Asuka On Rise of Asian Hate Crimes, Her Own Experience With Racism

Asuka weighed in on the rise in hate crimes against Asians in North America and recounted her own experience with racism in a new interview. The WWE star spoke with ET Canada and you can see some highlights below:

On the rise in hate crimes against Asian people in North America: “I hate it! I hate it! I don’t understand. It’s a waste of time to be hateful. Why people attack other people? We are people, right? I don’t understand. I hate it.”

On her own experience with racism: “I have only one experience with racism. It was around the time when COVID-19 started spreading. In America, I was at the airport. A woman came towards me. When she noticed me, she covered her mouth with her hand and ran away from me. I was shocked. It never happened before COVD-19. Oh my gosh. I didn’t understand. I was shocked.”

On what non-Asians can do to support Asian communities right now: “I think it’s important for non-Asians to understand and share the wonderful culture of Asians. I love Japanese culture such as anime and manga, cards and video games. I also love Japanese food such as sushi, sashimi, sukiyaki, takoyaki. I love beautiful nature. Some American people tell me they love Japanese anime such as ‘Dragon Ball’, ‘Naruto’. I’m proud of being Japanese.”

On what advice she’s give Asian girls who wanted to become stars in WWE: “I want to say to Asian girls, don’t give up on your dream. So when I was sixteen, I wanted to be a WWE superstar. One day I asked my mom if I could be a WWE superstar? And she said ‘No, you have to go to college.’ ‘Okay.’ Then I also told my high school teacher ‘I want to be a WWE superstar.’ He laughed and said ‘Don’t be silly.’ ‘Okay.’ I was shocked, and I had no choice. I gave up on my dream once. Then I went to college and graduated to college. But when I started training, I couldn’t give up on my dream. So then my friends gave me confidence, ‘You can do it, you can do it!’ So then I called a wrestling company in Tokyo, and I left my hometown of Osaka, Japan. And now I’m WWE superstar! Don’t give up on your dreams.”