A gaikokujin tarento also known as gaijin tarento (外人タレント) and abbreviated gaitare, is a foreign celebrity active exclusively or almost exclusively in Japan. The phrase literally means "foreign talent" (see gaijin and tarento). Having a good command of Japanese, combined with European or other foreign looks, they are often chosen because they meet the Japanese stereotypes of foreigners (Americans generally look rugged and have blond hair and blue eyes, or, alternatively, are of African ancestry). Gaikokujin tarento are seen as a curiosity by the Japanese, just as other tarento, and are cast differently depending on their ethnic persuasion.

Notable gaikokujin tarento

• Jero
• Thane Camus
• Dante Carver
• Agnes Chan
• Kent Derricott
• Leah Dizon
• Julie Dreyfus
• Robert Dunham
• Marty Friedman
• Kent Gilbert
• Patrick Harlan
• Ernesto Hoost
• Vivian Hsu
• Chuck Johnson
• Matt Kadioglu
• Daniel Kahl
• Carolyn Kawasaki
• Kane Kosugi
• Jasmine Marika (Jasmine Ann Allen)
• Mark Musashi
• Bobby Ologun
• Girolamo Panzetta
• Zomahoun Idossou Rufin
• Ousmane Sankhon
• Bob Sapp
• Yoon Son-ha
• Janica Southwick
• Dave Spector
• Wouter Thielen
• Stan Hansen
• Monster Ripper (Rhonda Singh)
• Chuck Wilson
• Yinling
• Younha
• Rosanna Zanbon

See also

• Da Shan - individual representing a similar phenomenon in China
• Kevin Rudd - a politician representing a similar phenomenon among Chinese people and Chinese Australians

References

• Miller, Laura. "Crossing ethnolinguistic boundaries: A preliminary look at the gaijin tarento in Japan." In Asian Popular Culture, edited by John Lent, Westview Press, New York, pp. 162-173, 1995.