My latest Tokyo Weekender article “Why I’m Glad I Got Stuck in Japan During Covid-19” is several hours old and since it got published the response has been a ringing fire house. It’s on fire. I’m mad humbled. Thank you. At the moment my daughter is adjusting to elementary school, which is an incredible challenge. Every morning it’s like she’s getting ready to run through a gladiator course. “Dad, I’m going in. I’m going in,” she says in so many …
Category: Haruki
Photo courtesy of Tokyo Rainbow Pride Tokyo Rainbow Pride week is the largest annual LGBTQ celebration in Japan. This year, all throughout Golden Week, from April 27 through May 6, there were various parties, parades and conferences dedicated to this year’s theme, “I have pride.” When I walked through the festival, I got a snapshot of LGBTQ’s fight against systemic discrimination in Japan. They want the right to marry. They want to be protected against employers that fire or refuse …
At my daughter, Kantra’s school they have a “crazy hair day” where kids come to school wearing funny hair styles. Last school year, new to the game, we just bought Kantra a fluorescent orange wig. She looked ready for a rave. I couldn’t help noticing the dichotomy of the kids wearing afro wigs and calling it crazy while my daughter wore white girl hair under the same banner. “I think its just a joke,” my wife, Haruki, said. “I know,” …
My four-year-old daughter, Kantra, also known as Lil’ Miss Thang aka Busy B, just started school again. She finished her first year of preschool and had spring break. At home with me, I had to adjust to her newfound maturity. At school, she socialized with her classmates who at first, shunned her away, but to Kantra, rejection fueled her persistence, as if to say, “No, you don’t understand, we’re going to play.” And they did. And they do. She’s almost …
Sorry for the long pause of posts. My daughter, Kantra was out of school and I’m working on some things that always get buried under writing assignments. Last month Huffpost published my personal article, “I’m Raising A Biracial Daughter In Japan, Where She’s Surrounded By Blackface.” I know I should’ve written a reaction to its reaction(s), but I had to counter the vertigo of retweets and likes. The world’s response was head-spinning. I had a TV reporter contact me about doing …
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