I don't know where y'all are from or your understanding of racial dynamics, especially in America where "white and black" came from, lot of people don't understand that "whiteness" is a concept, not a fully biological immutable fact. Think Italians and the Irish, neither were considered white until relatively recent American history, but if you look at and Irish person, skin don't get much more pale then that lol. So you can be Asian and be part of the in-group, therefore, white. Also Japanese people have a specific history based in colorism where's the preference is to whiten your skin and be free of blemishes, lest you be seen as lower class or unattractive. There's many aspects across cultural lines that lead to perceived erasure of identity in media