Race And Migration In Imperial Japan

A high degree of cultural and racial homogeneity has long been associated with Japan, with its political discourse and with the lexicon of post-war Japanese scholarship. This book examines underlying assumptions. The author provides an analysis of racial discourse in Japan, its articulation and re-articulation over the past century, against the background of labour migration from the colonial periphery. He deconstructs the myth of a `Japanese race'. Michael Weiner pursues a second major theme of colonial migration; its causes and consequences. Rather than merely identifying the `push factors', the analysis focuses on the more dynamic `pull factors' that determined immigrant destinations. Similarly, rather than focusing upon the immigrant, the author examines the structural need for low-cost temporary labour that was filled by Korean immigrants.

Examining the ways in which the Japanese have manipulated historical memory, the contributors reveal the presence of an underlying concept of 'Japaneseness' that excludes members of the principal minority groups in Japan.

Provides clear historical introductions to the six principal ethnic minority groups in Japan, including the Ainu, Chinese, Koreans and Okinawans, and discusses their place in contemporary Japanese society.

Shows how Japanese anxiety about overpopulation was used to justify expansion, blurring lines between migration and settler colonialism. This title is also available as Open Access.