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Some backstory on Wyse: She has been living in Japan for 12 years, and during this time she founded Black Creatives Japan as well as organized Black Lives Matter marches in 2020. She’s also the co-founder of the recently launched Don magazine and is just one of the many members of our community who tries to organize and give back.
Here she was on a stage in front of me, taking part in Legacy Foundation Japan’s Let’s Talk About It: Mental Health event. She recounted an incident at a preschool she taught at in Kansai. One student’s parents took a dislike to her for reasons that are still unclear to Wyse, though she was told she looks “scary.” This narrative spread among the other parents and led to Wyse’s contract being terminated.
The story on its own isn’t one that’s uncommon. I’ve heard other people say stuff like this before. But what followed was Wyse, 36, describing candidly the wariness that developed in her when it came to working with and befriending Japanese people from that point forward.
“This made me question a lot about myself and how I am being (seen),” she told the room of maybe 75 to 100 people. “I didn’t really understand it until the past couple of years. I’ve pretty much stopped working full-time at Japanese companies since 2020, but even though I’m still working part-time, I don’t interact with so many people because I can’t take it. I don’t like it. Now, I prefer to do remote work as much as possible.”
Having issues with trusting your Japanese coworkers is definitely something that can affect your mental well-being when living here — before you even think about saying it, packing up and moving home is not always the answer.
What is the answer then? Maybe frank discussions like this.
In addition to Wyse, the Let’s Talk About It event featured a panel of five other individuals and experts from the community and was moderated by Rachel Patterson and Pele Voncujovi.
One speaker was Maurice Rabb, an attorney, consultant and executive board member at TELL, a multilingual counseling service that provides support to the international community. He pointed out that Wyse’s story featured known causes and several contributing factors that can have a negative impact on the mental health of any non-Japanese person living in the country: culture shock, language barriers, work-related stress, social isolation, financial stress, discrimination and racism. In addition to dealing with these more typical stressors, there are sometimes environmental stressors (natural disasters like earthquakes and typhoons) that can take a toll on those who have never experienced them before. Finally, Rabb says an elephant in the room is the outdated state of the mental health system in Japan.
“Most practitioners in Japan go straight to medication without encouraging patients to deal with the underlying source,” Rabb said. “If someone comes from a country where they are used to getting quality non-medication mental health support, they can be shocked to discover those approaches and resources are not available in Japan.”
Panelist Jutauan Glass, a licensed mental health counselor from the United States, spoke about the unique set of challenges that people of African descent from the West face in this country.
“Americans have a different development of self-concept than Black people from other countries,” Glass said. “We have been malnourished, denied the privilege of self-love — starved, so to speak. So, we get here and as we begin to nourish that self-concept, we have to tease out different nuances and discoveries which often result in cognitive dissonance, when what you’ve learned is not what you’re experiencing in life.
“I think a lot of us struggle with that. And it gets magnified here.”
Glass also spoke about the challenges and pitfalls of assimilation. Anyone who is seeking to fit in with the culture here will be forced to ask themselves (and answer) some tough questions.
“How do I fit into this society? How do they see me, and how do I see myself?” Glass said, listing off some examples. “This is a whole new society (for us), but African Americans — we never quite even belonged to the one we came from!”
Listening to Glass reminded me of why I’d attended the event in the first place and, for that matter, why I attend any events marketed as Afrocentric. It wasn’t solely for journalistic purposes. While there’s no shortage of love in the home I’ve made for myself here, outside validation is in short supply. And living in a community immersed in a people — many of whom perpetually see me as an outsider or guest at best (and a threat at worst) — often leaves my heart and mind craving for a community that sees me as just another member without needing to know me personally.
“Passive aggression is much more prevalent in Japan. It’s a way of life,” Glass remarked at the event. “So when incidents occur, there’s a lot of discounting and dismissal of our expressions and feelings even more than in the U.S. Even by other Black people.
