Naomi Osaka’s Powerful Activism Makes Waves in Japan

Naomi Osaka’s Powerful Activism Makes Waves in Japan

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Naomi Osaka
Picture: Rena Schild / Shutterstock
Naomi Osaka's masks memorializing murdered Black Americans have made some of her sponsors uneasy - but have also sparked valuable discussions about race in Japan.

For the past couple of weeks, the internet’s been abuzz with news about professional tennis player Naomi Osaka and her recent remarks about state violence perpetuated against Black Americans.

Osaka (JPN) who is of Japanese and Haitian-American descent, made a statement on her Twitter on August 26th before she was slated to play in the semi-finals at the WTA Western & Southern Tournament. In this statement, Osaka expressed her sorrow about the shooting of Jacob Blake and how she believed it was important to use her platform to call attention to the matter at hand. She then announced that she would sit out of the match on August 27th to the shock and awe of many netizens. The tournament was then briefly suspended afterwards.

This call to action continued well into the US Open, where she wore a face mask bearing the name of a Black person who was killed by police and has yet to receive justice, one mask per match.

The seven people memorialized during Osaka’s time in the tournament were: Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, Philando Castile, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Tamir Rice.

This list is by no means exhaustive.

Her actions were received well, specifically by Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin and Marcus Arbery, father of Ahmaud Arbery. They gave Osaka their respective thanks in two separate videos:

…I just want to say thank you to Naomi Osaka, for representing Trayvon Martin on your customized mask, and also for Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Continue to do well, continue to kick butt at the US Open. Thank you.

-Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin

Naomi, I just wanna tell you “thank you” for the support of my family, and God bless you for what you doin’, for [my son]. My family really, really appreciate that, and God bless you.

-Marcus Arbery, father of Ahmaud Arbery

Osaka saw these videos during a post-match interview on September 9th. When asked how she felt, she responded as follows:

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…It means a lot. Like, they’re so strong, I’m not sure what I would be able to do if I was in their position–I don’t know. I feel like I’m a vessel at this point in order to spread awareness, and hopefully it’s not gonna dull the pain, but hopefully I can, you know, help with anything that they need.

-Naomi Osaka, two-time US Open Champion

Getting Japan to Talk About Race

One of the upsides to Naomi Osaka's actions is that mainstream Japanese media is now discussing the people she memorialized with her face masks. Click To Tweet

The discussion, naturally, has reached Japanese media as well. Osaka’s Japanese sponsors initially expressed their unease with her actions, saying they would “like her to attract more attention with her tennis skills” and that while they applaud her efforts “as a human being, whether that will help raise the value of a corporate brand is another thing.”

While the opinions above were expressed through source quotes rather than official statements, it is important to note that Osaka’s list of sponsors include All Nippon Airways and Nissin Group, the latter of which was caught up in a controversy last year for white-washing Osaka’s appearance in an animated commercial.

Nissin Group has somewhat changed their tune since Osaka’s victory last weekend. They changed the kanji at the entrance to the Osaka (大阪) sales department to Osaka’s (大坂) last name, albeit with duct tape and black permanent marker.

One of the upsides to Naomi Osaka’s actions is that mainstream Japanese media is now discussing the people she memorialized with her face masks. On social media, netizens have expressed their support as well:


彼女のスポンサーであるということは米国での評価につながるのに、日本企業は馬鹿だな。とっとと去ればいい。でも大丈夫、その代わりに米国企業がなおみちゃんを支える。彼女にとってもそのほうがいい。

Her Japanese sponsors are stupid, and they’re really dropping the ball, unlike her US sponsors. If she ends up leaving, that’s OK. An American company will support Naomi-chan, and it’ll be better for her in the long run.

-@baudog, Twitter

人種差別に反対しない企業って理解されないし、不買運動とかされて角が立つだろう、と思う。

I don’t get why companies wouldn’t take a stand against racial discrimination, and I think they’ll wake up if there’s a boycott.

-@nm19553305, Twitter

A More Serious Conversation?

This chain of events has put a spotlight on not only state violence against Black Americans, but also how Japanese media discusses race in general. I was honestly surprised to see media take this conversation seriously, especially in light of how NHK had not only ignored how these murders were the reason behind the Black Lives Matter movement and subsequent uprisings, but had also actively antagonized Black protesters in their new coverage.

Up until this point, mainstream Japanese media tended to label racism as strictly an “American illness” while being complicit in racial discrimination and anti-Blackness in their own country. But now with Naomi Osaka, one of their star athletes, opening a much-need discussion about said discrimination, it is a topic that Japanese media and society can no longer feasibly ignore.

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Thalia Harris

Thalia-Marie Harris is a North Jersey/New York native, currently residing in Tokyo, where she works as an ESL teacher and freelance writer. Her previous pieces have appeared in Metropolis Tokyo and pacificREVIEW.

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