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This question is a bit challenging for me.

I mean, [Weblio](https://ejje.weblio.jp/sentence/content/what+does+it+mean)
gives me a hint that I should probably translate the part “what does it mean?
to どういう意味ですか。

The sticking point for me is translating “to be Japanese”. The phrase in this
context implies that it is referring to Japanese people born and raised in
Japan, and are “part of the club”, as it were.
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2018-05-04T23:32:11.420
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translation
What's a good way to translate “What does it mean to be Japanese?”
Unless you are talking about the meaning of a word or phrase, it would
_**not**_ be very natural to use 「どういう意味{いみ}ですか」.

Natural ways to say what you want to say this time would include:

> 「日本人{にほんじん}であることの意味{いみ}とは何{なん}なのでしょうか。」
>
> 「日本人であるとは,（一体{いったい}）何{なに}を意味するのでしょか。」
>
> 「日本人であるということには、（はたして）どんな意味があるのでしょうか。」
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2018-05-05T01:06:22.320
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2018-05-05T02:42:17.947
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I guess you meant to ask "what makes a person Japanese" or "how a Japanese
person is defined". Actually it is easier to translate these versions into
Japanese, which I believe as a Japanese speaker are more English.

The former phrase is usually translated into a literary-style idiom:

> 日本人を日本人たらしめるものは何ですか

FYI たらしめる is decomposed into たる (auxiliary verb "to be", たら in irrealis form)
followed by しめる (causative auxiliary verb, しめる in attributive form).

The latter is put simply like:

> 日本人の定義は何ですか
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