So, this topic might be controversial, I don’t know. But here is my take.
With my Japanese fiancée expecting, the topic of how to raise our child came up, and fortunately, we are completely on the same page when it comes to the following question: Of course we will raise our child bilingually. Yes, it takes effort, it takes time and it takes commitment. But you are giving your child a gift they will benefit from their whole life. Learning English if Japanese is your only language is hard. You will probably never really shake the accent. But if you are mixed race, you’ll also never be fully seen as Japanese. Then being trapped in a country and having to go through the hard and frustrating process of learning the language of your heritage from scratch is simply unfair. You should be able to chose which nation you identity with and want to be a part of, especially if you are half Japanese and will always have a stigma because of that.
I hear from so many Japan enthusiastic western parents in mixed relationships here ”Oh but I feel so comfortable speaking Japanese, I don’t want to be forced to speak English (or whatever other language) all the time just so my kids learn it“ or “Oh, but i’ll always be in Japan because Japan is so amazing, and they’ll think that too, so why do they need another language?”
To those parents I want to say. Japan is YOUR dream. It might be your child’s nightmare when they get called hafu or are told they aren’t Japanese and don’t belong here and should go back to wherever. You made the choice to bring them into this world as mixed children in a beautiful yet often xenophobic country. So saying you don’t owe them your native language or bestowing your dream onto them by not teaching them your native language, you are absolutely selfish.
TL;DR: You should absolutely raise your children bilingually, and no you loving Japan and speaking Japanese doesn’t justify not to.
by Yonda_00