The Feline Warrior

Note from The Feline Warrior: This interview by Ms. Mayu Uetsuka is first published on The Sankei Shimbun on March 25, 2021. The original author and publisher retain copyright over the original Japanese article; the following English translation is the work of The Feline Warrior.

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Last September, Mr. Tadataka Unno, a 40-year-old pianist based in the American city of New York, was suddenly assaulted near a subway station entrance. He was accused of “laying his hands” on the assailants — a group of Black youths — who then proceeded to attacking him, resulting in serious injuries including broken collarbones. During the assault, Mr. Unno was reportedly cursed at and called “Chinese” and “Asian.” I interviewed him regarding the discrimination of Asians in recent times.

Uetsuka: How did you feel as the victim?

Unno: What bothered me the most is the fact that I pleaded for help with one after another bystander, yet all ignored me until one woman finally called the police; plus the fact that the police did not pursue the case aggressively, even though I told the police that this is a case of racism. They were concerned about whether the assailants were armed with weapons, and their level of urgency decreased when I responded that the beating was done with bare hands. While the “Black Lives Matter” movement’s in popularity soared as a result of video evidence, I have no such obvious evidence, and accordingly the police seemed to be reluctant to treat my case as a hate crime. Well, I couldn’t possibly record any video while I was fearful for my life. Hate crimes have always been occurring on a regular basis, and yet the reality is that everyone just pretends as though nothing were happening.

Uetsuka: Do you believe this incident was an anti-Asian hate crime?

Unno: Well, they chased me down and continued to beat me persistently. And no money or anything valuable was taken. I felt fearful yet puzzled — why did they single me out of all these passers-by? But as I was showered with all the curses laced with words like “Chinese” and “Asian,” I realized this is probably because they had a “since he’s an Asian man, we can do whatever we want to him” mentality. The anti-Asian atmosphere is there, and I think it has exploded since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Uetsuka: Have you been recovering well?

Unno: I had surgeries last October in America, and have been in physical therapy in Japan ever since. The pain has not gone away, and I still cannot play the piano the usual way — I could last for barely 10 minutes. To this day, I still have nightmares about my head getting beaten, and I have been traumatized so much that I can’t even bear to watch crime shows on TV anymore.

Uetsuka: Protests by Asians have been spreading lately. Any thoughts?

Unno: When news reports first came out saying that I was assaulted after being mistaken for a Chinese man, there have been people in Japan who responded by blaming it on China. But I believe we must create a world where people speak up regardless of the victim, because it is unreasonable and unacceptable no matter who gets assaulted. Now protests against anti-Asian discrimination are finally happening, but I think this is just the beginning; not just Asians, but people of all races should join, unite, and call out what’s wrong anywhere you see it.