As a "blonde-haired, blue-eyed" American woman living in the rural farmlands of Tokushima Prefecture with a Japanese husband and their twin children, one with hearing disabilities, author and novelist Suzanne Kamata has gained a unique perspective on life in Japan.
And she is not afraid of expressing her uneasiness with Japan's social norms.
Kamata, a 43-year-old Michigan native who has lived in Japan for 21 years, first came to the country on the JET program — the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, which places native English speakers as assistant teachers in Japanese schools. She said she decided to come to Japan after mulling the option over another foreign assignment — the U.S. Peace Corps.