A Note on Current Research of Immigrant Groups in Japan

Abstract

Among most Japanese social scientists it has long been taken for granted that Japan is a unique “monoracial” or “homogeneous” society. If this generally accepted idea were true, there would be no immigrant groups in Japan, and there would be no need for research on this particular topic.

Within Japanese society, however, there is a mosaic of various ethnic or cultural groups: Yamatos (native Japanese), Ainus, Okinawans, Koreans, Chinese and so forth. A great many historical studies, as well as several social scientific ones, have been carried out to illustrate the pluralistic aspect of Japanese society and culture. This article seeks to present a statistical summary of Japan's immigrant groups and a review of current research on these groups, with the aim of discovering what crucial ethnic problems are faced both by the immigrant groups and the Japanese people themselves.