Among the several native ethnic groups of Japan, the predominant group are the Yamato Japanese, who trace their origins back to the Yayoi period and have held political dominance since the Asuka period. Other historical ethnic groups have included the Ainu, the Ryukyuan people, the Emishi, and the Hayato; some of whom were dispersed or absorbed by other groups. Ethnic groups that inhabited the Japanese islands during prehistory include the Jomon people and lesser-known Paleolithic groups. In more recent history, a number of immigrants from other countries have made their home in Japan. According to census statistics in 2018, 97.8% of the population of Japan are Japanese, with the remainder being foreign nationals residing in Japan. [1] The number of foreign workers has been increasing dramatically in recent years, due to the aging population and the lack of labor force. A news article in 2018 states that approximately 1 out of 10 young people residing in Tokyo are foreign nationals. [2]
About 2.3% of Japan's total legal resident population are foreign citizens. Of these, according to 2020 data from the Japanese government, the principal groups are as follows. [4] [5] [6]
Country region groups | Number | Percentage of | |
---|---|---|---|
Foreign citizens | Total population | ||
South Asians | 255,168 | 8.8% | 0.20% |
Southeast Asians | 1,304,765 | 45.2% | 1.0% |
Other East Asians | 1,301,610 | 45.1% | 1.0% |
Europeans/North Americans | 84,916 | 2.9% | 0.05% |
South Americans | 256,794 | 8.8% | 0.20% |
Others (African, West Asian, etc.) | 635,787 | 23.6% | 0.50% |
Total (as of 2022) | 2,887,116 | 100% | 2.3% |
Nationality | Number | Percentage of | |
---|---|---|---|
Foreign citizens | Total population | ||
China | 778,112 | 32.3% | 0.73% |
South Korea + North Korea [note 1] | 454,122 | 17.7% | 0.40% |
Vietnam | 448,053 | 15.5% | 0.28% |
Philippines | 279,660 | 13.0% | 0.23% |
Brazil | 208,538 | 7.5% | 0.17% |
Nepal | 139,393 | 4.8% | 0.11% |
Indonesia | 66,832 | 2.1% | 0.04% |
Taiwan | 55,872 | 2.2% | 0.05% |
United States | 55,761 | 2.1% | 0.04% |
Thailand | 53,379 | 1.9% | 0.04% |
Peru | 48,256 | 1.8% | 0.04% |
India | 40,752 | 1.4% | 0.03% |
Myanmar | 35,049 | 1.0% | 0.02% |
Sri Lanka | 34,966 | 1.2% | 0.02% |
Bangladesh | 20,954 | 0.7% | 0.02% |
Pakistan | 19,103 | 0.7% | 0.02% |
United Kingdom | 16,891 | 0.7% | 0.02% |
Cambodia | 16,659 | 0.5% | 0.01% |
Mongolia | 13,504 | 0.5% | 0.01% |
France | 12,264 | 0.5% | 0.01% |
Others | 635,787 | 23.6% | 0.50% |
Total (as of 2022) | 3,839,031 | 100% | 2.3% |
The above statistics do not include the approximately 30,000 U.S. military stationed in Japan, nor do they account for illegal immigrants. The statistics also do not take into account minority groups who are Japanese citizens such as the Ainu (an aboriginal people primarily living in Hokkaido), the Ryukyuans (from the Ryukyu Islands south of mainland Japan), naturalized citizens from backgrounds including but not limited to Korean and Chinese, and citizen descendants of immigrants. The total legal resident population of 2012 is estimated at 127.6 million.
