In celebrity-obsessed Japan with its conveyor belt of 15-minute
stars, fashion icon 'Rola' is blazing a meteoric trail at the
forefront of a galaxy of mixed-race stars changing the DNA of
Japanese pop culture.
Turn on the TV and there's no escaping the bubbly 24-year-old of
Bengali, Japanese and Russian descent -- she even dominates the
commercial breaks.
A marketing gold mine, Rola smiles down celestially from giant
billboards, her wide eyes and girlie pout grace magazine covers and
she even greets you at vending machines.
But Rola, who settled in Japan when she was nine, has done it by
turning the entertainment industry on its head, her child-like
bluntness slicing through the strict convention that governs
Japanese society.
"Whenever people told me to speak politely, I never worried about
it," she told AFP in an interview. "I'm not talking down to anyone.
I'm not a comedian, it's just how I am. It's just being
open-hearted and trying to make people open theirs."
But it is not just her quirky charm that is breaking down barriers.
Japan's largely mono-ethnic society -- a culture where skin
whitening creams are still huge business -- has long been mirrored
by its entertainment industry.
Rola and host of others are beginning to change that.
- Evolving attitudes to race -
Half-British singer and actress Becky is another superstar with
model looks and a huge fan base in Japan, while half-French
newscaster Christel Takigawa helped Tokyo win the 2020
Olympic vote as the city's ambassador for "cool".
Their rise to fame mirrors a shift in attitudes in Japan, which
only opened its doors to the outside world in the middle of
the 19th century and where foreigners -- those without Japanese
nationality, even if they were born here -- make up less than two
percent of a population of 127 million.
"Being of mixed race was once looked down upon," said sociologist
Takashi Miyajima. "Now foreign entertainers are admired in Japan as
something untouchable. You could even say they benefit from
positive discrimination."
Rarely now do you see TV shows without at least one "haafu" (the
Japanese pronunciation of "half", meaning "mixed race"), such has
been the shift.
"Young Japanese women want to be like Rola," said psychologist Yoko
Haruka, a regular on Japanese TV. "They buy the same clothes, bag.
It's like a cartoon world, the baby-face effect.
"She has the foreign look: long legs, small face, but because she
is 'half', she's not an object of envy at all. She's an idol like
Madonna was, but closer and easier to relate to."
Rola's trademark puffing of the cheeks, ditzy catchphrases,
infectious giggle and carefree charm have helped make Japan's most
famous 'It Girl' a smash hit with legions of adoring fans.
She believes the shifting landscape has had a positive effect on
Japan.
"Nationality isn't important," she said, dressed in tight blue
jeans under a floral one-piece. "I used to think
Japanese people weren't open and should lighten up. But Japan has
become brighter.
"People copying me is cool," she added in her helium voice. "If I
can do one thing to help bring a tiny improvement to Japan,
that's great."
Born of a Bangladeshi father and a half-Japanese, half-Russian
mother, Rola's eccentricities helped overcome the language barrier
when young, once turning up at elementary school in pyjamas she
mistook for her new uniform.
"Normally if you can't communicate it's frustrating but I only have
fun memories of childhood," she said. "When I was small I'd play
with Barbie dolls and the next day I'd jump in the river with boys
catching crayfish or playing with turtles. Maybe that's why
I use a lot of hand gestures. I naturally just made
friends."
- Exotic looks -
In a culture that once might have passed over her darker tone,
Rola's exotic looks have clearly helped -- she was scouted by a
modelling agency on the streets of Tokyo when she was in
high school.
Following in the footsteps of mixed-race glamour girls such as
Jun Hasegawa and racing driver Jenson Button's fiancee Jessica
Michibata, Rola has also taken peak-time television by
storm.
Japan can take its celebrity worship to extremes, David Beckham
once having a giant chocolate statue dedicated to him in Tokyo
while his mohican hairstyle triggered a personal grooming craze
among local women during the 2002 World Cup.
"I don't get stressed (by fame)," said Rola. "People come up to me
on the street and go 'Hi, Rola!' as if I'm their friend."
When not shooting commercials for everything from cosmetics or beer
to headache pills or battered octopus balls, Rola is at the gym --
or fishing.
"When the next trends hit, the 'half' (mixed race) boom will calm
down a bit," sachid Haruka. "But that might take a while."
For now, Rola's girl-next-door innocence continues to
bewitch.
Asked to sum herself up in one word, she closes her eyes and
offers: "A salmon, maybe. They're not just tasty, they swim hard up
rivers, so they're tough little critters."
