Being 'hafu' on/offline: discursive constructions of mixedroots Japanese identities in Facebook group interactions and offline personal narratives

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This research examines how 'hafu' identities areconstructed through offline and online communication.'Hafu' (based on the English word 'half') is a label used torefer to individuals with a Japanese parent and a parent ofanother nationality/ethnicity. The term is consideredproblematic as it conflates ethnic, cultural and linguisticheritage, and positions mixed-Japanese people as inferiorto the 'pure' Japanese. Despite this, many mixed-Japaneserefer to themselves as 'hafu', as can be seen in Facebookgroups 'Hafu aru' and 'Hafu Japanese'. Many such groupshave emerged over the past decade, creatingunprecedented opportunities for contact between 'hafus'across the globe, and bringing together mixed-Japanesepeople of diverse backgrounds through a shared 'hafu'identity. With over 6,000 members and frequent dailyinteractions involving multilingual practices, both Facebookgroups appear to be dynamic and meaningful sites ofidentity and community construction. This study considershow 'hafu' identities are constructed in language andinteraction, and explores the interrelations between onlineand offline communication by examining how the identitiesconstructed online are reflected in the Facebook users'offline narratives. Finally, the analysis will focus onwhether ideologies related to ethnicity, culture andlanguage might be manifested in and promoted viacommunication in digital environments.