Chris Burgess recently argued that it would be unwise to prematurely celebrate a new era of multiculturalism in Japan, and he is right. But while recognising that multiculturalism as a policy orientation is unlikely to happen, Japan is still seeing increasing levels of diversity, particularly in its large metropolises.
Burgess notes that there was a dip in the number of non-Japanese residents in 2009. But this decline was triggered by emigration rather than a decline in the number of new immigrants. After the financial crisis of 2008 Brazilians of Japanese ancestry (Nikkei) and Zainichi were severely affected by layoffs in Japanese construction and manufacturing. A program was even introduced in early 2009 that paid Nikkei workers US$4,000 to return to Latin America, so long as they did not come back to Japan. From 2008 to 2010, there was a 30,000 person drop in Nikkei numbers alongside a drop of 20,000 in Koreans. These two patterns of emigration signify a shift in the ethnic make-up of Japan’s minorities rather than decreasing diversity in general.
Since then the number of non-Japanese residents in Japan has exceeded pre-2009 figures, with 2.3 million foreigners registered as of June 2016. There has been sustained, if not rapid, growth in new groups and ethnicities over the past 10 years. Since 2006, migrants from China have become the largest non-Japanese minority. And Vietnamese and Nepalese migrants are the fastest growing groups of the last five years, with Vietnamese numbers increasing four-fold.
Non-Japanese citizens make up 1.8 per cent of the total population in Japan, with the number of naturalisations averaging a little over 1,000 a year. These figures pale in comparison to countries such as Australia, where 27 per cent of the population were born overseas. Nonetheless, movements of newcomers are reshaping communities on a local scale, particularly in the greater Tokyo area.
For example, roughly 10 per cent of Toshima in northwest Tokyo were born overseas, matching similar figures in the United Kingdom. These mostly Chinese, Vietnamese and Nepalese newcomers are less interested in ‘multiculturalism’. They spend a significant amount of time travelling back and forth between Japan and their home countries, switching between visas based on their anticipated movements. Some use tourist visas for short trips despite having a stake in businesses and properties in Japan. Many Chinese migrants see permanent residency as desirable not because they plan to live in Japan indefinitely but because it allows for greater freedom of movement.
Immigration figures are notoriously tricky and political. Who counts as an immigrant, as opposed to a temporary labourer, student or tourist, is a legal game that does not always match the activities of people on the ground. Changes in policy, as well as changes in the way immigration numbers are counted, have wrought havoc on our understanding of what has happened over the past 10 years in Japan.
This is further complicated by Japan’s recent boom in tourism. Over 20 million visitors crossed Japan’s borders in August 2016 alone. These figures are largely fuelled by growth in the number of tourists from the Chinese mainland, as well as South Koreans, Taiwanese and those from Hong Kong. Although these figures are mostly made up of short-term visitors, they also include a growing number of people who move back and forth as part of a transnational lifestyle. To these sojourners visas do not signify intent to stay or go, but are simply a tool to move across borders.
So what might all this mobility mean for how we envision multiculturalism in Japan?
As Burgess argues, Japan is unlikely to become multicultural any time soon. But we should not confuse multiculturalism as a political ideology with a decline in everyday diversity in Japan. Multiculturalism is a political orientation that few countries have officially embraced. From a street-level perspective, diversity in Japan is increasing but it is unlikely to trigger a multicultural turn in Japanese policy or identity. Rather, unease about embracing multiculturalism is precisely the result of the increasing visibility of non-Japanese people in everyday Japanese life.
Jamie Coates is a research fellow at the White Rose East Asia Centre at the University of Sheffield and visiting fellow at Sophia University.
We should also not confuse “multicultural” with “good.” Unless you think the violence, social conflict and political polarization in Europe and America are “good.” Japan has avoided serious problems by being conservative and cautious. And the number of foreign residents, including myself, is going steadily up.
Dear Scott,
I agree that we should not confuse “multicultural” with “good”, however I would also question the connection you draw between “violence, social conflict and political polarization” with multiculturalism. The relationship between diversity and these other phenomena, often forwarded within conservative media, does not bear up to empirical evidence. Despite what we may see in the media, patterns of violence are in decline in Europe, and conflict within the United States is better explained by economic polarization and racial polarization between already established groups than migration. Japan is also not a homogenous paradise. Japan is also currently experiencing polarization within its politics, with a reemergence of right-wing ideals. It has witnessed shockingly violent public events, such as the attack on disabled persons earlier this year. There is also a widening gap between the haves and have-nots, and a gap between central Japan and its regions. It is often human nature to blame external factors for problems within a given society, but the evidence doesn’t really add up.
I just don’t understand why so many people are obsessed with a multicultural Japan. It is insane to say France is “safer”, because of multiculturalism. Do you think Paris is safer than in earlier times? There are places you can’t even go in France if you’re native French.
America is divided and race relations have never been good and never will be as long as we are forced to live together. I know when I went to school when race relations were supposedly better, the black kids sat in their own section because “whitey” was uncool. Humans associate with their own kind. Its just their nature.
Japan is the safest country in the world for a reason. Anyone can go to Tokyo at any time at night and feel safe. The reason is because it is 99% Japanese. There is a shared sense of purpose and destiny. There are divides but not any more than there would be from 3rd world migrants flooding the country. The poor are Japanese and the rich are Japanese. The Japan you love will be destroyed if hordes of immigrants come in. Do you want Japan to become like France with terrorists killing hundreds of innocent people in a year? Do you really desire to be scared to live in your own country?
“Celebrating multiculturalism” is celebrating the enemy defeating you and taking over your home. Its an pure fallacy. Humans, as a species don’t get along with other humans, especially with humans from another race. There will always be resentment for being different even if everyone is on the same economic level. 5000 years of recorded history has not shown otherwise.
Its amusing how you cling to the “conservative media” narrative when all the media did in the Nov. Election was support Hillary and lambast Trump. The media is so liberal its nauseating.
Dear Paul
The point of this article was not to celebrate multiculturalism, but rather to talk about how Tokyo’s streets are becoming more diverse whether we call it multicultural or not. As I state, multiculturalism is a policy-orientation. It is different from actual diversity on the ground. Your statement that Tokyo is 99 per cent Japanese is simply false. In Shinjuku and Toshima districts (two areas of Tokyo) for example, the foreign resident population is roughly around 10 per cent, which is fairly close to British figures outside of London. Japan’s lack of diversity on a national level is more so a result of places outside of Tokyo. Japan’s 5000 years of recorded history, as you call it, is a product of migration. If you look at archaeological evidence, Japan’s historic population came out of migration from Taiwan, mainland China and Korea. So we can celebrate Japan’s history and culture, while also recognizing it as a result of migration and diversity (you can trace it in the language actually).
I am not really interested in contesting whether something is conservative or liberal, those are actually political terms that don’t really translate to situations outside of North America. What I am interested in is evidence based arguments, and in the context of Japan (which is what the article is about) you need to do some more research.