Interview 3: Kelsey Uehira

Rootin' and Gaijin

Purpose of the 'foreign, yet familiar' series: “To facilitate a discussion of the multi-cultural/ ethnic identities of Japanese-Americans living in Japan. The aim of this podcast mini-series is to center a conversation around how our guests` Japanese-American experience in the West has transformed and re-translated into their current experience living in Japan. Documenting these person-specific stories creates a safe space to foster community in similar experiences, while celebrating the diversity within the Japanese American identity sphere. Each story is accompanied by their own experience of identity crisis and the resilience born in the struggle. Let us deconstruct the narrative around Japan`s racial homogeneity and encourage a healthy perception of one`s Japanese-American self-image by rooting in first-hand accounts of millennials via the Japanese diaspora.”