ABSTRACT
Japanese elites have used blackness to negotiate their place in the world. This chapter examines the strategy via 100 articles from the Japan Times, the country’s leading English-language newspaper. Two narratives arise in this coverage. One the one hand, African Americans are portrayed as remaining marginalized in their country of birth. In contrast, Japan is epitomized as a modern nation, hospitable and embracing to non-Japanese cultures, as it is in turn accepted by the international community. This assessment relies on a narrow range of stereotypes related to Black culture, while ignoring other typecasts of reporting such as crime, sports and contemporary music.
