Zainichi Koreans, also often known as Zainichi for short, are the permanent ethnic Korean residents of Japan. They constitute the largest ethnic minority group in Japan. Strictly speaking, the term refers only to long term, permanent residents of Japan who have either retained their Joseon (the old, undivided Korea) or South Korean nationalities, not ethnic Koreans who have acquired Japanese nationality through naturalization. Jamo redirects here. ... Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. ... The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. ... McCune-Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced (a modified) McCune-Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000. ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji Kanji (Japanese:  ) are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana (平仮名), katakana (片仮名), and the Arabic numerals. ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 Category Rōmaji (ローマ字 Roman characters, sometimes misunderstood as romanji in English), is a Japanese term for the Latin alphabet. ... Jamo redirects here. ... Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. ... The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. ... McCune-Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced (a modified) McCune-Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000. ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji Kanji (Japanese:  ) are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana (平仮名), katakana (片仮名), and the Arabic numerals. ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 Category Rōmaji (ローマ字 Roman characters, sometimes misunderstood as romanji in English), is a Japanese term for the Latin alphabet. ... Jamo redirects here. ... Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. ... The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. ... McCune-Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced (a modified) McCune-Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000. ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji Kanji (Japanese:  ) are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana (平仮名), katakana (片仮名), and the Arabic numerals. ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 Category Rōmaji (ローマ字 Roman characters, sometimes misunderstood as romanji in English), is a Japanese term for the Latin alphabet. ... The Korean people are one of the main East Asian ethnic groups. ... Joseon or Chosun (Korean: ì¡°ì„ ; Hanja: 朝鮮; Revised: Joseon; McCune-Reischauer: Chosŏn; Chinese: CháoxiÇŽn; Japanese: Chōsen) is a name for Korea, as used in the following cases: As part of the name of several ancient kingdoms (including Gojoseon, Gija Joseon, and Wiman Joseon); During most of the Joseon... Motto: None (Unofficial: Broadly benefit humankind also translated as Devotion to the welfare of humanity) Anthem: Aegukga (Patriotic Hymn) Capital (and largest city) Seoul Official languages Korean Government Semi-presidential republic  -  President Roh Moo-hyun  -  Prime Minister Han Duck-soo Establishment  -  Gojoseon October 3, 2333 BCb   -  Liberation declared March 1...

The Japanese word Zainichi itself means "staying in Japan." For example, Zainichi-Gaikokujin (在日外国人) refers to "foreign nationals living in Japan," while Zainichi-Beigun (在日米軍) refers to United States Forces Japan. However, "Zainichi" on its own usually refers to Zainichi Koreans because of their significant presence in Japanese society. Zainichi (在日) are long-term Korean residents of Japan and culturally/ethnically Korean Japanese nationals. ... United States Forces Japan (USFJ, Japanese: 在日米軍) refers to the various divisions of the United States Armed Forces that are stationed in Japan. ...

Statistics

According to the statistics at Immigration Bureau of Japan^[1] there were 613,791 Zainichi Korean as of year 2003. It seems that Zainichi would include permanent residents, long-term visitors, and students, but not naturalized citizens.

• Number of ethnic Koreans living in Japan (as of 2005): 901,284
• Permanent residents in general and special categories: 515,570
• Naturalized citizens: 284,840
• Long-term visitors: 82,666
• Korean students in Japan: 18,208

source: ^[2]

History

Origins

Modern Zainichi Koreans can trace their diaspora to the early 20th century under Imperial Japanese rule. In 1910, as the result of the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty, all Korean people became subjects of the Empire of Japan. Japanese land and production confiscation initiatives against Korean farmers during the 1910s caused a wave of economic migrants during the 1920s. Also noteworthy was the large number of Jeju-do residents who migrated to Japan to escape discrimination in Korea during this period. Anthem: Kimi ga Yo Imperial Reign Slogan: Fukoku Kyohei Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Military (a. ... The Treaty of Annexation of Korea by Japan was signed on August 22, 1910 by the representatives of the Korean and Japanese Imperial Governments. ... Anthem: Kimi ga Yo Imperial Reign Slogan: Fukoku Kyohei Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Military (a. ... Jejudo Flag Jeju-do is the smallest province of South Korea, situated on, and coterminous with, the countrys largest island. ...

