'Haffu' stars like Rola are changing the DNA of J-pop culture

Rola, Becky, Christel Takigawa, Jessica Michibata – mixed-race stars or haffu are changing the DNA of Japanese pop culture.

In celebrity-obsessed Japan with its conveyor belt of 15-minute stars, fashion icon Rola is blazing a meteoric trail at the forefront of a galaxy of mixed-race stars changing the DNA of Japanese pop culture. Turn on the TV and there’s no escaping the bubbly 24-year-old of Bengali, Japanese and Russian descent – she even dominates the commercial breaks.