“Black Americans want to escape and forget that pain of being a Black American. So we lie to ourselves and say things like, ‘Oh, Japanese don’t see us as Black.’ But of course they see you as Black!… Because of the pain, we want to escape the truth. So some come here in an effort to assimilate, to try to run from us, to separate from us, from the pain of being Black. I’ve seen this in my short time here.”
That last point really got me thinking. I, too, have seen this pathology here (and back in the U.S., as well). People who — at least publicly — go way out of their way to distance themselves from anything that could be construed or even misconstrued as “self-victimization” or stereotypically “Black.” “Black” is a social construct, anyway, so why subscribe to any of it? I get it. And I see the benefits of this approach to life. Even when it’s a charade, it’s often rewarded, so I’ve always viewed it as a choice.
Glass then told the room that this is the reason why the panel was so important and why we need events like Let’s Talk About It.
“We need a space where we can validate one another’s experience — pain and, yes, anger,” she said. “Because it’s real. People need to know: It’s not just you. You are not alone.”
The people behind Let’s Talk About It tell me there are two more mental wellness events planned. The first, set for May in Tokyo, will be for women only; the second is being planned for July and will take place in the Kansai region.
When final decisions are made, I’ll do my best to promote these talk sessions. We need to be able to share without having to watch our backs or tiptoe through cultural minefields.
Wyse agrees. Speaking to me after the panel discussion had finished, she stressed the importance of sharing with each other so we know we’re not alone.
“My reactions or way of doing things get misunderstood sometimes,” she said, adding that this led to a lot of anxiety. “Anxiety always settles in my stomach, so I had a lot of stomach cramps (as a result). If you don’t have access to or can’t afford a therapist, always have one or two people who care about you and that you can confide in. Try to tell them that you just need for them to listen if you don’t want advice.”
Maybe if we just talk about it — to friends, to TELL, to the broader community — then we’ll be able to actually do something about it, too.
- End of Article -
OP NOTE: Japan Times actually have a column dedicated to talking about niggers in Japan.
Archived Article
The Let's Talk About It mental health event provides a safe space to discuss problematic topics
Last month, Ayana Wyse took the stage alongside five other Black panelists at a discussion in Tokyo’s Toranomon business district.Some backstory on Wyse: She has been living in Japan for 12 years, and during this time she founded Black Creatives Japan as well as organized Black Lives Matter marches in 2020. She’s also the co-founder of the recently launched Don magazine and is just one of the many members of our community who tries to organize and give back.
Here she was on a stage in front of me, taking part in Legacy Foundation Japan’s Let’s Talk About It: Mental Health event. She recounted an incident at a preschool she taught at in Kansai. One student’s parents took a dislike to her for reasons that are still unclear to Wyse, though she was told she looks “scary.” This narrative spread among the other parents and led to Wyse’s contract being terminated.
The story on its own isn’t one that’s uncommon. I’ve heard other people say stuff like this before. But what followed was Wyse, 36, describing candidly the wariness that developed in her when it came to working with and befriending Japanese people from that point forward.
“This made me question a lot about myself and how I am being (seen),” she told the room of maybe 75 to 100 people. “I didn’t really understand it until the past couple of years. I’ve pretty much stopped working full-time at Japanese companies since 2020, but even though I’m still working part-time, I don’t interact with so many people because I can’t take it. I don’t like it. Now, I prefer to do remote work as much as possible.”
Having issues with trusting your Japanese coworkers is definitely something that can affect your mental well-being when living here — before you even think about saying it, packing up and moving home is not always the answer.
What is the answer then? Maybe frank discussions like this.
The stressors of Japan
In addition to Wyse, the Let’s Talk About It event featured a panel of five other individuals and experts from the community and was moderated by Rachel Patterson and Pele Voncujovi.
One speaker was Maurice Rabb, an attorney, consultant and executive board member at TELL, a multilingual counseling service that provides support to the international community. He pointed out that Wyse’s story featured known causes and several contributing factors that can have a negative impact on the mental health of any non-Japanese person living in the country: culture shock, language barriers, work-related stress, social isolation, financial stress, discrimination and racism. In addition to dealing with these more typical stressors, there are sometimes environmental stressors (natural disasters like earthquakes and typhoons) that can take a toll on those who have never experienced them before. Finally, Rabb says an elephant in the room is the outdated state of the mental health system in Japan.