Koreans in mainland Japan, as citizens of the Japanese Empire, technically had equal civil rights with Japanese people; some, such as 1936 Olympic gold medalist Sohn Kee-chung even represented Japan in international sporting events. (Though it should be noted that Sohn Kee-Chung refused to sign his name in Japanese, clearly stated in interviews that his motherland was Korea, and when giving autographs drew a shape of Korea alongside his autograph.) Hong Sa-Ik rose to the rank of Lieutenant General in the Imperial Japanese Army. There were also seats allocated in the Imperial Diet for elected representatives and aristocracy from Korea. However, most Koreans in Japan were subject to considerable social prejudice. The most severe example was in the aftermath of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, when race riots resulted in the deaths of 231 Koreans, as well as assaults and property crimes against an unknown number of others; in total, 362 Japanese were charged with crimes relating to violence against Koreans during this period. Ironically, some Japanese government officials later suggested moving the capital to Keijo (Japanese name for Seoul) so that the elected officials could be safe from earthquakes.^{[citation needed]} The Games of the XI Olympiad were held in 1936 in Germany. ... Sohn Kee-chung (August 29, 1912 – November 15, 2002) became the first medal-winning Korean Olympian when he won the gold medal in the Marathon at the 1936 Berlin Olympics as a member of the Japanese delegation, under the name of Son Kitei, which is the Japanese pronunciation of the... Hong Sa-ik (March 4, 1889–September 26, 1946)[1] was a Lieutenant General in the Imperial Japanese Army, and the highest-ranking ethnic Korean in Japan to be charged with war crimes relating to the conduct of the Empire of Japan in World War II. A graduate of the... Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. ... The Imperial Japanese Army (: 大日本帝國陸軍 Shinjitai: 大日本帝国陸軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official ground based armed force of Japan from 1867 to 1945 when it was Imperial Japan. ... The National Diet of Japan (国会; Kokkai) is Japans legislature. ... The 1923 Great Kanto earthquake ) struck the Kanto plain on the Japanese main island of Honshu at 11:58 on the morning of September 1, 1923. ... Gyeongseong is the Korean form of Keijō (京城), the former Japanese name of Seoul used during the Japanese Colonial Period (1910-1945). ... Seoul   is the capital of South Korea and is located on the Han River in the countrys northwest. ...

During World War II

Between 1939 and 1945, labor shortages due to World War II led to a series of official policies which recruited Koreans to work in Japan, including Karafuto Prefecture (present-day Sakhalin, now part of Russia). Increasing elements of coercion and deception culminated in the mobilization of Japanese civilians for labor being extended to Korea in 1944. Those who were brought to Japan were forced to work in factories, in mines and as laborers, often under appalling conditions. Most of the wartime laborers went home after the war, but some remained in Japan. In particular, 43,000 of those in Karafuto, which had been occupied by the Soviet Union just prior to Japan's surrender, were refused repatriation to either mainland Japan or the Korean peninsula, and were thus trapped in Sakhalin, stateless; they became the ancestors of the Sakhalin Koreans.^[3] A 1982 survey by the Korean Youth Association showed that conscripted labor accounts for 13.3% of first-generation zainichi Koreans. According to legality under the Japanese constitution, Koreans were still Japanese nationals in 1945.^{[citation needed]} Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Karafuto (樺太) is the Japanese name for the southern part of the island of Sakhalin or the entire island of Sakhalin. ... Location of Sakhalin in the Western Pacific Sakhalin, GOST transliteration Sahalin, (Russian: , Korean: Traditional Chinese: 庫頁島; Simplified Chinese: 库页岛; pinyin: kùyèdǎo Japanese: 樺太 romaji: karafuto), also Saghalien, is a large elongated island in the North Pacific, lying between 45° 50 and 54° 24 N. It is part of the Russian... Sakhalin Koreans trace their roots back to immigrants from Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces in the late 1930s and early 1940s. ...

Loss of Japanese nationality

Japan's defeat in the war left the nationality status of Zainichi Koreans in an ambiguous position in terms of law. The Alien Registration Ordinance (外国人登録令, Gaikokujin-tōroku-rei) of 2 May 1947, classified all Korean-Japanese as foreign nationals. Their nationality was provisionally registered under the name of Joseon (Japanese: Chōsen, 朝鮮), the old name of undivided Korea. May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... Joseon or Chosun (Korean: ì¡°ì„ ; Hanja: 朝鮮; Revised: Joseon; McCune-Reischauer: Chosŏn; Chinese: CháoxiÇŽn; Japanese: Chōsen) is a name for Korea, as used in the following cases: As part of the name of several ancient kingdoms (including Gojoseon, Gija Joseon, and Wiman Joseon); During most of the Joseon...

