Non-Japanese Asian Female English Teachers Speak Out: Dismantling White Privilege in Japan

Abstract

Issues surrounding white privilege have been in continuous debate. In Japan, the subject of white privilege is also not straightforward. Past research has been conducted about white privileged males in Japanese universities. We decided to take a different standpoint and examine the presence of white privilege in Japan through the alternative voices of non-Japanese Asian female university English teachers. By interviewing and analyzing their experiences and identities, we were able to examine incidences of white privilege that happened and influenced their lives as non-Japanese Asian female English teachers in Japan. We hope that our work generates interest and attention to the current gender and racial imbalance of native-speaker university English teachers in Japan—an issue that directly or indirectly relates to all students, teachers, administrators and policy makers.