One people, one race?
Japanese people appear at first glance to be one of the most socially and ethnically homogenous groups in the world.
It is reasonable to equate Japan's rapid post-war economic development to the 1990s with social solidarity and conformism. Despite labour shortages since the 1960s, authorities resisted officially sanctioning foreign workers until the 1980s, relying on increased mechanisation and an expanded female workforce instead (1).
Until recently, Japanese workers have associated themselves primarily with the company they work for - a businessman will introduce himself as "Nissan no Takahashi-san" (I am Nissan's Mr Takahashi). By extension, we might get the idea that a Japanese person subordinates the self to the objectives of society.
In 2008, however, long-serving Japanese politician Nariaki Nakayama resigned after declaring that Japan is "ethnically homogenous", showing that the old "one people, one race" idea has become politically incorrect.
Criticism of Mr Nakayama's statement focused on its disregard for the indigenous Ryukyukan people of southern Okinawa, and the Ainu people from the northern island of Hokkaido - colonised by the Japanese in the late nineteenth century.
In 1994 the first Ainu politician was elected to the Japanese Diet, suggesting that the Japanese are keen to officially recognise distinct ethnic groups in Japan.
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