In 1948, the northern and southern parts of Korea declared independence individually, making Joseon, or the old undivided Korea, a defunct nation. The new government of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) made a request to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, then the occupying power of Japan, to change the nationality registration of Zainichi Koreans to Daehan Minguk (대한민국; Japanese: Daikan Minkoku, 大韓民國), the official name of the new nation. Following this, from 1950 onwards, Zainichi Koreans were allowed to voluntarily re-register their nationality as such. Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP) was the title for Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following WWII. The title did belong to Dwight David Eisenhower during WWII, however, he had nothing to do with the attacks on Japan. ...

The Allied occupation of Japan ended on 28 April 1952 with the San Francisco Peace Treaty, in which Japan formally abandoned its territorial claim to the Korean peninsula, and as a result, Zainichi Koreans formally lost their Japanese nationality.^[4] April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ... Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru of Japan, gave a speech on Reconciliation and rapport (和解と信頼) in 1951 at San Francisco Peace conference. ...

The division on the Korean peninsula led to division among Koreans in Japan. Mindan, or the Korean Residents Union in Japan, was set up in 1946 as a pro-South offshoot of Chōren (League of Koreans in Japan), the main Korean residents' organisation, which had a socialist ideology. Following the May Day riots of 1952, the pro-North organisation was made illegal, but it re-formed under various guises and went on to form the "General Association of Korean Residents in Japan", or Chongryon, in 1955. This organisation kept to its socialist, and by extension pro-North stance, and enjoyed the active financial support and advisement of the North Korean government. Mindan, or the Korean Residents Union in Japan(Korean: 재일본대한민국민단, Hanja: 在日本大韓民國民團), is the name of an organization for South Koreans living in Japan, which has ties to South Korea. ... The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan ), or Chongryon () in Korean, is an organization for Koreans living in Japan, which has close ties to North Korea and has been the defact embassy in Japan as there is no diplomatic relations between the two countries. ... The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chae Ilbon Chosŏnin Chongryŏnhaphoe in Korean or Zai-Nihon Chōsenjin Sōrengōkai in Japanese), abbreviated to Chongryon (, 總聯) or Chōsen Sōren (朝鮮総連), is one of two main organisations for Zainichi Koreans (long term Korean residents in Japan...

In 1965 Japan concluded a Treaty on Basic Relations with South Korea and recognized the South Korean government as the only legitimate government of Korea. Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea (Japanese: 日韓基本条約, Nikkan Kihon Jōyaku; Korean: 한일기본조약, 韓日基本條約, Hanil Gibon Joyak) was signed on June 22, 1965 to establish basic relationship between Japan and the Republic of Korea. ...

Division between Chongryon and Mindan

Out of the two Korean organizations in Japan, the pro-North Chongryon has been the more militant in terms of retaining Koreans' ethnic identity. Its policies included:

• Operation of about 60 ethnic Korean schools across Japan, initially partly funded by the North Korean government, in which lessons were conducted in Korean. They maintain a strong pro-North Korean ideology, which has sometimes come under criticism from pupils, parents, and the public alike. Until very recently, graduates of Chongryon schools were not even permitted to take public university entrance exams, as they were not legally classified as regular schools, but rather in the same category as cooking or driving schools.
• Discouraging its members from marrying Japanese.
• Chongryon-operated businesses and banks to provide the necessary jobs, services, and social networks for Zainichi Koreans outside mainstream society.
• Opposition to Zainichi Koreans' right to vote or participation in Japanese elections, which they saw as an unacceptable attempt at assimilation into Japanese society. ^[5]
• A campaign in the late 1950s to persuade Zainichi Koreans to migrate to North Korea, which it hailed as a socialist "Paradise on Earth". Some 90,000 Zainichi Koreans and their Japanese spouses moved to the North before the migration eventually died down as the appalling conditions which awaited them became increasingly clear.

Pro-North Zainichi who maintained their Joseon nationalities have been called "North Koreans in Japan" in English by writers such as Sonia Ryang. While this term is not technically incorrect, it is somewhat misleading. Zainichi Chōsenjin in the vast majority of cases settled in Japan before the modern state of North Korea was instituted, and in most cases originate from the south of the Korean Peninsula. Their status as "North Koreans" is based almost entirely on their historical ideological loyalties. The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. ...

