History of Korean minority in Japan
Koreans constitute the largest ethnic minority group in Japan having majority of them being the Zainichi. The Zainichi are permanent residents of Koreans in Japan. Their name (Zainichi Korean) was derived from the fact that they had been residents of Japan for a long time and had been able to retain their nationalities and undivided nature. We can trace the origin of Zainichi Koreans since the early 20th century when Japan was under the rule of imperial. In 1910, there was an annexation treaty between the Japanese and Koreans. As a result, all Koreans who were residing in Japan were subjected to the Japan’s empire (Lie, 2008:29). There have been claims, by the Koreans, that the treaty forced Koreans to migrate during the 1920s. On the other hand, Japan claim that the immigration was voluntary and it was for the Koreans who were in search of better opportunities economically. During the period of the Second World War, majority of the Koreans were made to work as slaves in coal mines (Ryang, 2000:62). Majority of the coal mines were not safe and posed a lot of threat to the Koreans. By 1950s many Koreans had immigrated and further immigration was caused by the Korean War after devastification of South Korea.
Research shows that most of the Koreans immigrated for various reasons. These reasons includes but not limited to economics, marriage and family, academics, and for employment opportunities. During the Second World War most of the Koreans were recruited to work in Japan’s mainland through civilian agents. Out of the total number of Koreans who were recruited, about 10% remained in the mainland of Japan where they worked as civilians. The rest were taken to Japan and were forced to work in either factories or mines or to work as laborers under awful conditions. They received harsh treatment, unsafe working conditions, and allied bombings which resulted in the death of most of them (Yŏn guwŏn, 2009:23).
By the end of the Second World War most of the Koreans had repatriated back to their country leaving about 2.4 million Koreans in Japan. In the present day, Koreans are nearly half the number of foreigners recorded in Japan most of whom moved into this country between the year 1910 to 1945. Majority of the Koreans have remained stuck to their nationality despite the growth in their generations as residents of Japan. They had the desire of retaining their ethnic identity and as a result their voting rights were minimal and the freedom of entrance to Japan. Despite the fact that they are largest number of registered foreigners, they continue to receive the same treatment just like other foreigners under the Japans domestic law. As at the year 1998, education of migrants with Korean educational certificates could not be recognized in Japan. It thus became very hard for these people to secure employment in Japan regardless of their education level. In addition, students of Korean decent were discriminated against by the Japan’s government when it came to higher education access. The Human Rights Committee raised some concerns regarding this discrimination in the year 2001.
Problems faced by Koreans minority group in Japan
Koreans are assumed to be largest minority group in Japan. At present, majority of the Koreans are generation (either the second or third) of the migrant descendants who moved to Japan at the helm of the Japanese empire. There are some Koreans who reside in Japan and speak Japanese as their native language. Others have attended Korean school and they still maintain their ties with their Korean counterparts. But majority of the Koreans have been discriminated against by the Japanese government. They have had many court cases with the Japanese concerning employment practices in Japan. In their attempt to avoid discrimination, most of the Koreans have changed their original surnames to Japanese names in order to fit in their society. It was criminal for the Koreans to have acquired (Japanese) passports. They could only possess Korean (North or South) passports even if they were not born there.
In many countries citizenship is acquired by birth but this was not the case in Japan. In this country foreigners could only acquire citizenship through naturalization. Citizenship was based on the nationality of the parent and not by place of birth. Subsequent generations of the Korean could not acquire their citizenship automatically as it could have been assumed but had to go through naturalization. Despite the fact that most of them were born there, received Japanese education, and could only speak Japanese only a few chose to get citizenship because even for those who were declared Japan citizens still faced discrimination in terms of employment, education, and marriage.
Most of the Koreans were forced to work in unskilled jobs especially in coal mines. This was mainly because their education was not recognized and thus they were left to do manual jobs. They worked under unsafe condition which was a threat to their health. Even after falling ill, they could not be given prompt treatment as the Japanese had to be attended first.
