Racism in Japan


Racism in Japan comprises negative attitudes and views on race or ethnicity which are held by various people and groups in Japan, and have been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices and action 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 and in the name of national unity, the Japanese government identified and forcefully assimilated marginalized populations, which included indigenous 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 does not recognize them as a minority group with a distinct culture.

Background

Demographics

About 2.4% of Japan's total legal resident population are foreign citizens. Of these, according to 2022 data from the Japanese government, the principal groups are as follows.
NationalityNumberPercentage
of foreign
citizens
761,56324.8%
489,31215.9%
North Korea

By target

Japanese ethnic minorities

The nine largest minority groups residing in Japan are: North and South Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Brazilian, Filipinos, Vietnamese, the Ainu indigenous to Hokkaido, 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
  • 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, the Japanese government established the National Mobilization Law.
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. Koreans are permanent residents of Japan registered as Joseon or South Korean nationality. Joseon was annexed by Japan in 1910, therefore Koreans with Joseon citizenship are de facto stateless. After World War II, two million Koreans living in Japan were granted a temporary Joseon nationality under the US military government. 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 Japanese rule of Korea, the Japanese government implemented a policy of cultural assimilation. Korean culture was suppressed, artistic and literary works that opposed Japanese rule were subjected to censorship and prohibition, and the Korean language was regarded as a regional ethnic language 2=民族語 and suppressed, while the Japanese language was designated as the national language, with Koreans being required to learn it. After a relatively lenient period, the Korean language course in public schools was downgraded to a non-compulsory subject in 1938 and cancelled in 1941, though the Korean language and Hangeul were still used until the last days of Japanese rule. Koreans were forced to take Japanese names from 1940. However, Koreans resisted this policy, and by the end of the 1940s, it was almost completely undone. Thousands of ethnic Koreans in Japan were massacred as false rumors spread that Koreans were rioting, looting, or poisoning wells in the aftermath of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake in the 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 approximately 650,000 Koreans remained in Japan.
After World War II, the Korean community in Japan was split between allegiance to South Korea and North Korea. The last major wave of Korean migration to Japan started after South Korea was devastated by the Korean War in the 1950s. Most notably, the large number of refugees were from Jejuans escaping from the massacres on Jeju Island by the authoritarian South Korean government.
who identify themselves with Chongryon are also an important money source for North Korea. One estimate suggests that the total annual transfers from Japan to North Korea may exceed US$200 million. Japanese law does not allow dual citizenship for adults over 22 and until the 1980s required adoption of a Japanese name for citizenship. Partially for this reason, many did not obtain Japanese citizenship as they saw the process as humiliating.
Although more are becoming Japanese citizens, issues of identity remain complicated. Even those who do not choose to become Japanese citizens often use Japanese names to avoid discrimination, and live their lives as if they were Japanese. This is in contrast with the Chinese living in Japan, who generally use their Chinese names and openly form Chinatown communities. An increase in tensions between Japan and North Korea in the late 1990s led to a surge of attacks against Chongryon, the pro-North residents' organisation, including a pattern of assaults against Korean schoolgirls in Japan. The Japanese authorities have recently started to crack down on Chongryon with investigations and arrests. These moves are often criticized by Chongryon as acts of political suppression.
When Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara referred to Chinese and Koreans as sangokujin 2=三国人 in 2000 in the context of foreigners being a potential source of unrest in the aftermath of an earthquake, the foreign community complained. Historically, the word has often been used pejoratively and Ishihara's statement brought images of the massacre of Koreans by civilians and police alike after the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake to mind. Therefore, the use of the term in context of potential rioting by foreigners is considered by many as provocative, if not explicitly racist.
In 2014, a United States government human rights report expressed concern about the abuse and harassment directed against Korean nationals by Japanese right-wing groups such as uyoku dantai. In 2022, it was reported that anti-Korean racism in Japan has been on the rise, with homes burned, including one in Utoro district in Uji, and death threats made towards ethnic Korean communities.

Mainland Chinese

Mainland Chinese are the largest legal minority in Japan. An investigator from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights said, racism against Koreans and Chinese is deeply rooted in Japan because of history and culture.

Taiwanese

There are a number of Taiwanese people that reside in Japan due to Taiwan's history as being a colony of Japan from 1895 to 1945. Renhō ), the former leader of the Democratic Party, is known to be the most famous mixed Taiwanese-Japanese politician.
In 2000, the then governor of Tokyo Shintaro Ishihara insulted the Taiwanese, referring to them as Sangokujin:

Ainu

The Ainu are an indigenous group mainly living in Hokkaidō, with some also living in modern-day Russia. At present, the official Japanese government estimate of the population is 25,000, though this number has been disputed with unofficial estimates of upwards of 200,000.
For much of Japanese history, the Ainu were the main inhabitants of Hokkaido. However, as a result of Japanese migration into the island after 1869, the Ainu were largely displaced and assimilated. Due to Meiji era policies, the Ainu were evicted from their traditional homelands and their cultural practices were outlawed. Official recognition of the Ainu as an indigenous group occurred over a century later on June 6, 2008, as a result of a resolution passed by the government of Japan, which recognized both their cultural differences and their past struggles.
Research shows that Ainu on average have lower levels of educational attainment, a lower quality of life, and are in worse socioeconomic conditions than Yamato Japanese. Professor of Japanese Culture Michele Mason highlights how these conditions are a result of the assimilation policies of the past and the colonial process that the Ainu were subjected to. One result of the assimilation policies has been the dying off of the Ainu language, with UNESCO recognising it as critically endangered. Surveys conducted among Ainu people in 2017 found that 30% had experienced direct discrimination for being Ainu, with more having witnessed anti-Ainu discrimination and having anxiety about potential discrimination.