Model Jun Hasegawa
PHOTO BY LDH

Jun Hasegawa capitalizes on 'haafu' look

By Chris Betros

TOKYO —

It’s a cold winter’s day, but Jun Hasegawa greets us, wearing shorts and tank top. It’s been a busy day of fashion shooting, but Hasegawa, 22, is all smiles and happy to chat about life as a model and actress in Japan. “Modeling is fun but much harder work than people think,” she says. “Even when it is snowing, we’ll be in our tank tops and skimpy skirts, pretending we are having so much fun. Then in summer, we’ll be outside wearing knitted caps, scarves, jackets and boots.”

Born in New Hampshire to a Japanese mother and American father, Hasegawa moved to Hawaii at the age of two and grew up there until she was scouted at 14. She has two sisters, April and July (all three daughters are named after months). “My mother met this Japanese man who was starting a production company in Japan. I auditioned and they liked me. So at 15, I came to Japan. For the first year, I was going to auditions for many magazines but I never got a job. I took dancing lessons and attended Yokohama International School. A year later, I went to an audition for a magazine called ViVi. That’s when all the doors started to open.”

Hasegawa still appears regularly in ViVi as well as many other magazines. She does ad campaigns for Shiseido and sports brand FILA, among others. With her exotic looks, Hasegawa has become sought after. Industry observers say the “half” or “haafu” look of models like Hasegawa is now more in demand. “I think nowadays, young girls want something different. Certainly, ViVi is doing better saleswise because it is a more trendy magazine,” says Hasegawa, who says she doesn’t mind the term “haafu.”

Fashion shows like the Tokyo and Kobe Girls Collection are big events for Hasegawa because it gives her a chance to see her fans who flock to the popular 6-hour shows. She recently took part in the collections in Shanghai, too. “Those long shows are hard work, a bit like model boot camp,” she says with a laugh. “When you see all the girls who buy the magazines you’re in, it makes it all worthwhile. It’s a very cool experience.”

Hasegawa’s latest project is her film acting debut in “Honokaa Boy,” which was filmed in Hawaii. It’s a simple story about a young man named Leo who visits Honokaa and falls in love with the place. He moves there and works as a projectionist at an old theater. “My role is the local girl who Leo falls for. I’m sort of playing myself, I suppose. Sorry to tell you, there are no lovemaking or kissing scenes,” Hasegawa jokes. “Making a movie was a huge learning experience and a good start in the industry for me. I definitely want to do more movies.”

Looking very sleek, Hasegawa says the secret to keeping in shape is to know your limits. “I like to have just as much fun as the next girl, but usually work starts from 6 in the morning. Some girls can party all night, sleep for two hours and still look fresh. I need my beauty sleep. I used to go to the gym and tried yoga, but now I take belly dancing classes. That’s a fun way to keep fit.”

And what sort of man turns her on? “I’m obsessed with Elvis,” she says. “Actually, I like men who make me laugh. My happiest moments are when I am with a guy who can make me laugh so hard. That is a big turn-on.”

Hasegawa knows that there is more to life than modeling and says that in future, she would like to become involved in projects to help less fortunate people in Africa, for example. “I really admire what Angelina Jolie does,” she says.

› Login to comment

Latest 15 of 91 Total Comments Show All

hannari at 11:23 AM JST - 23rd March

If her dad is not Japanese why is she Hasegawa? This is won thing I really can't appreciate in these kids. My sons have my name. Taking mums name is low - they're doing it for the money.

unscrejects: You presume a lot. I wont go into the various possible ways her father could have the name Hasegawa while not being ethnically Japanese. But one thing I do know, with the existing laws of Japan (at least when I was born), if my Japanese mother married a Canadian and wanted to give her children both nationalities, she would have had to register her children under her name in Japan, as foreign nationals are not counted in Koseki records (not 100% on the details there). So her children would have lived under their father's name overseas, but if they wished to come to Japan and live under a Japanese nationality, they would officially go by their Japanese mother's maden last name. Much more to it than your 'its for the money' accusation.

When I have kids with my Japanese partner in future, I will certainly be educating them that they are not "haafuu" and no-one can call them that!

I think that's an extreme stance that in itself could cause your children a lot of pain. Particularly if they wouldn't have minded the term otherwise.

