Can my friend consider themselves Hispanic?

[ItsJustSchool]

From Dictionary.com:

heritage
[her-i-tij]
Spell Syllables
Synonyms Examples Word Origin
noun
1.
something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth; an inherited lot or portion:
a heritage of poverty and suffering; a national heritage of honor, pride, and courage.
2.
something reserved for one:
the heritage of the righteous.
3.
Law.
something that has been or may be inherited by legal descent or succession.
any property, especially land, that devolves by right of inheritance.

A heritage is not something you can choose. Heritage is more of a factual situation than a conscious choice. Understanding where your father was born and grew up for the first 17 years of his life, even as the son of an expat family, is part of understanding that heritage. The cultural forces that formed your Husband, and that are now a part of him by virtue of living in Japan, are part of that Heritage.

I am glad you do find it important enough to go back for a visit, but that is my value judgment.

I think in the apartments of Buenos Aires, Santiago, Lima, Montevideo are many displaced-feeling families that identify as “Europeans”.

This question of identity can be complex, and I would delve into it with my close friends and family after knowing the bounding rules. I would not tell someone NOT to research their roots on a public forum.