- Evolving attitudes to race -
Half-British singer and actress Becky is another superstar with model looks and a huge fan base in Japan, while half-French newscaster Christel Takigawa helped Tokyo win the 2020 Olympic vote as the city's ambassador for "cool".
Their rise to fame mirrors a shift in attitudes in Japan, which only opened its doors to the outside world in the middle of the 19th century and where foreigners -- those without Japanese nationality, even if they were born here -- make up less than two percent of a population of 127 million.
"Being of mixed race was once looked down upon," said sociologist Takashi Miyajima. "Now foreign entertainers are admired in Japan as something untouchable. You could even say they benefit from positive discrimination."
Rarely now do you see TV shows without at least one "haafu" (the Japanese pronunciation of "half", meaning "mixed race"), such has been the shift.
"Young Japanese women want to be like Rola," said psychologist Yoko Haruka, a regular on Japanese TV. "They buy the same clothes, bag. It's like a cartoon world, the baby-face effect.
"She has the foreign look: long legs, small face, but because she is 'half', she's not an object of envy at all. She's an idol like Madonna was, but closer and easier to relate to."
Rola's trademark puffing of the cheeks, ditzy catchphrases, infectious giggle and carefree charm have helped make Japan's most famous 'It Girl' a smash hit with legions of adoring fans.
She believes the shifting landscape has had a positive effect on Japan.
"Nationality isn't important," she said, dressed in tight blue jeans under a floral one-piece. "I used to think Japanese people weren't open and should lighten up. But Japan has become brighter.
"People copying me is cool," she added in her helium voice. "If I can do one thing to help bring a tiny improvement to Japan, that's great."
Born of a Bangladeshi father and a half-Japanese, half-Russian mother, Rola's eccentricities helped overcome the language barrier when young, once turning up at elementary school in pyjamas she mistook for her new uniform.
"Normally if you can't communicate it's frustrating but I only have fun memories of childhood," she said. "When I was small I'd play with Barbie dolls and the next day I'd jump in the river with boys catching crayfish or playing with turtles. Maybe that's why I use a lot of hand gestures. I naturally just made friends."
- Exotic looks -
In a culture that once might have passed over her darker tone, Rola's exotic looks have clearly helped -- she was scouted by a modelling agency on the streets of Tokyo when she was in high school.
Following in the footsteps of mixed-race glamour girls such as Jun Hasegawa and racing driver Jenson Button's fiancee Jessica Michibata, Rola has also taken peak-time television by storm.
Japan can take its celebrity worship to extremes, David Beckham once having a giant chocolate statue dedicated to him in Tokyo while his mohican hairstyle triggered a personal grooming craze among local women during the 2002 World Cup.
"I don't get stressed (by fame)," said Rola. "People come up to me on the street and go 'Hi, Rola!' as if I'm their friend."
When not shooting commercials for everything from cosmetics or beer to headache pills or battered octopus balls, Rola is at the gym -- or fishing.
"When the next trends hit, the 'half' (mixed race) boom will calm down a bit," sachid Haruka. "But that might take a while."
For now, Rola's girl-next-door innocence continues to bewitch.
Asked to sum herself up in one word, she closes her eyes and offers: "A salmon, maybe. They're not just tasty, they swim hard up rivers, so they're tough little critters."
Christel Takigawa, Japanese TV host and Tokyo 2020 ambassador, pictured at a Stella McCartney fashion show in Paris on March 3, 2014 (AFP Photo/Patrick Kovarik)
Japanese models Jessica Michibata (L) and her sister Angelica Michibata at Tokyo Fashion Week on March 20, 2014 (AFP Photo/Yoshikazu Tsuno)
Japanese fashion model and TV personality Rola poses for photographs during an interview with AFP in Tokyo on May 20, 2014 (AFP Photo/Toru Yamanaka)
Mixed-race 'Rola' changing the DNA of Japanese pop culture - Yahoo News
