Japanese Prank/Game Show brings in the New year with the Blackface

well loved Japanese comedy show Gaki no Tsukai/"No Laughing" New years special that has been airing for 13 years decided to spicing things up with a little black humor.
For No Laugh game 2017, the theme was "No Laughing" American Police", and all 4 Japanese Comedian contestants were in American Sheriff attire except for Hamada, who dressed up as Eddie Murphy's Beverly Hills character, Axel Foley.

Is Japan the only country that doesn’t know that Black Face is UNACCEPTABLE and RACIST #racismpic.twitter.com/zoSXded3N0

— MattyO (@labluejp) December 31, 2017

A free lance writer for The Japan Times, Baye Mcneil author of "Loco in Yokohama" and "Hi! My Name is Loco and I am a Racist" is no foreigner to this type of behavior in Japanese media. Back in 2015 he launched a campaign to not air a jpop group, Momorio Clover Z and Rats&Star, segment on tv due to the insensitivity of them performing in blackface on Fuji TV, which was successful, yet here we are again.


Baye McNei, who also lives in Japan and was bringing in the New Years watching Gaki no Tsukai, was quick to call out this issue.

Note to japanese performing in #BlackFace: #Blackness is not a punchline nor a prop. Need jokes? Get better writers. Need a black character, get a black actor that speaks Japanese. There are several! But please #StopBlackfaceJapan#日本でブラックフエイス止めて not a good look! pic.twitter.com/lN0E3bWsgY

— Baye McNeil (@Locohama) December 31, 2017

Once again, this issue of black face is met with controversy as some users from Japan/Non-Japanese/Weebs have told Baye McNeil that this is just Hamada showing his love and imitation of Eddie Murphy.

Have you actually paid any attention to how much detail Hama-chan(the comedian) cares about? The clothes, shoes, he really wanted to be Eddy Murphy. We can see his love and respect for Eddy Murphy’s epic comedy. BUT YOU DON’T. You see minstrel show, slaves and hate. pic.twitter.com/FfU89HJEEA

— SweetHomeはそばかす大好き💌 (@photonka) January 2, 2018

and that racism is only an American problem as well as its problems with black face.

But just the same, there have been people calling out this type of behavior both Japanese, and non Japanese alike.

Cannot express how I feel shame and awful....#StopBlackFaceJapan
This comedian should be boycotted.
There is nothinyg funny/laugh, there is ugly racism here.

ダウンタウン,コレが2017年の日本。人種差別でなくてなんだと言うのか。ダウンタウンはボイコットでいいよ。見たくない。 https://t.co/OJEyroSrPf

— nanatea (@nanatea) December 31, 2017

Baye McNeil says he too is conflicted since he knows that their is a naive sense of why these things are done but just the same as he has said in an interview for the Huffington Post Japan, that painting one's skin black for jokes is not funny and that this act affects others. He also worries that if this problem isn't fully addressed now, then these antics may carry into the Tokyo 2020 olympics which would make the world view Japan as a very ignorant country.




Sources: 1 2345


I would've never guessed Hamada was dressed up as Eddie Murphy. Looking like Martin when he got beat up...