Other minority groups in Japan
In Japan, the constitution stipulates that under law all people are seen as equal and it prohibits against discrimination either on the basis of race or ethnicity. However, this law is violated in practice and most of the minorities continue to experience discrimination either directly or indirectly from the Japanese. Discrimination can be traced back since the early 20th century when the society in Japan suffered isolation from other cultures and high degrees of ethnic and cultural homogeneity (Karan, 2005:183).
The Ainu became the first minority group to occupy Japan, in Hokkaido Island. The Ainu migrated to Japan after colonialism when they were evicted from their land by settlers from parts of Japan. They lost their traditional way of life and they were discouraged from using their language or customs by the government of Japan and suffered from marginalization. The standards of living of the Ainu community do not seem to improve and it will take along time for their language to be recognized (Gottlieb, 2006:85).
However, the Human Rights Committee has noted the discrimination that the Ainu suffers from and the denial of their native language, their rights to land and access to higher education and has promised to address the issues. With a population of close to 2million spread in all over, the Okinawa’s are the largest minority group in Japan. Like the Aunas, the Okinawans language and culture have not been recognized in Japan. They have been isolated culturally and politically by the Japanese. Compared with the Japanese, the Okinawan’s are dark skinned and are greatly influenced by the Chinese culture thus living mostly on the islands of Japan and separating themselves from the mainland. From a report produced by the Japanese government, it had no information concerning the Okinawa or its people. They just perceive themselves as a minority group separate from the Japanese and they have even become ashamed of their ethnicity. Most of them have changed names, faked their domiciles, and disconnected themselves from other Okinawans. They have suffered from discrimination by the Japanese government which has not showed any attempt of resolving their land disputes or showed them that they were of importance to the government.
Another ethnically discriminated minority group in Japan is the Buraku people. They have been discriminated against job opportunities, health, and living conditions. Buraku people can be distinguished by the poverty that they live in, their descent, and the work they are engaged in. They engaged in occupations such as being butchers, leatherworkers, entertainers, and funeral directors. These were the occupations that received most discrimination from the history of Japan (Veenhoven et al., 1975:340). Although the Burakus are physically distinguishable from the Japanese, they live in urban centers or in rural areas and some even attempt to behave ordinarily just like Japanese but they are normally restricted by the strict checks in Japan of family background which forms part of the requirement in marriage and job applications.
The future of the Korean in Japan
Most of the Koreans returned home after the second war although there is still large number of Koreans in Japan. For them who are still in Japan, they do not intend to leave the country but to become permanent citizen of Japan (Hanami, 2003:158). They are not intending to leave Japan any time soon since they are highly convinced that this is their only home. They are fighting hard to acquire Japan nationality. It is estimated that about 10, 000 of Koreans get Japanese nationality every year and the number is still rising. For those (Koreans) who are involved in inter-marriage (with the Japanese), their children acquires direct citizenship (by birth) and thus need not get into the tedious process of acquiring their nationality. They can not vote or participate in major development activities and they are expected to remain in this fate for along period of time (Edgongton, 2003:122).
There is a bill being prepared by Ocholo Ozama, the secretary general of Japanese Democratic Party, and is expected to at least shed some right at the fate of the Koreans. In the bill Ozama wants to address the issues of non Japanese receiving permanent residents and having rights to vote in Japanese general elections (Taikin, 2010). This bill is receiving some criticism because it is argued that if the bill becomes law, politics in Japan will be interfered with by foreigners. Some support the bill and argue that the bill will not in any way threaten the sovereignty of Japan because it is intended to give suffrage to the foreigners.
Their future does not seem that promising because just like the other minority groups, they continue to face discrimination from the Japanese. The Human Rights committee has been working on the afflictions faced by the minority groups living in Japan. This might shed some light for the Koreans if the Japanese government agrees to comply with the requirement of the Human Rights committee. The convection is trying to amend some of the domestic laws so that they are in accordance with the Human Right’s laws (Wender, 2005: 16). They have set a new act on immigration which is aimed at giving these people (i.e. Koreans) permanent resident in Japan.
Reference
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