From Brapan With Love

No, that picture is not just to grab your attention nor to just simply have you drool all over your computer keyboard!

The very much dashing guy in the photograph is none other than Akihiro Sato, a fast-rising actor and model gaining fame all over Asia. Oh, and he happens to be Brapanese.

Yes, he is indeed one of them. He is part of one of the biggest trends in Asian modeling. I see a few heads being scratched out there, so let me explain.

The term "Brapanese" pertains to those individuals who happen to be a combination of Brazilian and Japanese (So no, it has nothing to do with a newly-birthed country or a bad medicine name). Apparently, there's a lot of them out there. The recent influx of these individuals in our television screens and magazine covers most certainly displays that fact.

I suppose you could blame the fact that Brazil actually has the highest Japanese population outside Japan. That's right. 1.4 million people of Japanese descent call Brazil sua casa . The huge square in Sao Paulo for Japanese festivals is evidence of the immigration to the South American country.

When you think about it, these two cultures couldn't be more worlds apart. First of all, well, take that in a literal sense. The two nations happen to be on the opposite sides of that world map. Secondly, there's the mood sort of given off by the countries. Japanese culture is deeply rooted in a very structured, black-and-white tradition. Brazil? Well, you are talking about the birthplace of the bossa nova (a song style characterised by not following the traditional beat) and Carnival. Then, there's the matriarchal vs. patriarchal societies. Brazil was, after all, Amazon territory. This is a far cry from Japan's "The-daughter-is-no-longer-our-family-once-she-marries" rules.

That's why it's utterly lovely how these two nations can easily harmonise like that. The fact that these two countries with their contrasting ideas can come together and form one lovely community is just remarkable. Yes, they may have their disagreements, but in the end they see that they are, in a way, one human family. It's just that they have different skin tones.

In the same way, we are called to harmonise with everyone --- including those whose beliefs and principles are quite different from ours. We should respect one another's opinions. Hey, it's the least we could do to our fellow humans.

Unity in diversity is lovely. Yes, even lovelier than Akihiro Sato's face.