After the demise of the multi-ethnic Empire of Japan in 1945, successive governments had forged a single Japanese identity by advocating monoculturalism and denying the existence of more than one ethnic group in Japan. [7] It was not until 2019 when the Japanese parliament passed an act to recognize the Ainu people to be indigenous. [8] [9] However, the notion of ethnic homogeneity was so ingrained in Japan, to which the former Prime Minister Taro Aso (1940-), in 2020, notably claimed in an election campaign speech that “No other country but this one has lasted for as long as 2,000 years with one language, one ethnic group and one dynasty”. [7]
Pioneering remarks about ethnic rights was first made by Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo on 20 May 2008, who stated at the parliament, "We acknowledge the Ainu to be an ethnic minority as it has maintained a unique cultural identity and having a unique language and religion." [10]
The Ainu people (also Aynu) are an indigenous people native to Hokkaido and northeastern Honshu, as well as the nearby Russian Sakhalin and Kuril Islands (both formerly part of the Japanese Empire), and Kamchatka Peninsula. They possess a language distinct from modern Japanese. They traditionally practiced tattooing and followed religious beliefs that are considered animism.[ citation needed ]
The Ōbeikei Islanders are an ethnic group native to the Bonin Islands (also called the Ogasawara Islands), part of Tokyo Prefecture. They are descendants of Westerners, Polynesians, and Kanaks who settled Hahajima and Chichijima in the 18th century. They speak a dialect of English, called Bonin English, and have traditionally practiced Christianity. Legal status of Bonin Islanders passed back and forth between the United States and Japan over the years and, during and after World War II, many Bonin Islanders were forced to leave their homes. Some emigrated to the United States, finding it easier to assimilate into an English-speaking Western culture than a Japanese-speaking Asian one. Today, roughly 200 Bonin Islanders remain in Japan, some still bearing the surnames of the original 18th-century settlers.
The Yamato people are the dominant native ethnic group of Japan and because of their numbers, the term Yamato is often used interchangeably with the term Japanese.
The Ryukyuan people (also Lewchewan) are an indigenous people native to the Ryukyu Islands. There are different subgroups of the Ryukyuan ethnic group, the Okinawan, Amami, Miyako, Yaeyama and Yonaguni peoples. Their languages comprise the Ryukyuan languages, [11] one of the two branches of the Japonic language family (the other being Japanese and its dialects). [12] The Ryukyuans have a distinct culture with some matriarchal elements, native religion, and cuisine which had fairly late (12th century) introduction of rice.
Chinese people in Japan are the largest foreign minorities in Japan. They comprise 0.64% of Japan's population. Chinese people are mostly concentrated in the Osaka, Tokyo and Yokohama areas.
Koreans in Japan are the fifth largest ethnic minorities in the country. Most of them arrived in the early 20th century.
As of 2022, there are 438,211 Koreans in Japan who are not Japanese citizens. [13]
A small number of Nivkh people resettled in Hokkaido when Japan evacuated southern Sakhalin at the end of World War II.
South Asians in Japan live mostly in Tokyo. [14]
Indians in Japan consist of migrants from India to Japan and their descendants. As of June 2022, there were 40,752 Indian nationals living in Japan. Indians in Japan are primarily employed in the information technology industry and other office jobs where English language is used.
Filipinos in Japan formed a population of 202,592 individuals at year-end 2007, making them Japan's third-largest foreign community along with Brazilians, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Justice. In 2006, Japanese/Filipino marriages were the most frequent of all international marriages in Japan. [15] As of March 12, 2011, the Filipino population of Japan was 305,972. [16] As of April 1, 2020, the number of Filipinos in Japan is estimated at 325,000. [17]
448,053 Vietnamese people were living in Japan by the end of 2020.
There is a significant community of Brazilians in Japan, which is home to the second largest Brazilian community outside of Brazil. They also constitute the largest number of Portuguese speakers in Asia, even greater than those of formerly Portuguese East Timor, Macao and Goa combined. Likewise, Brazil maintains its status as home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan.
Like Brazilians in Japan, there are Peruvians in the country, some of whom had migrated to Peru when the country opened its doors to foreign workers. Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is one example of a Peruvian Japanese.
The demographics of Japan include Japanese population, birth and death rates, age distribution, population density, ethnicity, education level, healthcare system of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects regarding the population. As of February 2024, Japan's total population was roughly 124 million people, making it the 3rd-most populous country in the Asia-Pacific region, and the 11th-most populous country in the world.
Japanese people are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago. Japanese people constitute 97.6% of the population of the country of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 126 million people are of Japanese descent, making them one of the largest ethnic groups. Approximately 122.0 million Japanese people are residents of Japan, and there are approximately 4 million members of the Japanese diaspora, known as Nikkeijin (日系人).
Racism in Japan comprises negative attitudes and views on race or ethnicity which are held by various people and groups in Japan, and have been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices and actions at various times in the history of Japan against racial or ethnic groups.
