In a new self-titled Netflix docuseries, Naomi Osaka shared she was targeted with racist backlash from critics for deciding to represent Japan in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The 23-year old world-renowned tennis superstar said some critics told her that her “Black card” was revoked.
The two-time grand slam champion was born in n Chūō-ku, Japan in 1997 to a Japanese mother and Haitian father. The family moved to the US when she was three.
Osaka has since competed for Japan for years. In 2019, Osaka changed her citizenship from American to Japanese.
“I’ve been playing under the Japan flag since I was 14. It was never even a secret that I’m going to play for Japan for the Olympics,” she said.
Despite her long history of representing Japan, Osaka continues to receive criticism with some going as far as questioning her Blackness.
“So I don’t choose America, and suddenly people are like, ‘Your Black card is revoked,’” Osaka said. “And it’s like, African-American isn’t the only Black, you know? I don’t know, I feel like people don’t know the difference between nationality and race because there’s a lot of Black people in Brazil, but they’re Brazilian.”
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Osaka has often reflected on her experiences being Black and Japanese in Japan. According to The Guardian, Osaka believes problems of race in Japan are down to ignorance rather than hate.
“The issues of America don’t really translate that well in Japan, so sometimes they do blackface and things like that, and it’s a bit ignorant. … It’s not really a hate thing,” she said.
Her mother, Tamaki Osaka says both Naomi and her sister Mari were “brought up in a household of Japanese and Haitian culture” and therefore have always identified with both cultures.
Osaka will compete under her home flag, Japan, for this summer’s Olympic games. We can’t wait to see her dominate despite the racist comments.
