~“Nikkei” in Palau~ Interview Series: Vol. 30 Ms. Hina Brel

Ms. Hina Brel, 17 years old, is a “Nikkei”, second-generation Japanese-Palauan. Her mother, Mrs. Minae Brel is from Chiba Prefecture in Japan and her father Mr. Charles Brel, is from Ngaraard and Koror State in Palau. Ms. Hina has an older brother and a younger sister. Her parents met while working at the Palau Pacific Resort, they later married, and had three children, one of whom is Ms. Hina Brel, our youngest interviewee for the Nikkei Series. After graduating from Maris stella Elementary school, she enrolled at Palau High School and is now a senior student who majors in Agriculture.

At home, her mother speaks to her in Japanese, while her father communicates with her in Palauan and English. Ms. Hina explains that this environment helped her maintain the ability to speak and understand Palauan, English and Japanese, though she finds writing in Japanese more challenging. She also attended Japanese language school every Saturday when she was younger, which further helped her improve her language skills. Ms. Hina’s mother usually cooks Japanese food for them at home and she doesn’t have a favorite dish because they’re all her favorite. When it comes to Palauan food, her favorites are fried fish and “demok”, a traditional taro leaf soup that originated in her home state of Ngaraard. She spends her free time with her family on boat trips to the rock islands or fishing.

Ms. Hina shared that her family used to visit Japan frequently when her maternal grandmother was still alive. However, after her grandmother passed away, their visits became less frequent. The last time she visited Japan was in the 6th grade. Although she hasn’t been to Japan in recent years, she fondly recalls the times she spent there. They would go sightseeing a lot and some memorable places were Tokyo Sky tree and Disneyland. She also enjoyed going around the stores because there were so many and they always had a variety of products. She doesn’t listen to a lot of Japanese music but she does watch anime and her favorite is “Attack on Titan.”

When asked if the people in Japan ever mistook her for being non-Japanese, she laughed and said, “Yes, people would be pleasantly surprised when I responded in Japanese.” Ms. Hina also noted a similarity between Japan and Palau, in both places, people tend to be a bit reserved at first, but once you get to know them, they open up more.

Ms. Hina is also a professional athlete. She began her journey just two years ago at the 2023 Micronesian Games in Majuro, Marshall Islands, where she competed at just 15 years old. She competed in Samoa and American Samoa as well. Two years later, she is a double gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, having won in both the under-17 61-kilogram and under-20 62-kilogram freestyle events during the 2025 Pacific Mini Games held in Palau. We asked her how she managed to win gold medals after just two years of wrestling. She said, “I make it a point to show up to practice every time, no matter what.” At first, she saw wrestling as just a hobby, but it quickly became an important part of her life. She also enjoys traveling to other countries and meeting fellow athletes. Now, she hopes to continue her training off-island to further develop her skills and open the door to new opportunities in her wrestling career.

We asked Ms. Hina what she thought about the connection between Palau and Japan and she says that she has seen the many projects that were funded by the Government of Japan and hopes that the two countries will continue to help each other for many years to come.