The Yamato people or the Wajin is a term to describe the ethnic group that comprises over 98% of the population of Japan. Genetic and anthropometric studies has showed that the Yamato are an admixture of the migratory Kofun and Yayoi, who arrived from mainland East and Southeast Asia via the Korean Peninsula, as well as the indigenous Jōmon that were already living on the Japanese archipelago for thousands of years prior.
Koreans in Japan comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South Korean nationals who have immigrated to Japan after the end of World War II and the division of Korea.
Hāfu is a Japanese language term used to refer to a person of half Japanese and half non-Japanese ancestry. A loanword from English, the term literally means "half," a reference to the individual's non-Japanese heritage. The word can also be used to describe anyone with mixed-racial ancestry in general. As Japan is considered one of the most homogeneous societies on the planet, children who have one non-Japanese parent are called hāfu Japanese and often face prejudice and discrimination from Japanese citizens of full Japanese descent. Hāfu individuals are well represented in Japanese media and abroad, and recent studies in the 2010s estimate that 1 in 30 children born in Japan are born to interracial couples.
The most widely spoken language in Japan is Japanese, which is separated into several dialects with Tokyo dialect considered Standard Japanese.
Chinese people in Japan (在日中国人/華人) include any people self-identifying as ethnic Chinese or people possessing Chinese citizenship living in Japan. People aged 22 or older cannot possess dual-citizenship in Japan, so Chinese possessing Japanese citizenship typically no longer possess Chinese citizenship. The term "Chinese people" typically refers to the Han Chinese, the main ethnic group living in China (PRC), Taiwan (ROC) and Singapore. Officially, China (PRC) is home to 55 additional ethnic minorities, including people such as Tibetans, though these people might not self-identify as Chinese. Han Chinese people have had a long history in Japan as a minority.
There is a small community of Mongolians in Japan, representing a minor portion of emigration from Mongolia. As of June 2023, there were 17,976 registered Mongolian citizens residing in Japan, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, up from 2,545 in 2003.
There is a significant community of Brazilians in Japan, consisting largely but not exclusively of Brazilians of Japanese descent. Brazilians with Japanese descent are known as Nikkei Brazilians. They constitute the largest number of native Portuguese speakers in Asia, greater than those of formerly Portuguese East Timor, Macao and Goa combined. Likewise, Brazil maintains its status as home to the largest Japanese community outside Japan.
Vietnamese people in Japan form Japan's second-largest community of foreign residents ahead of Koreans in Japan and behind Chinese in Japan, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Justice. By in June 2023, there were 520,154 residents. The majority of the Vietnamese legal residents live in the Kantō region and Keihanshin area.
Americans in Japan are citizens of the United States residing in Japan. As of June 2023, there were 62,425 American citizens registered as foreign residents of Japan, forming 2.0% of the total population of registered aliens, according to statistics from Japan's Ministry of Justice. This made Americans the ninth-largest group of foreign residents in Japan, having been surpassed in number by Vietnamese residents, Nepalese residents, Indonesian residents, and Burmese residents since 2011.
Bangladeshis in Japan form one of the smaller populations of foreigners in Japan. As of in June 2023, Japan's Ministry of Justice recorded 24,940 Bangladeshi nationals among the total population of registered foreigners in Japan.
Indians in Japan consist of those with Japanese citizenship and those with foreign citizenship.
There is a small population of Burmese people in Japan. In June 2023, there were 69,613 Burmese living in Japan.
Nigerians in Japan form a significant immigrant community. There are around 3,700 Nigerians living in the country. They mostly belong to the Nigerian Union in Japan, which is divided into sub-unions based on states of origin. The vast majority of Nigerians arrived in Japan from the mid-1980s onwards.
Britons in Japan make up one of the slightly larger foreign resident communities in Japan.
Ghanaians in Japan are Japanese people of full or partial Ghanaian ancestry or Ghanaians who became naturalized citizens of Japan.
Arabs in Japan consist of Arab migrants that come to Japan, as well as their descendants. In December 2016, there were 6,037 Arabs living in Japan.
Ethnic nationalism in Japan means nationalism that emerges from Japan's dominant Yamato people or ethnic minorities.
アイヌの人々が「先住民族」かどうか結論を下せる状況にはないが、アイヌの人々は、いわゆる和人との関係において、日本列島北部周辺、取り分け北海道に先住していたことは歴史的事実であり、また、独自の言語及び宗教を有し、文化の独自性を保持していること等から、少数民族であると認識している。