Becky says 'I'm trying not to fall in love'

Thursday 08th May, 07:46 AM JST

TOKYO —

Popular celebrity Becky, 24, on Wednesday fended off questions about when she might get married by saying she is in no hurry. “I’d like to get married in my 30s. But you know, last week, I dreamed that several men proposed to me. It was very difficult to refuse them. However, I’m trying not to fall in love, because I’m really enjoying my life now.”

Becky was appearing at an event for a photo service for children, “Studio Alice.” She designed some dresses for children for the photo service. She said she always gets her fashion inspiration at night. “They start off as vague ideas which I slowly crystallize in my mind.”

Latest 15 of 61 Total Comments Show All

USNinJapan2 at 10:54 AM JST - 9th May

northlondon

USNavyinJapan, what's a 'double child'?

Half Japanese and half foreign kids are traditionally called "half" here but sometimes they're referred to as "double" when they've been successfully raised to be 'bicultural' (fluent in both parents' native languages, well versed in both cultures, etc). People use the word 'double' because some feel that the word 'half' doesn't do justice to a child who can aptly bridge two distinct cultures and in a sense be 100% of both, not 50% of either. I'm surprised that you, a foreigner with mixed kids living in Japan, isn't aware of this.

And just because a child has mixed parentage doesn't mean that they will automatically speak two languages. If you are born and brought up in Japan then you will be very Japanese.

Sure it's not automatic, but far from impossible with the right effort on the parents' part. It's only my opinion, but whenever I meet a half person who can only speak one language and is uneducated in/unaware of one of his/her heritages I can't help but feel that it's a damn shame and see it as a lost opportunity. As for your declaration that a child born and brought up in Japan will be very Japanese, I have to disagree as I'm living proof to the contrary. I was born here, raised here, and I'm just as American as I am Japanese (if you can quantify such things). As others have said, it takes a lot of effort (and considerably moneys) but it's very possible to raise a multi-lingual and multi-cultural child in Japan.
PuffinMuffin at 12:18 PM JST - 9th May

"whenever I meet a half person who can only speak one language and is uneducated in/unaware of one of his/her heritages I can't help but feel that it's a shame"

and you can say that again about other ethnic groups that aren't of Asian/AngloSaxon heritage. What do half/double persons think about her. Probably nothing much, just another half/double J-tarento who has freedom of choice like anyone else for that matter.
Patrick Smash at 01:31 PM JST - 9th May

European1, I am with you on this. These fathers, and sometimes mothers, who deliberately deny their children the biggest advantage they could bestow on them because they think they're so clever speaking their rather ordinary Japanese want shooting. I pity their kids, as the one real advantage they have is denied them. This is especially true for kids who have an English or Chinese speaking parent, but not exclusive to those groups.

I met one on a BA a flight recently. There was a fat 45 year-old Brit with a 5-year old son he only addressed in JLPT2 Japanese. He looked so smugly at me (presumably at his amazing superiority and supposed linguistic excellence) as I addressed my son in English, and then told a Japanese flight attendant that so many foreigners here are too lazy to learn the language. So I gave him a Nihongo jozu desu ne, and asked his son his name and age in English, the second of which he didn't know of course. I then asked dad, in Japanese, whether or not he was visiting the family in England. When he said he was, I told him they were all going to be delighted to have such an expert translator at their side to help along communications with little Kensuke-chan. 9 hours later Ken knew how old he was, and where he lived. He even liked icecream, and might not need a new father anymore.
cleo at 02:00 PM JST - 9th May

These fathers, and sometimes mothers, who deliberately deny their children the biggest advantage they could bestow on them because they think they're so clever speaking their rather ordinary Japanese want shooting.

I agree that children who can be raised bi- or tri-lingually, should be. But I think you're going a bit far in shooting all parents who don't manage to do it, and in assuming the only reason they don't do it is because they want to show off their 'rather ordinary Japanese'.

There lives near me a Japanese-Philipino family. When their now teenage son was a baby, I would hear the mother talking to him in Tagalog, but this was apparently frowned on by the rest of the family, who insisted she speak Japanese to him: they were afraid he would end up 'confused' and also wanted her to improve her decidedly limited Japanese. (She would speak to me in English, but evidently found it hard going). I pointed out to them several times that all bilingual kids go through a 'mish-mash' period when their languages are mixed up, but that it all comes out right in the end: and that there's something odd in a mother speaking to her own child in a foreign language, especially one she isn't confident in. Obviously they didn't believe me, and now the boy is monolingual in Japanese. The mother's Japanese has improved, though.

