: Re: Is it offensive for a mixed raced American of no Japanese descent to use a Japanese pseudonym, merely just because they like it? I’ve grown up on anime, and with unrelated Japanese family.

@Berumen699

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As a general rule, the Japanese like seeing foreigners partake in cultural elements of Japanese Culture (they welcome Cultural Appropriation) and are very polite to a western who commits a faus pax while engaging in Japanese culture norms (i.e. When in Tokyo, I frequently would not eat every grain of rice served (considered very rude) to me because my chopstick skills were not that great (but quite good for a westerner as I had an early introduction from Chinese family by marriage who owned an upscale Chines Restaurant). However, they did not treat me as if I had been rude because every time I was offered, I refused Western utensils. Westerners who attempt and fail are generally still appreciated for at least trying.

That said, the Japanese do not extend this grace to people of Asian descent regardless of background as they assume they are Japanese and should know better. Even if the person was born and raised in the U.S. It's not helped that the Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese have some deep seated animosity towards each other (WWII is popularly blamed but some of the gripes predate Imperial Japan's war crimes).

So while using a psuedoname in writing magna might not be offensive, it would make the uninformed reader assume you are Japanese and any cultural misstep might not be forgiven as if you used a western name, where the assumption is you are an American who doesn't know, but at least is trying to show some respect (Even if you're not an American, Japan assumes most people of European and African descent are Americans. Americans are the largest group of foreign nationals residing in Japan by a large margin, and the nation's population is about 80-90% ethnic Japanese.

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