ABSTRACT
Despite the presence of several minority groups in Japanese society - the Ainu, Okinawans, burakumin, Zainichi Koreans and Zainichi Chinese, the view of Japan as a monocultural and monoethnic society has been tenacious. Nihonjinron have developed and spread both within and outside Japan, perpetuating a homogenous view of all Japanese people. A glance at the conflicts that have occurred throughout Japanese history readily dispels some of the core ideas of nihonjinron; for example, unquestioning loyalty to authority and hierarchy. A more modern challenge to the monoethnic and homogenous image of Japan is the presence of large numbers of foreign workers and their families who have been brought to Japan to meet a demand for labour that cannot be satisfied by the country’s ageing society and low birth rate. The first set of reading passages in this chapter are critiques of nihonjinron, the second passage considers minority issues and the third looks at multiculturalism in Japan today.
