Following are some of the responses The Japan Times received on the issues raised in Kristy Kosaka's Jan. 27 Zeit Gist article headlined ""Half, bi or double: one family's trouble":

Antiquated notions on race

At the heart of the half/double/mixed conflict is the antiquated notion of pure-bloodedness, which unfortunately has yet to join its meaner older brother, racism, in the ideological junkyard.

The concept of what in the vernacular of half- or double-hood would be a single, whole, pure instance of a Japanese is a thick layer of ideological wax covering 130 million genetically and psychologically distinct people. It's best to dismiss the idea out of hand that you and your partner are two instances of a nationality. You and your partner are unique individuals, as is your child, as is the person you are explaining your child's ethnic history to. I find it's best to remind people of this, to insist on your, your child's, and everyone else's ultimate individuality, rather than to try to find a place for them in an antiquated ideological framework people should be doing their best to shed.

MARK MAKINO

Fujinomiya, Shizuoka

Happy with being 'half'

Being a 35-year-old "half-Japanese" myself, I never had any problems with the term "half." Where I come from, the term never had the connotation of "half-breed" or anything like that. In fact it was something we were all proud of, since we were all a little different from everyone else.

I grew up in a navy town, so it seemed like half the kids were either half-Japanese, half-Filipino, half-Korean or whatever. That's what "half" meant — half-American and half-whatever. For example, President Barack Obama is half-Kenyan and Tiger Woods is half-Thai. You see, it wasn't the Japanese who invented the term "half" and the people who want to rid the world of the term never grew up in a community full of "half" children.

As for your children, I can sympathize with their problems since they look different and are treated slightly differently from everyone else. However, I had to go through those same problems — as did President Obama — and as a result your children should grow up much more tolerant and understanding than others.

As for your opinion on dual citizenship, I totally agree. I was born in 1973 and my mom is Japanese, so I never even had a choice like your children or my daughter will (she's called a "quarter," by the way). And I'm hoping they'll never have to choose.

RICHARD ICHIRO STEINSIEK

Kobe

Take the Hawaiian option

Instead of focusing on words that emphasize the degree of your family "mix" ("half," "quarter," "double" — sounds like a McDonald's menu), why not use the term we've always used in Hawaii, and which has seen increasing use on mainland U.S. as well: "hapa" ("of mixed blood, person of mixed blood, as hapa Hawaii, part Hawaiian")?

The word doesn't imply any particular degree (though some people in Hawaii used to relish in describing their mixed ethnicities down to the 32nd fraction), doesn't carry any sense of one or the other ethnicity dominating, is essentially ethnicity-neutral, and — after a little explanation, perhaps — is perfectly easy to communicate in Japanese.

It also carries the message to your own children that neither "half" of their makeup is better than the other, and that it is the mixture itself that makes them unique individuals and valuable in the world.

STEPHEN KNIGHT

Yokohama

'Halfs' give twice the pleasure

I really enjoy and look forward to reading the Community Page each week. Being a longtime resident of Tokyo, I find that many things relate to my life here. Having suffered many of the inconveniences of being a gaijin and being a little less than normal, it is nice to see that there is a place to read about these same things happening to others. Of course, not all of them are really bad, and over the years there are many we can actually joke about.

The article about "half" children gave me that chance to reflect. Having raised six "half" children to adulthood, I can assure you that they eat as much as whole children and cost as much to clothe and educate. In addition, they give twice the pleasure. Well, at least mine did!

Having wondered over the years just what "half" people were talking about, the mystery is now solved. I now have a little granddaughter that is being called "quarter." Therefore, though it sounds like less than half, her Japanese grandmother is actually referring to her "tainted" part.

Now, isn't that refreshing?

J. FUKUDA

Tokyo

Leaving Japan for good

A wonderfully written, gentle article on a grubby and depressing part of life in Japan.

I hope Japan can evolve towards a more gracious inclusion of non-Japanese nationals into Japanese society. But I doubt it, at least not in the next 10 to 20 years. Although people in your immediate environment might be interested, occasionally, to hear your grumblings about racial inequalities, most don't even realize that foreigners and "halfs" or "quarters" are even discriminated against. When they hear, they are sure you are wrong, then surprised, embarrassed, empathetic. But they won't do anything about it.

