Abstract
Japan is often described as a homog eneous society free of ethnic discrimination. In fact, Japan has its share of ethnic minorities, among them the Ainu, an indigenous people centralized in Hokkaido in northern Japan, and over a million ethnic Koreans who were brought to Japan during its colonization of Korea1. All experienced discrimination in Japanese society.
Korean and Japanese names are given in traditional East Asian order, family name first.
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- 1.
In addition, as a result of the colonization of Taiwan there are several hundred thousand Chinese, and Okinawans may also be viewed as an ethnic group. There has also been a rapid increase in foreign workers, primarily from Asia and South America.
- 2.
The Japanese name for the National Council for Combating Discrimination against Ethnic Peoples in Japan, Mintôren, is itself an abbreviation for Minzoku Sabetsu to Tatakau Renraku Kyôgikai. It was launched in 1975, and, in 1995, changed its name to the “Human Rights Association for Koreans in Japan” (Zainichi Korian Jinken Kyôkai). At the same time, the group’s informal networking style of organization was replaced by one with a strong central executive. Some members were unhappy with these changes, and are now hoping to rebuild the old Mintôren movement. Thus, the Mintôren movement has effectively split into two different groups. Nevertheless, the three groups that will be discussed in this paper – the Mukuge Society, the Tokebi Children’s Club, and the Blue Hill Association – continue to be leading grassroots organizations within their respective communities.
- 3.
In addition to engaging in economic exploitation of the Korean peninsula, the Japanese government also forced its Korean subjects to adhere to its cultural assimilation policy. In particular, during World War Two, Japan’s colonial rule over Korea showed an obsessive concern with thoroughgoing, comprehensive assimilation that involved forcing Koreans to use the Japanese language, worship the Japanese emperor, and adopt Japanese names.
- 4.
At the end of 1996, there were 657,159 registered foreigners in Japan with North or South Korean nationality. They accounted for 46.4% of the total of 1,415,136 foreigners registered in Japan. Of course, among them are South Korean newcomers who have come to Japan to work or study, but the majority are Koreans who live in Japan for the aforementioned reasons, most of whom today are second-, third-, and fourth-generation Koreans in Japan. The Japanese Nationality Law is not based on place of birth but on bloodline, so even if one is born in Japan, one does not automatically acquire Japanese citizenship. From 1952 to 1996, the number of “naturalized” Koreans holding Japanese citizenship was just over 200,000. Naturally, their children also hold Japanese citizenship. Others have acquired Japanese citizenship as the offspring or descendants of “international marriages” between Japanese and Koreans. Thus, we can estimate that the total ethnic Korean population in Japan exceeds one million.
- 5.
In 1986, the number of Korean children of North or South Korean nationality attending primary and secondary schools was about 150,000, among which 130,000 (86%) attended Japanese schools and the remaining 20,000 (14%) attended Korean ethnic schools: 13% in ethnic schools run by Chongryun and 1% in those run by Mindan. However, the numbers have decreased consistently over the years.
- 6.
In 1995, of 8,953 total resident Korean marriages, 1,485 (16.6%) were between Koreans and 7,363 (82.2%) were between Koreans and Japanese. However, the latter includes marriages between Koreans in Japan and ethnic Koreans who hold Japanese nationality, and those between Japanese men and Korea-born women, a growing trend in recent years.
- 7.
It is extremely rare for organization combating discrimination against Koreans to receive public funds from local governments. The three cases introduced in this paper are examples where funding was obtained from local governments as a result of negotiation.
- 8.
Our interview with Lee Kyung-Jae was conducted on December 18, 1989.
- 9.
“Honmyô sengen” is the act of telling friends one wishes to be called by one’s real ethnic name. At such times, Koreans relate their experiences of discrimination and seek Japanese understanding of the Korean problem. There are many cases where this is carried out by Japanese teachers who teach anti-discrimination classes. Such declarations are thought to be the first step toward creating children who will resist discrimination.
- 10.
In 1982, while continuing these activities, Lee Kyung-Jae renewed his passbook, but refused to be fingerprinted because he felt impermissible any system that violated the human rights of Koreans in Japan. As a result, he was arrested by the police in 1985 and indicted for violating the Alien Registration Law. However, with the death of Emperor Hirohito in 1989, the Supreme Court granted Lee an official pardon. Many Mintôren movement members refused to be fingerprinted. Later Kim Soo-Il also refused.
- 11.
Our interview with Son Soo-Gil was conducted on December 16, 1989.
- 12.
Our interview with Kim Soo-Il was conducted on February 17, 1990.
- 13.
At first, local Japanese residents opposed Fureai Hall and its opening was delayed a year. However, its achievements came to be looked on favorably by Japanese. In 1990, the Japanese director was replaced by one of the Mintôren movement’s most able leaders, Bae Jung-Do (b. 1944), himself a second-generation Korean.
- 14.
During the course of interviews we met several young Koreans who were employed by major Japanese firms. We feel certain that the Mintôren movement method of combating ethnic discrimination played a vital role in enabling their attainment.
- 15.
The naturalization procedure is unique to Japan. It is permitted by the discretion of the Minister of Justice which determines whether the applicant has become sufficiently Japanese. In other words, it requires that Koreans, the targets of Japanese oppression, bow their heads and ask to be made Japanese. In this sense, naturalization requires that the applicants abandon their ethnic identity (Fukuoka 1993, 2000). Moreover, in as much as Japanese society tends to exclude those of different ethnic heritage, naturalization does not result in complete elimination of discrimination. For no matter how determined one is to assimilate, one can never truly become “Japanese.” In reaction to this, there is a movement among Koreans who have acquired Japanese citizenship to live as Korean again by abandoning their Japanese names and using their Korean ones. The group calling themselves the “Society for Winning Back Ethnic Names” (Minzoku-mei wo Torimodosu Kai) operated in conjunction with the Mintôren movement. From 1987 to 1997, there were thirteen cases in which members of the Society applied to family courts to legally change their forenames, all of which succeeded. Twelve of the cases involved Koreans and one Chinese.
- 16.
We have placed the Korean Youth Association in between types 1 and 2 because, as “ethnic solidarity types,” the members of this group often feel an attachment both to South Korea, their “homeland,” and to Japan, their country of residence. Pluralist types value relations with people of any ethnic background, Korean or Japanese, who will join them in the struggle against racism. Nationalist types construct a living space that has almost no room for relationships with anyone other than fellow Koreans. It is not uncommon for them to have no Japanese friends at all, through they may have a few Japanese acquaintances. In the case of young ethnic solidarity types, their principal relationships before becoming involved in the Korean Youth Association activities were with Japanese friends. But whereas the Mintôren movement carries out various activities in consort with Japanese sympathizers, the Korean Youth Association only allows Korean members to take a central role in its activities.
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Fukuoka, Y., Tsujiyama, Y. (2011). Young Koreans Against Ethnic Discrimination in Japan: A Case Study of a Grassroots and Networking-Style Movement (Mintôren). In: Broadbent, J., Brockman, V. (eds) East Asian Social Movements. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09626-1_6
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