ABSTRACT
The previous chapter described the remarkable transformation of Japan. But apart from the changes which have caught international attention, there is the less proclaimed effect these changes have had on ordinary people in Japan. The Japanese are usually regarded as a racially homogeneous group, and there is indeed justification for such a view. But whilst there is a remarkable homogeneity, there are minorities, in some cases comprising substantial numbers of people. As we shall go on to see, they have been and still are the victims of discrimination and prejudice. This chapter will begin with a review of the position of these groups, their origin, their treatment in the past, and their present state in Japanese society. They tend to be marginalised, or even left out of accounts of Japan, because of the naturally greater emphasis given to the two giant concerns of historians, militarism and economic success. Discrimination against minorities is of course common in all societies, so Japanese attitudes are not aberrant or unusual. But there are some particular components of Japanese beliefs which will be highlighted in this discussion. The first stage is to set out the characteristics of minority groups as commonly perceived by the majority of Japanese, and to consider how far these stereotypes are found in some other societies.