Well into at least the 1970s, Chongryon was the dominant Zainichi group, and in some ways remains more politically significant today in Japan. However, the widening disparity between the political and economic conditions of the two Koreas has since made Mindan, the pro-South Korean group, the larger and certainly the less politically controversial faction. 65% of Zainichi are now said to be affiliated to Mindan. The number of pupils receiving ethnic education from Chongryon-affiliated schools has declined sharply, with many, if not most, Zainichi now opting to send their children to mainstream Japanese schools. Some Chongryon schools have been closed for lack of funding, and there is serious doubt as to the continuing viability of the system as a whole. (Mindan has also traditionally operated a school system for the children of its members, although it has been always been less widespread and organized compared to its Chongryon counterpart, and is said to be nearly defunct at the present time.) Mindan, or the Korean Residents Union in Japan(Korean: 재일본대한민국민단, Hanja: 在日本大韓民國民團), is the name of an organization for South Koreans living in Japan, which has ties to South Korea. ...

Repatriation to Korea

Repatriation of Zainichi Koreans from Japan conducted under the auspices of the Japanese Red Cross began to receive official support from the Japanese government as early as 1956; a North Korean-sponsored repatriation programme officially began in 1959. The Japanese government was in favour of repatriation as a way not only to reduce the labour force in a time of recession, but also a way to rid the country of ethnic minority residents regarded as "Communists" or "subversives."^[6] Though the United States government was initially unaware of Tokyo's cooperation with the repatriation programme, they offered no objection after they were informed of it; the US ambassador to Japan was quoted by his Australian counterpart as describing the Koreans in Japan as "a poor lot including many Communists and many criminals".^[7] The Japanese Red Cross Society (日本赤十字社 nihon sekijūji sha) is a humanitarian corporation established by the Japanese Red Cross Law of 1952. ...

Despite the fact that 97% of the Zainichi Koreans originated from the southern half of the Korean peninsula, the North was initially a far more popular destination for repatriation than the South; however, as word came back of difficult conditions faced in the North, and with the 1965 normalization of Japan-South Korea relations, the popularity of repatriation to the North dropped sharply, though the trickle of returnees to the reclusive communist state continued as late as 1984.^[8] In total, 93,340 people migrated from Japan to North Korea under the repatriation programme; an estimated 6,000 were actually Japanese migrating with Korean spouses. Around one hundred such repatriates are believed to have later escaped from North Korea; the most famous is Kang Chol-Hwan, who published a book about his experience, The Aquariums of Pyongyang.^[7] Though repatriates in general faced social discrimination and political repression, with as many as 10,000 being imprisoned in concentration camps, some rose to positions of power in the North Korean government; one returnee who later defected back to Japan, known only by his Japanese pseudonym Kenki Aoyama, worked for North Korean intelligence as a spy in Beijing.^[9] In 1990 Su-to Ha, former vice chief of organization for Chongryon who was expelled in 1972 for demanding democratic reforms, led a rally of 500 in Tokyo to protest North Korea's human rights violations, in which protesters accused North Korea of holding ex-Zainichi returnees captive in order to siphon money off remittances from their relatives in Japan.^{[citation needed]} The repatriations have been the subject of numerous creative works in Japan, due to the influence they had on the Zainichi Korean community; one documentary film about a family in which the sons repatriated while the parents and daughter remained in Japan, Dear Pyongyang, won a special jury prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.^[10] The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Japanese people in North Korea consist mainly of four groups of people: Japanese prisoners-of-war from the Soviet Union, Japanese accompanying repatriating Zainichi Korean spouses, members of the Japanese Communist Partys Red Army Faction, and kidnap victims. ... This is a list of North Korean defectors: // Background Since the division of the Korean peninsula after World War II and from the end of the Korean War (1950-1953), many people have defected from North Korea mainly to South Korea. ... Kang Chol-Hwan is a defector from North Korea. ... Front cover of the United States edition of The Aquariums of Pyongyang. ...   (Chinese:  ; Pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; IPA: ), a metropolis in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Dear Pyongyang is a documentary film by Zainichi Korean director Yang Yonghi about her own family. ... The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival in the United States, and ranks alongside the Cannes, France, Venice, Italy, Berlin, Germany, and Toronto, Canada festivals as one of the most prestigious in the world. ...