“Most practitioners in Japan go straight to medication without encouraging patients to deal with the underlying source,” Rabb said. “If someone comes from a country where they are used to getting quality non-medication mental health support, they can be shocked to discover those approaches and resources are not available in Japan.”
Panelist Jutauan Glass, a licensed mental health counselor from the United States, spoke about the unique set of challenges that people of African descent from the West face in this country.
“Americans have a different development of self-concept than Black people from other countries,” Glass said. “We have been malnourished, denied the privilege of self-love — starved, so to speak. So, we get here and as we begin to nourish that self-concept, we have to tease out different nuances and discoveries which often result in cognitive dissonance, when what you’ve learned is not what you’re experiencing in life.
“I think a lot of us struggle with that. And it gets magnified here.”
Glass also spoke about the challenges and pitfalls of assimilation. Anyone who is seeking to fit in with the culture here will be forced to ask themselves (and answer) some tough questions.
“How do I fit into this society? How do they see me, and how do I see myself?” Glass said, listing off some examples. “This is a whole new society (for us), but African Americans — we never quite even belonged to the one we came from!”
Taking things to heart
Listening to Glass reminded me of why I’d attended the event in the first place and, for that matter, why I attend any events marketed as Afrocentric. It wasn’t solely for journalistic purposes. While there’s no shortage of love in the home I’ve made for myself here, outside validation is in short supply. And living in a community immersed in a people — many of whom perpetually see me as an outsider or guest at best (and a threat at worst) — often leaves my heart and mind craving for a community that sees me as just another member without needing to know me personally.
“Passive aggression is much more prevalent in Japan. It’s a way of life,” Glass remarked at the event. “So when incidents occur, there’s a lot of discounting and dismissal of our expressions and feelings even more than in the U.S. Even by other Black people.
“Black Americans want to escape and forget that pain of being a Black American. So we lie to ourselves and say things like, ‘Oh, Japanese don’t see us as Black.’ But of course they see you as Black!… Because of the pain, we want to escape the truth. So some come here in an effort to assimilate, to try to run from us, to separate from us, from the pain of being Black. I’ve seen this in my short time here.”
That last point really got me thinking. I, too, have seen this pathology here (and back in the U.S., as well). People who — at least publicly — go way out of their way to distance themselves from anything that could be construed or even misconstrued as “self-victimization” or stereotypically “Black.” “Black” is a social construct, anyway, so why subscribe to any of it? I get it. And I see the benefits of this approach to life. Even when it’s a charade, it’s often rewarded, so I’ve always viewed it as a choice.
Glass then told the room that this is the reason why the panel was so important and why we need events like Let’s Talk About It.
“We need a space where we can validate one another’s experience — pain and, yes, anger,” she said. “Because it’s real. People need to know: It’s not just you. You are not alone.”
Moving forward, speaking up
The people behind Let’s Talk About It tell me there are two more mental wellness events planned. The first, set for May in Tokyo, will be for women only; the second is being planned for July and will take place in the Kansai region.
When final decisions are made, I’ll do my best to promote these talk sessions. We need to be able to share without having to watch our backs or tiptoe through cultural minefields.
Wyse agrees. Speaking to me after the panel discussion had finished, she stressed the importance of sharing with each other so we know we’re not alone.
“My reactions or way of doing things get misunderstood sometimes,” she said, adding that this led to a lot of anxiety. “Anxiety always settles in my stomach, so I had a lot of stomach cramps (as a result). If you don’t have access to or can’t afford a therapist, always have one or two people who care about you and that you can confide in. Try to tell them that you just need for them to listen if you don’t want advice.”
Maybe if we just talk about it — to friends, to TELL, to the broader community — then we’ll be able to actually do something about it, too.
- End of Article -
OP NOTE: Japan Times actually have a column dedicated to talking about niggers in Japan.