Perhaps the problem is that there are just too few foreigners in Japan, who are not linked to Japan by marriage, willing to accept all the government-sanctioned inequalities just to enjoy a taste of life in Japanese culture. After 13 years in Japan and the last seven fighting for equality, I came to the realization that nothing had changed, except myself becoming ever more critical and seeing racism in every shadow. I very recently left Japan for good.

Very sadly and completely counter to social evolution, Japanese government policies steadfastly remain racist at their core.

I sincerely hope things will improve for you and your kids. Perhaps gentle, thoughtful articles may find a different, more sympathetic and proactive audience.

PETER OSBORNE

Hualien, Taiwan

Labels diminish our children

I was born in the United States, of Swedish, German, Irish, English and (perhaps) Cherokee heritage. My wife and her family are from Japan. Our children are not half of anything, but they are fully human.

I am fascinated with the travails that my ancestors went through to come to where I am today. Their separate stories reveal a common drive to make the lives of their children better than their own. This is the story of the human condition — not American, or English, or Japanese. Describing someone as half-, bi- or double-something ranks them on a false scale. To measure someone on such a scale only diminishes them. Measuring someone by the amount of a particular heritage only subtracts from the inherent worth of that person.

When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called for us to measure someone by the content of their character, he was begging us to treat each other by a single standard: How human are you? By all means, celebrate your heritage(s): Enjoy the ika odori or sushi of Hokkaido, the dancing of Ireland, or the Yorkshire pudding of my English ancestors, but these heritages are something that all humans can share.

ANDREW K. JACOBSON

Oakland, Calif.

Celebrating the Loving couple

In response to Kristy Kosaka's article "Half, bi or double: one family's trouble," I would like to say that all three terms are inadequate. I've always hated the term "gaijin" for its imprecision and oversimplification, often denoting Caucasian foreigners but not others who are described more precisely as Chinese, African, etc.

I am a Japanese citizen married to a Belgian. We have two children who are Americans and their racial/cultural heritage is Belgian-Japanese. Oversimplified descriptions of individuals can often be condescending or insulting: He's black, she's white, he's half, she's bi. Having said that, I would like to inform your readers that there is an organization (founded by my son, Ken Tanabe) that celebrates interracial, intercultural, international marriages. The organization is called Loving Day ( www.lovingday.org ) honoring Mr. and Mrs. Loving, a Virginia couple who were arrested for violating a law forbidding a man of one race to marry a woman of a different race. In a 1967 landmark case, Loving v. the State of Virginia, the Supreme Court struck down the miscegenation laws that existed in several U.S. states. Loving Day, June 12, is now celebrated in several cities in the United States. Perhaps it is time that people in Japan celebrate that day. Here is a link to the most recent story about Loving Day: www.blurdigital.com/read-and-engage/detail/celebrating-how-loving-changed-the-law/

KUNIO FRANCIS TANABE

Bethesda, Md.

Japan should be leading

As an Irishman with a Japanese wife and four children living in the United Arab Emirates, I often think about where we will be living in five to 10 years' time. I love Japan and would return there tomorrow for my own reasons, but when I think of our children it's a difficult choice. Will they be accepted? How much racial abuse will they receive? Will they be strong enough to deal with it?

I want my children to learn as much as possible about their Irish and Japanese backgrounds while living in a third country. They have lived in Japan for two years and in Ireland for three years in the past (well, the eldest has). The environment here in the UAE is so international and there isn't any talk about "halfs." It's great to see children from multicultural backgrounds getting along carefree without anyone calling them names because of their parents' race or nationality.

I fear for my children going to a Japanese school. Japan has too much prejudice against anyone different. It's very difficult to be accepted. For a country with such a low birthrate and an uncertain future, the Japanese government should be leading by example and welcoming multicultural people and offering dual nationality. Why would I bring my children to a country where they will be treated different, where they will be bullied, where not everyone is welcoming to them even though they speak Japanese and are entitled to Japanese nationality?

MICHAEL GALLAGHER

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

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