Some Zainichi Koreans have also gone to South Korea to study or to settle; for example, author Lee Yangji studied at Seoul University in the early 1980s.^[11] Yangji Lee (March 15, 1955–May 22, 1992) was a second-generation Zainichi Korean Japanese novelist born in Nishikatsura, Yamanashi, Japan. ... Seoul National University (), abbreviated as SNU (Korean abbreviation [3]; Seoul-dae), is one of South Koreas national universities, whose main campus is located in Seoul, South Korea. ...

Integration into Japanese society

Zainichi today have established a stable existence in Japan after decades of intense hardship. Years of activism, such as Mintohren, and community support by Zainichi organizations (Mindan, Chongryon, Mintoren, among others), other minority groups (Ainu, Burakumin, Ryūkyūans, Uilta, Nivkhs and others), and sympathetic Japanese have improved the societal atmosphere for Zainichi in Japan. Mintohren (民闘連 Mintōren) is a grass-roots movement, created by young Koreans in Japan, for the struggle against ethnic discrimination. ... Mintohren (民闘連 Mintōren) is a grass-roots movement, created by young Koreans in Japan, for the struggle against ethnic discrimination. ... The Ainu IPA: /?ajnu/) are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaidō and north of HonshÅ« in Northern Japan, the Kuril Islands, much of Sakhalin, and the southernmost third of the Kamchatka peninsula. ... Burakumin (: buraku, community or hamlet + min, people), or hisabetsu buraku ( discriminated communities / discriminated hamlets) are a Japanese social minority group. ... RyÅ«kyÅ«an people (Japanese: 琉球民族, of which Okinawans, Miyako people, and Yaeyama people are subgroups), are the indigenous people of the RyÅ«kyÅ« Islands of Japan between the islands of KyÅ«shÅ« and Taiwan. ... Oroks (Ороки in Russian; self designation: ульта, or ulta) are a people in the Sakhalin Oblast (mainly, eastern part of the island) in Russia. ... The Nivkhs (also Nivkh or Gilyak; ethnonym: Nivxi; language, нивхгу - Nivxgu) are an indigenous people inhabiting the region of the region of the Amur River estuary and on nearby Sakhalin Island. ...

Most younger Zainichi, and the vast majority of those affiliated with Mindan which never had a particularly strong ideological base, now speak only Japanese, work for Japanese firms and increasingly marry Japanese. Some opt to gain Japanese citizenship though naturalization; according the statistics at the Ministry of Justice of Japan,^[12] about 10,000 Koreans naturalize in Japan every year. Others choose to retain their South Korean or Joseon nationality as part of their heritage (neither Japanese nor South Korean nationality laws allow multiple citizenship for adults). The Minister of Justice is the member of the Cabinet of Japan in charge of the Ministry of Justice. ...

Residents Registration

Japan used to take fingerprints as part of the registration process for foreign residents, a policy which has been a subject of much controversy, especially among resident Koreans. After many years of campaigning, the requirement was abolished in 1992 for those with "Special Permanent Residents" status i.e. zainichi Koreans. In 1999, the Alien Registration Law was further amended to eliminate fingerprinting of foreign residents in general. Mindan expressed disappointment as it did not eliminate the requirement that foreign residents carry their registration cards at all times, and Koreans protested in Tokyo alongside Thais, Filipinos and Brazilians dressed in traditional costumes of their homelands.

Right to vote & government employment

Long-term ethnic Korean residents of Japan who have not taken up Japanese nationality currently have the legal status of Tokubetsu Eijusha ("Special Permanent Residents") and are granted special rights and privileges compared to other foreigners, especially in matters such as re-entry and deportation statutes. These privileges were originally given to residents with South Korean nationality in 1965, and were extended in 1991 to cover those who have retained their "Joseon nationality".

Over the decades, zainichi Koreans have been campaigning to regain their Japanese citizenship rights without having to adopt Japanese nationality. The right to claim social welfare benefits was granted in 1954, followed by access to the national health insurance scheme (1960s) and state pensions (1980s). There is some doubt over the legality of some of these payments as the Public Assistance Law, which governs social welfare payments, is seen to apply to "Japanese nationals." ...

