Born and raised in Tokyo, 29-year-old Joshua Thomson offers a fresh perspective on Japan in his bilingual videos on Instagram and YouTube. Through comedy and dialogue, Thomson is expanding notions of what it means to be Japanese.
1. How is 2025 treating you so far? It’s been interesting, if slow. Last year I returned to Tokyo from the U.K. and worked so much that I was exhausted by December, so this year was a slow start.
2. At this point, how tired are you of explaining your background? I used to be more tired of it. However, after living in the U.K. and traveling around Europe, I finally see it from a new perspective. I used to see myself as a person from Japan through and through, but now I'm more willing to explain who I am and what my background is. I still have days where I simply don’t want to do it though.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.