Th e Id e n t it y De v e lo p m e n t o f Th ir dCu lt u r e Kid s Liv in g in Ja p a nSenior High School at Sakado, University of Tsukuba
W201901-1

Th e Is s u e s TCK a r e Fa cin gIdentity Crisis

Lea rning the la ngua ge

Getting into high school

La ck of informa tion

Getting used to Ja pa nese school system

Re s e a r ch Q u e s t io n

What are the experiences and the things
Third Culture Kids go through in theprocess of forming their identity?

Me t h o d o lo g y
Q u e s t io n n a ir e
30 students from highschool and university answered
19 que stions re ga rding the ir upbringing, a nd the iride ntity.

Dis cu s s io n
6 stude nts from highschool a nd unive rsity ga the re d to ta lk
a bout the ir e xpe rie nce living a s a third culture kid in Ja pa n
a nd its e ffe ct on the ir ide ntity de ve lopme nt.

３. Identity

Questionnaire
２. Culture

１. Background・language spoken at home・the best things J apanese people
did/ said to you, that you liked

・friends’ nationality

・how would you like J apanese totreat foreign kids

・what your culture means to you
Country of birth
Background・how would you answer the question“what’ s your nationality?”・describe your culture in 3words

・language spoken outside home・what influence do you have on
J apanese as a foreign kid
・things that foreign kids should
keep in mind as they live inJ apan
・where do people think
you are fromDiscussion【Time and Place】
Time：２４th, August１０：００～１２：００
Place：UTSS 1A classroom【参加者】
・High-school student whose parents are from China and Japan
・University student whose parent are both Ghanaian
・University student whose parent are both Ghanaian
・University student whose parents are from Nigeria and Ghana
・University student whose parents are from Uganda and Japan※All the participants were born in Japan

How would you answer the question, “who would you consider yourself as？”AnswerHalf JapaneseForeigner

３７

Biracial

１４０Japanese

４２

２１ people

Neither parent is Japanese
９ peopleWhat is the reason for your answer？
Foreigner

BiracialJapaneseNationality

BloodThinking

２Up bringing

Proud of it

Up bringing

３

BloodNeither foreign nor Japanese

Nationality１

Things Japanese kids said/did to you that you didn’t like

“You should be able to run fast because you are black.”
StereotypicalComments→ They get offended if they can’t say that about themselves

Things Japanese kids said/did to you that you didn’t likeWhy can’t you speak Japanese like us since you were born and raised in Japan ?
Why can’t you get full marks on English tests even though you are a foreigner?

Language
Knowledge→It’s difficult for them to have full knowledge of one language
because they were raised in a multi-cultural environment.

Co n clu s io n
Third Culture Kids face identity problems such asidentity crisis, a nd they often ha ve a ha rd time a djusting
to a new culture. By going through this process,the y a re a ble to ha ve a strong sense of themselves.

【Recommendations】
In order for us to live together in harmony, we must learn to accept
differences and be open minded. We also need to be more understanding
towards people with different backgrounds and culture so that they canfeel welcome into the new place.

【References】
語言由来辞典「アイデンティティー」 https://gogen-yurai.jp/identity/（１０月２０日）
コトバンク「アイデンティティークライシスとは」 https://kotobank.jp/word/ （１０月２０日）
出入国在留管理庁「令和３年末現在における外国人数について」
https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/press/13_00001.html （１０月２０日）
厚生労働省「日本における外国人の人口動態2013」https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/jinkou/kakutei13/index.html（１０月２０）
厚生労働省「日本における外国人の人口動態2018」https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/jinkou/kakutei18/dl/12_betu.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjoIKCvuz6AhXNad4KHUkYCGQQFnoECBEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2b5zq
07nV5AZpiE35j_F0c（１０月２０日）
厚生労働省「日本における外国人の人口動態」
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/jinkou/kakutei21/dl/12_betu.pdf（１０月２０日）
CCS世界の子どもと手をつなぐ学生の会「外国にルーツを持つ子が抱える問題」https://ccsngo.main.jp/issue/（１０月２０日）
Abemaネクストルネサンス「アイデンティティーを構成する７要素」 https://ameblo.jp/japan-mission/entry12040816774.html （１０月２０日）

Thank you!