to start this conversation

0:09:33.262,0:09:37.514
about the labels that[br]society places on all of us.

0:09:37.514,0:09:40.484
I believe these labels of separation

0:09:40.484,0:09:45.854
are what leads to exclusion,[br]discrimination, conflict, and even war.

0:09:47.631,0:09:52.511
Ultimately, I think it's not just about[br]being recognized as part of Japan,

0:09:52.511,0:09:54.131
I think what we're really seeking

0:09:54.131,0:09:57.577
is to be seen authentically[br]in our entirety,

0:09:57.577,0:10:02.382
for the parts of us that is Japanese[br]and the parts of us that is not.

0:10:02.680,0:10:07.705
What I have come to understand is that[br]it is up to each and every one of us

0:10:07.705,0:10:11.087
to decide for ourselves[br]who we are

0:10:11.087,0:10:16.897
and not to be confined by the boundaries[br]that seek to define us or exclude us.

0:10:17.424,0:10:22.582
And, in that act of knowing[br]who we are and accepting it,

0:10:22.582,0:10:28.276
we allow others to know it is okay[br]for us to be that way as well.

0:10:28.633,0:10:32.285
My name is Nishikura Megumi.

0:10:32.285,0:10:39.517
With this name and this face,[br]I am Japanese, American, and hafu.

0:10:39.517,0:10:41.125
Thank you.

0:10:41.125,0:10:43.938
(Applause)