There have also been campaigns to allow zainichi Koreans to take up government employment and participate in elections, rights which have been open to Japanese nationals only. Since 1992 Mindan has been campaigning for the right to vote in elections for prefectural and municipal assemblies, mayors and prefecture governors, backed by the South Korean government. In 1997 Kawasaki became the first municipality to hire a Korean national. So far, three prefectures - Osaka, Nara and Kanagawa - have granted voting rights to permanent foreign residents. However, the Japanese Diet has not yet passed a resolution regarding this matter despite several attempts by political parties to do so, and there is considerable public and political opposition against granting voting rights to those who have not yet adopted Japanese nationality. Mindan, or the Korean Residents Union in Japan(Korean: 재일본대한민국민단, Hanja: 在日本大韓民國民團), is the name of an organization for South Koreans living in Japan, which has ties to South Korea. ...

Chongryon, on the other hand, opposes moves to allow zainichi Koreans to participate in Japanese politics, on the basis that it assimilates Koreans into Japanese society and thus weakens the Korean ethnic identity. The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chae Ilbon Chosŏnin Chongryŏnhaphoe in Korean or Zai-Nihon Chōsenjin Sōrengōkai in Japanese), abbreviated to Chongryon (, 總聯) or Chōsen Sōren (朝鮮総連), is one of two main organisations for Zainichi Koreans (long term Korean residents in Japan...

Korean Schools

The pro-Pyongyang Chongryon operates 218 Korean schools (Japanese: 朝鮮学校, Korean: 조선학교, Hanja: 朝鮮學校) across Japan, including kindergartens and one university. All lessons, and all conversations within the school are conducted in Korean. They teach a strong pro-North Korean ideology and allegiance to Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. (Mindan also operates a few schools but are said to be nearly defunct.) They are not classified as regular schools under Japanese law as they do not follow the national curriculum, but rather as "miscellaneous schools" alongside driving schools. This has led to many discrepancies with regular Japanese schools which Chongryon calls discriminatory. Kim Il-sung (15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was the leader of North Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death, when he was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il. ... Kim Jong-il (also written as Kim Jong Il) (born February 16, 1941) is the leader of North Korea, a position he has held since 1994. ...

One of the issues is funding. The schools were originally set up and run with support from the North Korean government but this money has now dried up, and with dropping pupil numbers, many schools are facing financial difficulties. The Japanese government has refused Chongryon's requests that it funds ethnic schools in line with regular Japanese schools, citing Article 89 of the Japanese Constitution, where use of public funds for education by non-public bodies is prohibited. In reality the schools are in fact partly funded by local authorities, but subsidies takes place in the form of special benefits paid to the families of pupils, as opposed to paying the schools directly, in order to avoid a blatant breach of Article 89. It is also much less than regular Japanese schools. The present Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947, during the American occupation after the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II. The Constitution of the Empire of Japan (1889–1947) The first constitution in Japan was enacted by the Emperor during the Meiji...

Another issue is an examination called the High School Equivalency Test, or daiken, which qualifies those who have not graduated from a regular high school to apply for a place in a state university and take an entrance exam. Until recently, only those who have completed compulsory education (i.e. up to junior high school) were entitled to take daiken; this meant pupils of ethnic schools had to do extra courses before being allowed to take the exam. In 1999 the requirement was amended so that anyone over a certain age are qualified. Campaigners were not satisfied because this still meant graduates of non-Japanese high schools had to take daiken. In 2003, the Education Ministry removed the requirement to take the Equivalency Test from graduates of Chinese schools, Mindan-run Korean schools and international schools affiliated with Western nations and accredited by U.S. and British organizations. However this did not apply to graduates of pro-Pyongyang Korean schools, saying it could not approve their curricula. The decision was left up to individual universities, 70% of which allowed Korean school graduates to apply directly. ^[13]

Tsūmei (Japanese alias name)

Traditionally Zainichi Koreans used tsūmei, or Japanese names in public, primarily to avoid discrimination, but recent trends for some Zainichis, including celebrities and professional sportsmen, to use their Korean names reflect the diminishing levels of prejudice in Japanese society. Well-known Japanese of Korean descent include Hanshin Tigers star Tomoaki Kanemoto and pro wrestlers Riki Choshu and Akira Maeda, although these individuals continue to use their Japanese names. The Hanshin Tigers ) are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. ... Mitsuo Yoshida(吉田光雄), better known by his stage name Riki Choshu(長州力), is a Japanese professional wrestler who is most known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro Wrestling as a wrestler and a booker. ... Akira Maeda is a Korean Japanese professional wrestler, also known as Kwik-kik-Lee for his time on the British Wrestling show World of Sport . ...

