It& #39;s hard to believe that many people in Japan even knew Hana Kimura was mixed-race, let alone she was part Indonesian. It& #39;d be too quick to say that the hate she received is a direct manifestation of racism/colorism. A factor, indeed. But we should look more carefully.

As of now, a Twitter search of "花 インドネシア" shows nothing but "was she half Indonesian?" It& #39;s imperative that we take into account the possibility of racism playing a role in a wrong done to a racial/ethnic minority or mixed-race individual, but we should not rush.

It is racist to assume she had dark skin because she was a gyaru, because that& #39;s assuming she cannot be mixed-raced & no Japanese woman can have dark skin naturally. But based on the comments I& #39;ve seen online, I think that& #39;s what happened. She was mostly considered Japanese.

Obviously I haven& #39;t asked a single troll who directed hate toward her what their motivations ware, so I can& #39;t say there was no racist attack (all the hate comments I saw had no racial element to them). But to frame her primarily as a victim of racism won& #39;t do her justice.