"Is he black?" That was the very first question my Japanese father-in-law to be asked my wife when she asked his permission to get married to an American sailor. His sign of relief was very apparent, even over the phone, when my wife told him that I was not black.

Another time, I was talking to a black co-worker of mine who had just managed to wreck his fifth brand new or nearly brand new car in the eighteen months he had been in Japan.

I asked him how he could afford replacing all these cars. He told me, "Simple, I just date Japanese girls!" He then told me how he would go to Roppongi (the center of nightlife in Tokyo) and find himself a nice looking young woman, and try to date her.

Within a couple of weeks of dating her, he would start to insist on meeting her family, especially her father. In nearly every case, it would take a while before she would consent to let him meet the family, but sooner or later, it would happen.

Without fail, as soon as he met the father, the father would pull him aside and the bidding would start. "What bidding?" Why, it was the bidding for how much money it would take for this sailor to stop dating the Japanese man's daughter. In nearly every case, the co-worker of mine would walk out with either cash in hand or a brand new car, depending on what he needed at the time.

Would this have happened with a white man? In my experience, no, it would not have. This so-called privilege' was reserved only for those with black or dark brown skin.

A study was published while I was living in the Tokyo area that actually ranked the racial preferences of the Japanese, and talked about the extent to which the Japanese would go to keep away' from those who had dark colored skin.

The ranking of the different races was as follows:

1. Other Japanese

2. Caucasian

3. Non-Japanese East Asians (Chinese, Korean, etc)

4. Other Asians (Indians, Malay, Pilipino, etc)

5. Brown people (Mostly dark Hispanic)

6. Blacks

Was this racism? Obviously it was. However, what was the basis for this? I discovered one of the reasons for this shortly after my wife and I married.

I had gotten my discharge from the US Navy, and I headed back to Japan to go to work at a major international bank in Tokyo. My wife and I had finally tied the knot, and we were just moving in to our first house in Yokohama.

My wife, being half-Japanese was following the tradition of newcomers, and she was passing from neighbor to neighbor giving out small knick-knack

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about Racism in Asia?
We want to hear your view. Write now!