Controversies over Chongryon

Main article: Chongryon

For a long time, Chongryon enjoyed unofficial immunity from searches and investigations, partly because authorities were reluctant to carry out any actions which may provoke not only accusations of racism but lead to an international incident. Chongryon has long been suspected of a variety of criminal acts on behalf of North Korea, such as illegal transfer of funds to North Korea and espionage, but no action was taken. However, recent escalating tensions between and Japan and North Korea over a number of issues, namely North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals which came to light in 2002 as well as its nuclear weapons program, has led to a resurgence of public animosity against Chongryon. Chongryon schools have alleged numerous cases of verbal abuse and physical violence directed against their students and buildings, and Chongryon facilities have been targets of protests and occasional incidents. The Japanese authorities have recently started to crack down on Chongryon, with investigations and arrests for charges ranging from tax evasion to espionage. These moves are usually criticized by Chongryon as acts of political suppression. ^[14] . The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chae Ilbon Chosŏnin Chongryŏnhaphoe in Korean or Zai-Nihon Chōsenjin Sōrengōkai in Japanese), abbreviated to Chongryon (, 總聯) or Chōsen Sōren (朝鮮総連), is one of two main organisations for Zainichi Koreans (long term Korean residents in Japan... In May 2004, North Korea allowed the five children of two abducted couples to leave North Korea and join their families, who had come back to Japan for a year and a half. ... North Korea claims to possess nuclear weapons, and the CIA asserts that is has a substantial arsenal of chemical weapons (deliverable by artillery). ...

Furthermore, the Japanese authorities have recently started to crack down on Chongryon activities, moves usually criticized by Chongryon as acts of political suppression. ^[15]

In December 2001, police raided Chongryon's Tokyo headquarters and related facilities to investigate Chongryon officials' suspected role in embezzlement of funds from the failed Tokyo Chogin credit union. ^[16]

In 2002, Shotaro Tochigi, deputy head of the Public Security Investigation Agency told a session of the House of Representatives Financial Affairs Committee that the agency is investigating Chongryon for suspected illicit transfers of funds to the North. ^[17] The image of Chongryon was further tarnished by North Korea's surprise 2002 admission that it had abducted Japanese nationals in the 1970's, as it had been categorically and fiercely denying for many years that the abductions had ever taken place and dismissing rumors of North Korean involvement as a racist fantasy. Some of the recent drop in membership of Chongryon is thought to be attributed to ordinary members of Chongryon who had believed the party line feeling deeply humiliated and disillusioned upon discovering that they had been used as mouthpieces to deny what was seen in Japan as serious wrongdoing by North Korea.

In March 2006, police raided six Chongryon-related facilities in an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the June 1980 disappearance of one of the alleged abductees, Tadaaki Hara. Police spokesman said that the head of Chongryon at the time is suspected of co-operating in his kidnap. ^[18]

