Japanese Society

Japanese society is ethnically and linguistically very pure with 99% of the population speaking Japanese. The other 1% consists of an immigrant population of primarily Koreans, Chinese and Loochoos, as well as the tiny indigenous minority of the Ainu on Hokkaido. The government of Japan, as an official policy, does not acknowledge full citizenship of many foreigners who have lived in Japan for many decades and generations.

Typically, only children born in Japan and to married parents both holding Japanese citizenship are considered ‘naturally Japanese’ and are entered into the family’s “Koseki” (a Japanese family tree spanning generations). Japanese citizenship can be obtained for children born outside Japan to Japanese parents via a Japanese consulate office. Racism, prejudice and other forms of intolerance are also normal facts of life for gaijin and non-100% Japanese alike (Okinawans, Ainu, Korean-Japanese). Racism is not an openly acknowledged problem in Japanese society despite its daily occurrence in life and in popular media.

Many people, especially those in younger generations, are opposed to religions because of historical reason and development of science. Prior to World War II people were required to believe in Shintoism and prohibited to believe any other religion. Many others are neutral on religions and use various religions in their life. One may visit a Shinto shrine on New Year’s day for the year’s success and before school entrance exam to pray to pass. The same person may have a wedding at a Christian church and have funeral at a Buddhist temple. A number of new religions established after or slightly before World War II are also influential.

(The article information source is Wikipedia)

No related posts.