Hāfu

Hāfu (ハーフ, "half") is a Japanese language term used to refer to a person born in Japan with half-Japanese and half non-Japanese ancestry. The word can also be used to describe anyone with mixed-racial ancestry in general. As many consider Japan to be one of the most homogeneous societies on the planet, children who have one non-Japanese parent are called hāfu Japanese and often face prejudice and discrimination from Japanese citizens of full Japanese descent. Hāfu individuals are well represented in Japanese media and abroad, and according to estimates from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in the 2010s, 1 in 30 children born in Japan are born to interracial couples with one non-Japanese parent.