The operation of the Mangyongbong-92 (temporarily suspended for six months as of July 2006), a North Korean ferry that is the only regular direct link between North Korea and Japan, is a subject of significant tension as the ferry is primarily used by Chongryon to send its members to North Korea and to supply North Korea with money and goods donated by the organization and its members. Although the humanitarian aspect of such contributions cannot be denied, particularly given that older Chongryon members have immediate family in North Korea, Chongryon members also continue to send lavish gifts, such as cash, expensive western liquor and Japanese beef, to Kim Jong Il and other high-ranking North Korean officials.^{[citation needed]}. In 2003, a North Korean defector made a statement to the US Senate committee stating that more than 90% of the parts used by North Korea to construct its missiles were brought from Japan aboard the ship. ^[19] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In May 2006, Chongryon and the pro-South Mindan agreed to reconcile, only for the agreement to break down the following month due to Mindan's distrust of Chongryon. North Korea's missile tests in July 2006 have deepened the divide, with Chongryon refusing to condemn the missile tests, expressing only its regret that the Japanese government has suspended the operation of the Mangyongbong-92. Outraged senior Mindan officials joined mainstream Japanese politicians and media in sharply criticizing Chongryon's silence over the matter. Picture of Taepodong-1 missile test from 1998 Two rounds of North Korean missile tests were conducted on July 5, 2006. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ 平成１５年末現在における外国人登録者統計について (Japanese).
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ Lankov, Andrei. "Stateless in Sakhalin", The Korea Times, 2006-01-05. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
4. ^ United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (September 26, 2000): "E. Korean residents in Japan 32. The majority of Korean residents, who constitute about one third of the foreign population in Japan, are Koreans (or their descendants) who came to reside in Japan for various reasons during the 36 years (1910-1945) of Japan's rule over Korea and who continued to reside in Japan after having lost Japanese nationality, which they held during the time of Japan's rule, with the enforcement of the San Francisco Peace Treaty (28 April 1952)."
5. ^ Yonhap news, May 17, 2006.
6. ^ Morris-Suzuki, Tessa. "Japan's Hidden Role In The 'Return' Of Zainichi Koreans To North Korea", ZNet, 2005-02-07. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
7. ^ ^{a b} Morris-Suzuki, Tessa (2007-03-13). "The Forgotten Victims of the North Korean Crisis". Nautilus Institute. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
8. ^ NOZAKI, Yoshiki; INOKUCHI Hiromitsu, KIM Tae-Young. "Legal Categories, Demographic Change and Japan’s Korean Residents in the Long Twentieth Century". Japan Focus. 
9. ^ "Spy's escape from North Korean 'hell'", BBC News, 2003-01-06. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
10. ^ Sundance Film Festival (2006-01-28). 2006 Sundance Film Festival announces awards for documentary and dramatic films in independent film and world cinema competitions (PDF). Press release. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
11. ^ SHIN Eunju (申銀珠). "ソウルの異邦人、その周辺一李艮枝「由煕」をめぐって (Portrait of a Foreigner's World in Seoul: Yuhi by Yi Yangji)". Niigata University of International and Information Studies.
12. ^ 過去１０年間の帰化許可申請者数，帰化許可者数等の推移 (Japanese).
13. ^ Ed-Info Japan News from September, to December, 2003
14. ^ FM Spokesman Urges Japan to Stop Suppression of Chongryon.
15. ^ FM Spokesman Urges Japan to Stop Suppression of Chongryon.
16. ^ Gov't defends police raid on Chongryon head office (Japan Policy & Politics, Dec 3, 2001)
17. ^ CORRECTED: Pro-Pyongyang group rules out link to abduction (Asian Political News, Nov 18, 2002)
18. ^ Friday, April 07, 2006; Volume 02, Number 14 of the Japan Considered Podcast.
19. ^ N Korea ferry struggling against the tide (BBC News Online, June 9, 2003)

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See also

• Ethnic issues in Japan
• Demographics of Japan
• Korean-Japanese disputes
• Chinese in Japan
• Ryukyuan people
• Ainu people
• Yamato people
• List of people of mixed Japanese and Korean descent

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The following text needs to be harmonized with text in the article Japan#Demographics. ... There have been disputes between Korea (both North and South) and Japan on many issues over the years. ... Chinese in Japan, also referred to as kakyou (Japanese: 華僑, literally Chinese sojourners) or zainichi chuugokujin (Japanese: 在日中国人, literally Chinese people resident in Japan), have a history going back for centuries or even millenia. ... Ryukyuan people (Japanese: 琉球民族, Chinese: 琉球族) are the indigenous people of the Ryukyu Islands of Japan between the islands of Kyūshū and Taiwan. ... The Ainu IPA: /?ajnu/) are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaidō and north of Honshū in Northern Japan, the Kuril Islands, much of Sakhalin, and the southernmost third of the Kamchatka peninsula. ... The Yamato people ) are the dominant native ethnic group of Japan. ... A list of people of mixed Japanese and Korean descent: Sho Yano, IQ genius Yi Gu, Joseon pretender Yuna Ito, a Japanese-language pop singer Woo Jang-choon, a botanist raised in Japan Miyavi, a Japanese solo rock artist Mixed race Japanese people Korean people Zainichi Koreans Categories: | | | ...

External links

• FCCJ(The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan)Mr.Suganuma of former Public Security Investigation Agency tells it about Zainichi Korean (Japanese, English)
• South Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan) (Korean, Japanese, English)
• History of Mindan (English)
• Online Newspaper covering Zainichi Korean and Mindan (English)
• The Federation of Korean Associations, Japan (Korean, Japanese)
• North Korean Residents Union in Japan (Joseon Chongryon) (Korean, Japanese)
• The Han World - a site for Korean residents in Japan.
• The Self-Identities of Zainichi Koreans - a paper on Zainichi.
• MINTOHREN: Young Koreans Against Ethnic Discrimination in Japan
• Panel discussion in San Francisco Nichi Bei Times Article
• Testing Tolerance: Fallout from North Korea's Nuclear Program Hits Minorities in Japan article from The Common Language Project