Also, I think some ppl forget that this is a Japanized word. Many words borrowed from one language and used in another are used with meanings that are quite different from the original. I would never ask someone in Canada "are you half?" simply because they would have no idea what I was talking about. They might guess at what I was trying to say, and they might guess negatively (half-wit? half-height? half-person?). That is understandable. But this is in Japan, where the word is widely used to refer to a certain person with a certain background, and is widely understood as such. The Japanese find it convenient to use and fits their cultral situation. There is no need to use/not use it because of the connotations that it has in another language. Ofcourse, I am NOT saying there is no racism at all in Japan. That is another thing altogether and has nothing to do with whatever name-calling that bullies choose.

whyamiinjapan: great post with first-hand info!
WilliB at 01:18 PM JST - 23rd March

hannari: Amen.
cleo at 08:49 AM JST - 24th March

Is it people coming from countries that have a history of racial tension (I'm thinking America and Australia, there may be others) that are touchy about people asking about/commenting on ethnicity? Sometimes you just have to leave cultural baggage at the immigration desk. Japanese will ask you about your parentage and cultural background in the same way that they will ask your age, weight and shoe size. If you don't want to answer, then simply say so. It's no big deal. Make a big deal out of it, get all huffy, and you will simply reinforce the stereotype of the hen na gaijin.
TheHamburgler at 02:11 PM JST - 24th March

New Hampshire.... where?

Japan today is a Japanese website so if locations are outside of Japan, I think is appropriate that you mention the COUNTRY.

NH is a state in the US, in the New England area. It's also my home state. Granite State Pride!
Blue_Tiger at 06:52 PM JST - 24th March

What abou the other 99.9% of "haafs" in Japan who get bullied and taunted incessantly?
WilliB at 11:13 PM JST - 24th March

Blue Tiger:

Where do you get the "99.9%" from? They certainly don´t match with my experience.
Blue_Tiger at 11:48 PM JST - 24th March

WilliB - they do mine. I've taught at the college level for more than ten years, and half-Japanese/Half-Something-Else students to a man basically told the same story: bullying and name-calling by their classmates in school.
WilliB at 11:57 PM JST - 24th March

Blue Tiger:

Well, they don´t match mine. My haafu kids are not bullied, and of all the haafus I have met, only told me he was bullied, and that was in one school, and not "incessantly".

So, where do you go from there? Are your 99.9% better than my 99.9%? And even assuming your figure is closer to the reality out there (maybe I have been blessed), how you would change that by loudly demanding that "haafu" should be replaced by "dabbulu" or whatever you deem politically correct?
Hikozaemon at 12:18 AM JST - 25th March

I don't know that the US is over 'race' or not. Look at any primetime network tv variety show - american idol, dance idol, survivor, comedy shows, etc. Always a couple of whites, a couple of blacks, token asian, token hispanic, and increasingly one or two token gays. No one ever says this out loud, but I can imagine some haafus in America, far from being celebrated for their beauty, would be penalized in the mainstream media for failing to clearly enough fall into the unspoken racial quota categories that they so clearly apply.

Haafu are popular as in the media here, they are celebrated, as they often are elsewhere. I think people need to get off their high horses and realize the hypocrisy in their own countries before slagging off on Japan. And power to Jun - good on her.

Peace
SiouxGirl at 07:51 AM JST - 25th March

Cleo's right, race can be a conversation starter if a person isn't too touchy. Sometimes you want to find out what you have in common just to get things rolling. I'm expecting when I come to Japan some people will say, "Are you Japanese?" I look like the mix between an Asian and a Caucasian. It just gets the ball rolling. "No, I'm a Native American." But I need to watch out with that b/c some ppl think everyone born in the U.S. is a Native American, which is actually correct when you think about it. We'll probably talk about ancestors and then move on to other mundane stuff - where are you from? Family with you? Baseball fan? Love crab puffs? Stay away from Roppongi. It's definitely a conversation starter. I also get, "Are you Mexican?" I'm not even sensitive to it anymore.
fightfan2008 at 02:25 PM JST - 25th March

I never really thought the 'haafu' had any negative connotations so I cant really see why people would take such offense to it. Personally, I think that some people like to overplay the victim role and that they look too hard to find racism in these kinds of things. But, then again I'm not ethnically mixed so who am I to say anything.
fightfan2008 at 02:56 PM JST - 25th March

Also, I agree with hannari. Some 'Japanized' words should be taken for what they are, and that rather than take offense to these words people should try to understand the 'Japanized' meaning a little better.

Another thing, wanting to know what nationality/ethnicity you are is not limited to Japanese. From what I've seen most asians in general will also ask what your nationality is, especially if you are asian or look like you are part asian.
dokachin at 10:23 PM JST - 25th March

"Haafu" is not derogatory in Japan but I had blonde hair and am "half" and had a lot of negative comments growing up in a city (not Tokyo). It was mainly from mothers of other kids though and a teacher who said I would need to die my hair dark to fit in. The bullying wasn't violent as it was in the UK. After a certain age being 'half' becomes a positive thing because we're blessed with beautiful features of both races..usually! But I am not impressed with Jun..brought up in New Hampshire and Hawaii and went to an International school in Japan. Sounds like she could have done more with herself and she wants to 'help kids in Africa'..oh please
cwhite at 02:43 AM JST - 26th March

just an example that she wants to do good, nothing wrong with that and she's still young...
USB at 05:55 PM JST - 1st April

Ah_so She stunning, almost up there with Maria Ozawa.

or Meisa Hanai, Anna Ohura, and especially Tina Yuzuki