Ignorance, browbeating and lack of confidence are probably bigger factors than mere laziness.
GW at 02:21 PM JST - 9th May

come on folks everyone here knows that the Japanese like their pandas, thats why Becky etc are on the TV & why Jpn is begging China for another panda for the zoo in Ueno, just the way it is
Patrick Smash at 02:44 PM JST - 9th May

cleo, okay, I wouldn't actually shoot them all, but I think you know what I mean. Beki-ko's one of the lucky ones, because she has got by without knowing/needing English. Generally though, deliberately denying kids a second language is stupid, selfish and ignorant.
cleo at 03:00 PM JST - 9th May

If the parents are stupid and ignorant, the failure to pass on the language is hardly 'deliberate', is it?

Parents who are too selfish or lazy to pass on their language even though they have the wherewithal to do so, I agree should be shot. Or maybe they're already punished enough in that they're forced to speak with their children in a foreign language?
jerseyboy at 05:00 PM JST - 9th May

Lots of goods posts on both sides of this mono-lingual/bi-lingual issue. I would simply agree with the poster who said that this decision is often determined by the family's financial standing. Families that can afford to send their kids to an international school, will generally have bi-lingual kids. Those that cannot, and have their kids in public school, have a much greater challenge. I really applaud the Japanese couples who invest the money to send their kids to international schools, so they have at least a bi-lingual capability. There are several of these in my building/neighborhood, and my hat goes off to them. They are truly giving their kids lots of options for the future.
cleo at 06:23 PM JST - 9th May

Those that cannot (send their kids to international school), and have their kids in public school, have a much greater challenge.

Not really; all you have to do is talk to the child, read to him, spend time with him. In your own language. What I hope any parent would do anyway. It's no big deal.

Moderator: Back on topic please. Posts that do not refer to Becky will be removed.
eiver at 06:30 PM JST - 9th May

I’m trying not to fall in love, because I’m really enjoying my life now.”

i usually hear this from people who eventually become old maids.
Patrick Smash at 01:18 AM JST - 10th May

cleo, err yes it is actually. Unless you consider being ignorant, selfish and stupid mutually exclusive, which I don't. But the fact is that Bekiko was successful anyway, and she was one of the lucky ones. I also agree that it is easier if you can afford international school, but that's only one part. If a parent makes the effort, you can still get there, as I'm sure you did. When your daughter arrests furrinners, I'm sure she can do so in English if necessary, but Bekiko could not.
amerijap at 06:01 AM JST - 10th May

Ah, who's Bekcy? She's not a JP version of Ugly Betty, right? I know she's entertaining a bunch of kids by behaving like an affable, charming, Cinderella-like fly girl. But, she's no Amy Adams in “Enchanted” or Anne Hathaway in "Ella Enchanted".
eresay at 11:38 PM JST - 10th May

it doesnt help her cause by being incredibly undesireable
Apsara at 09:07 PM JST - 11th May

Well, Becky was just on TV visiting her English grandmother (seems to be a popular theme), and spoke to her grandmother in what appeared to be very fluent English. Her Japanese mother also appeared in a "video letter" and she also spoke excellent English with a hint of a British accent, so it's pretty hard to believe that Becky's father never spoke English to her.

I also remember hearing Becky speak English on another programme where she went to New Zealand.

I have met some young half-Japanese people raised in Japan with very poor English, but I think it's safe to say that Becky isn't one of them. And as for her looks, she's pleasant looking enough, without being beautiful- like most of us, I would say.
buddha4brains at 07:39 AM JST - 12th May

I too saw Becky on TV and it was quite obvious that if she spoke English it was edited out. Anyway, I thought she was cute and charming.

As for wanting to "shoot" gaigin parents who do not raise their kids to be bilingual -- take a pill. Aside from the apparent racism (Oh the horror of raising a kid only in Japanese) who the heck are you to cast judgments on the choices others make?

I do not know what choice's Becky's British father made, but he and his wife have raised two daughters who are pursuing their careers and dreams. Why get so worked up about that?