Ethnic issues in Japan

Racism in Japan comprises negative attitudes and views on race or ethnicity which are related to each other, are held by various people and groups in Japan, and have been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices and actions (including violence) at various times in the history of Japan against racial or ethnic groups.

According to census statistics in 2018, 97.8% of Japan's population are Japanese, with the remainder being foreign nationals residing in Japan. The number of foreign workers has increased dramatically in recent years, due to the aging population and a shrinking labor force. A news article in 2018 suggests that approximately 1 out of 10 people among the younger population residing in Tokyo are foreign nationals. According to the CIA World Factbook, Japanese make up 98.1% of the population, Chinese 0.5%, and Korean 0.4%, with the remaining 1% representing all other ethnic groups.

Japan lacks any law which prohibits racial, ethnic, or religious discrimination. The country also has no national human rights institutions. Non-Japanese individuals in Japan often face human rights violations that Japanese citizens may not. In recent years, non-Japanese media has reported that Japanese firms frequently confiscate the passports of guest workers in Japan, particularly unskilled laborers.

In the early 20th century, driven by an ideology of Japanese nationalism under the guise of national unity, the Japanese government identified and forcefully assimilated marginalized populations, which included Ryukyuans, Ainu, and other underrepresented groups, imposing assimilation programs in language, culture and religion. Japan considers these ethnic groups as a mere "subgroup" of the Japanese people and therefore synonymous to the Yamato people, and do not recognize them as a minority group with a distinct culture.

Background

Demographics

About 2.2% of Japan's total legal resident population are foreign citizens. Of these, according to 2018 data from the Japanese government, the principal groups are as follows.

The above statistics do not include the approximately 30,000 U.S. military stationed in Japan, nor do they account for illegal immigrants. The statistics also do not take into account naturalized citizens from backgrounds including but not limited to Korean and Chinese, and citizen descendants of immigrants. The total legal resident population of 2012 is estimated at 127.6 million.

Racism and ethnic discrimination in Japan by target

Japanese ethnic minorities

The nine largest minority groups residing in Japan are: North and South Korean, Chinese (also Taiwanese), Brazilian (many Brazilians in Japan have Japanese ancestors), Filipinos, Vietnamese, the Ainu indigenous to Hokkaido and the Ryukyuans indigenous to Okinawa and other islands between Kyushu and Taiwan. The Burakumin, an outcast group at the bottom of Japan's feudal order, are sometimes included. There are also a number of smaller ethnic communities in Japan with a much shorter history.

According to the United Nations' 2008 Diène report, communities most affected by racism and xenophobia in Japan include:

* the national minorities of Ainu and people of Okinawa,
* people and descendants of people from neighbouring countries (Chinese and Koreans)
* and the new immigrants from other Asian, African, South American and Middle Eastern countries.

Koreans

Since the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876 and up to World War II, Koreans sought asylum and educational opportunities that were available in Japan. In 1910, the Japan-Korean Annexation Treaty was established and it stated that Koreans would be granted Japanese citizenship by law because Korea was annexed by Japan. During World War II, Japanese government established the National Mobilization Law, which constrained Koreans from getting jobs, which were very limited for Koreans even prior to World War II. Koreans who were not conscripted for military service were forced to work in factories and mines under inhumane conditions; an estimated 60,000 Koreans died due to harsh working conditions.

Following World War II, Koreans decided to illegally participate in the Post-World War II rebuilding of Japan because of the discrimination which they were being subjected to, both politically and economically, they were treated unfairly and paid low wages in Japan. (resident in Japan) Koreans are permanent residents of Japan registered as Joseon (, Japanese: ) or South Korean nationality. Joseon was annexed by Japan in 1910, therefore Koreans with Joseon citizenship are de facto stateless. After World War II, 2 million Koreans living in Japan were granted a temporary Joseon nationality under the US military government (because there was no government in Korea then). However, the meaning of Joseon nationality became vague as Korea was divided by the United States and the Soviet Union, and in 1948 North and South Korea each established their own government. Some obtained South Korean citizenship later, but others who opposed the division of Korea or sympathized with North Korea maintained their Joseon nationality because people are not allowed to register North Korean nationality.

Most came to Japan from Korea under Japanese rule between 1910 and 1945. A large proportion of this immigration is said to be the result of Korean landowners and workers losing their land and livelihood due to Japanese land and production confiscation initiatives and migrating to Japan for work. According to the calculation of Rudolph Rummel, a total of 5.4 million Koreans were also conscripted into forced labor and shipped throughout the Japanese Empire. He estimates that 60,000 Koreans died during forced labor in places such as Manchuria and Sakhalin.

During the occupation of Korea by Japan, the Japanese government enforced a policy of forced assimilation. Korean culture was repressed and the Korean language was labeled a Japanese dialect and banned, Koreans were forced to learn how to speak Japanese and take Japanese names. However, Koreans resisted this and by the end of the 1940s, it was almost completely undone. Ethnic Koreans in Japan were massacred as scapegoats in the chaos of the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923 (Kantō Massacre). Many Korean refugees also came to the country during the Jeju uprising in the First Republic of South Korea. Though most migrants returned to Korea, GHQ estimates in 1946 indicated that 650,000 Koreans remained in Japan.

After World War II, the Korean community in Japan was split between allegiance to South Korea (Mindan) and North Korea (Chongryon

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