I thought it would be cool to meet / see videos of a Japanese native speaker whose parents are both foreigners (particularly non-asian) and specially know his/her story about how was growing up in Japan.

Thane Camus is the only person I know who fully fits the description.

He's white and moved to Japan at the age of 9 and speaks Japanese and English natively. If I remember correctly he actually dropped out of college in the US because of culture shock and not being able to adjust to the US. He used to have a popular TV show and now owns his own talent management business.

And yea, he is the grandson of the philosopher.

If you want to listen to him speak Japanese it's here -

Or perfectly switch from Japanese to English -

kitakitsune Wrote:If I remember correctly

Do you remember where you read it?

I can't remember where I read it to save my life but I distinctly remember him saying that he went to college in New York and dropped out after a year to return to Japan because he was having a hard time adjusting to American society.

Japanese wikipedia says he dropped out because he was homesick and had went through a major breakup.

And he actually moved to Japan when he was 6 and not 9.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%BB%E...F%E3%83%A5

Amélie Nothomb????
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am%C3%A9lie_Nothomb

Look up Ken Tanaka on youtube.

Adent Wrote:Look up Ken Tanaka on youtube.

Just an actor.

Brian Burton Lewis, presenter on Japan music TV, is a white American born and raised in Japan (his parents were Christian missionaries)

Wikipedia:
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ブライアン・バートンルイス

Speaking Japanese:

Here's a clip of him switching between Japanese and English while interviewing British TV stars Adam and Joe:

@aphasiac
That's it.

Mike Havenaar is a member of the japanese national soccer team. He's got 2 dutch parents but was raised in japan and speaks 'native' japanese although it sounds a little funny I have to admit...I do wonder if people ever have a hard time understanding him. he also speaks dutch and some english.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Havenaar

interview in japanese:

interview in dutch, english:

aphasiac Wrote:Brian Burton Lewis, presenter on Japan music TV, is a white American born and raised in Japan (his parents were Christian missionaries)

interesting that his parents were missionaries. he also did a podcast interview with an av star named yokoyama miyuki that had some quite raunchy jokes.

http://itunes.apple.com/hk/podcast/chott...d315325343
(#s 26 and 27 - 「もしもしもしもしも」feat.ブライアンバートンルイス)

Steven Segal's Japanese is near native. He came to Japan at some point in his youth. I've heard he even has the Osaka dialect mastered better than his Aikido.

Check

Fishy. He sounds far from even somewhat native and I think he is reading, I think I can see his eyes moving, but maybe I am wrong. It would suck if he's a fake because I grew up loving his movies.

delta Wrote:Check

Fishy. He sounds far from even somewhat native and I think he is reading, I think I can see his eyes moving, but maybe I am wrong. It would suck if he's a fake because I grew up loving his movies.

When he uses English, he also sounds like he's reading. He's just not a great actor. I heard about his Japanese ability from a Japanese friend who has trained under him in aikido for 20 something years.

delta Wrote:Check

Fishy. He sounds far from even somewhat native and I think he is reading, I think I can see his eyes moving, but maybe I am wrong. It would suck if he's a fake because I grew up loving his movies.

The fakest thing in that clip is his hair..

Crystal Kay. She's a singer. Her father is black and her mother is Korean, but she was born in Japan and speaks Japanese and English. She doesn't look Japanese at all

delta Wrote:Check

Fishy. He sounds far from even somewhat native and I think he is reading, I think I can see his eyes moving, but maybe I am wrong. It would suck if he's a fake because I grew up loving his movies.

His Japanese isn't fake.

@kitakitsune
So it seems.

Is Steven Segal the most hateable person on TV or is it just me?

I suppose a Japanese-American doesn't count, then.

But, according to my friend that attended an international school, there are plenty of people that fit the OPs description in the インター community. You'll probably find some footage of them if you google some of the school names like American school in Japan (ASIJ) or Saint Mary's.

[edit]
I think I found what you wanted, OP.