For example a Serb is only someone of Serb ethnicity. But anyone born in Serbia or who has a Serbia citizenship can be called Serbian. If there isnt a separate word, How do you tell someone you are Japanese ethnically but not a Japanese citizen? Im asking because my parents are Italian, but I was raised in America. So how do i tell someone Im ethnically/racially Italian but American.
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日系 would be “of Japanese ethnic origin” for someone living abroad.
日系のイギリス人です。I’m British with Japanese heritage.
You could also say 一(二、三)世 to show your degree of separation from Japan.
2世なので、日本語はちょっと… Because I’m second generation, my Japanese is a little…
I would tell them you’re in “イタリア人 born in America” or “an American but my parents are Italians” depending on which you want to highlight. My guess is though that if you tell people you are Italian, you will be seen as super super Italian, and if you say you’re parents are from Italy but you’re American, you’ll still be considered an American but not really Italian. Being ethnically homogeneous, Japan tends to view nationality and ethnicity as the exact same thing, so the kind of exact separation you’re looking for may be difficult to come by.