I'm half Japanese from Hong Kong so I grew up pretty heavily discriminated for my heritage anyways yet I'm always proud of both sides.
Imagine having to play a Chinese dude in Elizabethan England, or a Roman guy during the Three Kingdoms period if they ever become Assassin Creed settings. Sure, these people existed but they would serve better as side characters rather than the protagonist because they can't possibly blend themselves with the local culture.
The problem with having a black character in a game set in feudal Japan is not because of politics, wokeness or whatnot. It's the absurdity of it which I don't blame Ubisoft for doing because well...they're Ubisoft. Sure people bring up Yasuke but if anyone who's actually paid attention to his history would know that all he ever did was draw attention wherever he went. I cannot imagine a black person running around 1500s Japan not attracting the attentions of local lords, or common folk not getting scared by the appearance of a big black dude that they did not know existed. How is one supposed to ingrain themselves in the culture when that said culture rejects the naturalization of foreigners to this day?
Now, usually I'm not one to care about representation because you do you. But when some game is going to tell a story with aspects of local culture, why should you use a foreigner to do so?
Assassin's Creed set in the Levant has a Levantine protag.
Assassin's Creed II set in Italy has an Italian protag. Brotherhood similarly and Revelation, although in Constantinople, is seen as a roundoff to Ezio's story.
Assassin's Creed III set in Revolutionary America has an Indigenous American protag but could've been British, French, Prussian whoever colonized the Americas.
Assassin's Creed IV set in the Golden Age of Piracy has an English protag but he could've been French, Spanish, Portuguese, African that's why we also have Adewale for Freedom Cry.
Assassin's Creed Rogue set in Seven Years War in America has an Irish protag but could've been Inidigenous American, French, English etc.
Assassin's Creed Unity set in France has a French protag.
Assassin's Creed Syndicate set in Britain has British twin protags.
Assassin's Creed Origins set in Ancient Egypt has an Egyptian protag, not the modern equivalent, but could've been Roman as well.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey set in Ancient Greece has a Greek protag.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla set in the Viking Age has a Norse protag but because it's set in England, there could've been an Anglo-Saxon protag as well.
I understand that Naoe will be in the game as well but it might be the first time where I'm not buying an Assassin's Creed since Altair because of how Ubisoft would choose to have a black protagonist rather than a Japanese. All those years we've waited for the franchise to be brought to Asia discounting Jade and Chronicles, we feel slapped in the face by this decision.
Call me racist or whatever but this is just what I believe in and many of my friends in Japan feel the same. However, I'll just have to accept that this is how it's going to be. Hopefully Assassin's Creed Hexe won't have a Chinese witch as a main character.
