Japanese ethnic minorities The nine largest minority groups residing in Japan are: North and South
Korean,
Chinese, Taiwanese,
Brazilian (many Brazilians in Japan have
Japanese ancestors),
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 (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, 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. (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, two 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 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 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 in war-time propaganda until the last days of Japanese rule. 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 (
Mindan) and
North Korea (
Chongryon). 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 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, and death threats made towards ethnic Korean communities.
Mainland Chinese Mainland Chinese are the largest legal minority in Japan (according to the 2018 statistics as shown above). An investigator from the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) 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 (born
Hsieh Lien-fang ()), 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: :I referred to the "many who entered Japan illegally." I thought some people would not know that word so I paraphrased it and used
gaikokujin, or foreigners. But it was a newspaper holiday so the news agencies consciously picked up the part, causing the problem. :... After World War II, when Japan lost,
the Chinese of Taiwanese origin and people from the Korean Peninsula persecuted, robbed, and sometimes beat up Japanese. It's at that time the word was used, so it was not derogatory. Rather we were afraid of them. :... There's no need for an apology. I was surprised that there was a big reaction to my speech. In order not to cause any misunderstanding, I decided I will no longer use that word. It is regrettable that the word was interpreted in the way it was."
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.
Ryukyuan The
Ryukyuan people lived in an independent
kingdom until it became a vassal of Japan's
Satsuma Domain in 1609. The kingdom, however, retained a degree of autonomy until 1872 when the islands were officially annexed by Japan and restructured as
Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. They are now Japan's largest minority group, with 1.3 million living in Okinawa and 300,000 living in other areas of Japan. The
Okinawan language, the most widely spoken
Ryukyuan language, is related to Japanese, the two being in the
Japonic languages. Ryukyuan languages were heavily suppressed through a policy of forced assimilation throughout the former
Ryukyu Kingdom after it was annexed in 1872. With only the standard Japanese taught in schools and students punished for speaking or writing their native language through the use of
dialect cards, the younger generations of Ryukyuans began to give up their "backwards" culture for that of Japan. The Japanese government officially labels the Ryukyuan languages as dialects (Hōgen) of Japanese, although they are not mutually intelligible with one another, or even between each other. In 1940, there was a political debate amongst Japanese leaders about whether or not to continue the oppression of the Ryukyuan languages, although the argument for assimilation prevailed. During the
Battle of Okinawa, the Japanese military commander sought to suppress spying by banning the speaking of
Okinawan, which is often unintelligible to nonresidents. As a result, around one thousand civilians were killed by soldiers. There are still some children learning Ryukyuan languages natively, but this is rare, especially on mainland Okinawa. The language still is used in traditional cultural activities, such as folk music, or folk dance. After the annexation of the islands, many Ryukyuans, especially Okinawans, migrated to the mainland to find jobs or better living conditions. They were sometimes met with discrimination, such as workplaces with signs that read, "No Ryukyuans or Koreans." At the
1903 Osaka Exhibition, an exhibit called the "Pavilion of the World" (Jinruikan) had actual Okinawans, Ainu, Koreans, and other "backwards" peoples on display in their native clothes and housing. During the fierce fighting in the Battle of Okinawa, some Japanese soldiers committed multiple atrocities against Okinawan civilians, including rape and murder, using them as human shields, and persuading or forcing them to commit suicide. Culturally,
Okinawa showed great influences from southern China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, reflecting its long history of trade with these regions. However, because of the standard use of Japanese in schools, television, and all print media in Okinawa, these cultural differences are often glossed over in Japanese society. Consequently, many Japanese consider Okinawans to be
Yamato Japanese, sometimes ignoring their distinct cultural and historical heritage in insensitive ways. South
Sakhalin, which was once part of Japan as
Karafuto Prefecture, had indigenous populations of
Nivkhs and Uilta (
Orok). Like the
Karafuto Koreans but unlike the Ainu, they were thus not included in the
evacuation of Japanese nationals after the Soviet invasion in 1945. Some Nivkhs and Uilta who served in the
Imperial Japanese Army were
held in Soviet work camps; after court cases in the late 1950s and 1960s, they were recognised as Japanese nationals and thus permitted to migrate to Japan. Most settled around
Abashiri, Hokkaidō. The was founded to fight for Uilta rights and the preservation of Uilta traditions in 1975 by
Dahinien Gendānu. The
Bonin Islanders of the
Bonin Islands have a varied ethnic background, including European, Micronesian and
Kanak. Although protection and refugee status has been granted to those seeking asylum from Myanmar, the same has not been offered to refugee
Kurds in Japan from Turkey. Without this protection and status, these Kurds who have fled from Turkey due to persecution are generally living in destitution, with no education and having no legal residency status. A clash took place outside the Turkish embassy in Tokyo in October 2015 between Kurds and
Turks in Japan which began after a Kurdish party flag was shown at the embassy. Beginning in spring 2023, there was a significant increase in anti-Kurdish Japanese posts on the social media platform X. This was possibly fueled by Turkish people posting in Japanese on the platform. Kurds have reported receiving death threats and demands for their expulsion from the country. The
Burakumin group within Japan is ethnically Japanese; however, they are considered of lower status and lower class standing in comparison to other ethnicities in Japan. They worked as primarily farmers and were considered peasants on the social hierarchy pyramid. Post-World War, the Burakumin group was heavily dissociated from society as the abolishment of the feudal caste system did not put an end to the social discrimination that they faced within restricting housing systems; movements and protests have been maintained throughout the years as they fight to receive and equal status as their peers in regard to access to certain educational, housing, and social benefits and citizenship rights. In order to gain attention to the problems and injustices that they experience, groups such as the militant style, Buraka Liberation League, which uses presentations and speaking to prove and explain their frustrations to a panel. Representation of black people in Japanese media, such as
anime, has been subject to criticism. Instances of harassment, hate speech and discrimination targeting Russians living in Japan were reported after
Russian invasion of Ukraine. Foreign Minister
Yoshimasa Hayashi condemned human rights abuses against Russians that took place. In January 2024, three foreign-born residents in Japan sued the national and local governments, alleging racial profiling through illegal police questioning. The plaintiffs asserted that they experienced repeated distress from police questioning based on their appearance and ethnicity, which they claimed violated the constitution. They sought recognition of the illegality of racial profiling and 3 million yen ($20,250) in damages each. The lawsuit emerged during a surge in foreign workers in Japan and discussions on Japanese identity. == By field ==