Week 8_Raymond Trinh_ASA 114

Raymond Trinh

ASA 114

Prof. Valverde 

In When Minorities Migrate: The Racialization of the Japanese Brazilians in Brazil and Japan, Takeyuki Tsuda explores how the racialization of Japanese Brazilians changes with respect to different social and cultural contexts. Tsuda focuses on the Japanese experiences in Brazil and through their “ethnic return migration” to Japan. Tsuda states that in Brazil, Japanese Brazilians have achieved significant socio-economic success, many attaining high education levels and middle class standards of living. “Yet they continue to be racialized as a Japanese ethnic minority because of their distinctive Asian appearance”. He emphasizes that the experience of Japanese Brazilians are distinct from those of Japanese Americans because unlike the United States, Brazil does not have many Asian minorities. Tsuda notes, many choose to immediately introduce themselves as Japanese Brazilians as a kind of apology for lacking in Japanese linguistic or cultural proficiency. 

What are some examples of positive racialization?