2.3% of Japan's local population is half western

[salamat]

How does this affect Japan's society in the future??

 

[nice gaijin]

@salamat, could you please provide a little more context for your question (like where you got the statistic, a link to an article about the changing demographics, what YOU think it means for Japan's future), and maybe write more than one sentence to get the thread going?

 

[salamat]

Hāfu: What it means to Japanese in a Changing Japan | Articles on Izanau

Identity in Japan and how mixed race people fit in....or not.

izanau.com

According to Quora 2% of the japanese population is half japanese
What percentage of Japan's population are half-Japanese?




About 2% of Japanese are half Japanese.

According to the national vital statistics, 18134 of the 946065 children born in 2017 had foreign parents, or 1 9% of the total.

 

[salamat]

We may see Japan ending up similar to Latin America countries in the future if these trends continue, where pure japanese families have low birth rate.

 

[nice gaijin]

Thanks for expanding on your question.

I think it makes sense that the demographics are shifting away from homogeneity, as the foreign population is rising and one of the easiest ways for foreigners to get permission to reside in Japan is through marriage. Japan is pretty strict about immigration and its population is already declining, so it seems perfectly reasonable for the percentage of mixed children to increase as these trends continue.

I guess, then, the question is to what extent are we assigning a label or value to this change we're observing. Do you think it's a good or bad thing that Japan is moving in this direction?

We may see Japan ending up similar to Latin America countries in the future if these trends continue, where pure japanese families have low birth rate.

@salamat, I'm not sure what you mean about Latin American countries or where you're drawing a parallel... what do you consider to be "pure" families in Latin America?

 

[salamat]

Thanks for expanding on your question.

I think it makes sense that the demographics are shifting away from homogeneity, as the foreign population is rising and one of the easiest ways for foreigners to get permission to reside in Japan is through marriage. Japan is pretty strict about immigration and its population is already declining, so it seems perfectly reasonable for the percentage of mixed children to increase as these trends continue.

I guess, then, the question is to what extent are we assigning a label or value to this change we're observing. Do you think it's a good or bad thing that Japan is moving in this direction?


@salamat, I'm not sure what you mean about Latin American countries or where you're drawing a parallel... what do you consider to be "pure" families in Latin America?

The criollos(fully spanish europeans) who make up the upper class of latin america

 

[salamat]

Thanks for expanding on your question.

I think it makes sense that the demographics are shifting away from homogeneity, as the foreign population is rising and one of the easiest ways for foreigners to get permission to reside in Japan is through marriage. Japan is pretty strict about immigration and its population is already declining, so it seems perfectly reasonable for the percentage of mixed children to increase as these trends continue.

I guess, then, the question is to what extent are we assigning a label or value to this change we're observing. Do you think it's a good or bad thing that Japan is moving in this direction?


@salamat, I'm not sure what you mean about Latin American countries or where you're drawing a parallel... what do you consider to be "pure" families in Latin America?

Well I guess its from whose perspective is dependent if its negative or positive. Some westerners may see it in a positive light that Japan is becoming whiter

 

[nice gaijin]

The criollos(fully spanish europeans) who make up the upper class of latin america

hm, it's interesting that the group you consider "pure" in Latin America is the group directly descended from the European colonizers from a few centuries ago... Wouldn't that be like if a bunch of French-speaking Canadians came to Japan and created a successful ethnic enclave, then claimed to be "pure Japanese" in a few hundred years?

Well I guess its from whose perspective is dependent if its negative or positive. Some westerners may see it in a positive light that Japan is becoming whiter

What would you say, from your perspective?

 

[salamat]

hm, it's interesting that the group you consider "pure" in Latin America is the group directly descended from the European colonizers from a few centuries ago... Wouldn't that be like if a bunch of French-speaking Canadians came to Japan and created a successful ethnic enclave, then claimed to be "pure Japanese" in a few hundred years?


What would you say, from your perspective?

From my perspective it doesnt really affect me,
But it would be sad to see japanese unique identity/features be swallowed into a more westerm compatible look.

 

[Lothor]

Well I guess its from whose perspective is dependent if its negative or positive. Some westerners may see it in a positive light that Japan is becoming whiter

Only a racist would see a 'Whiter' population as a positive thing. Most Westerners are not racist, even if the systems in their home country (and most countries in the world) are, and many Westerners are not White. I think we can leave skin colour out of this discussion.

Note that the number of Western people in Japan is much smaller than the number of non-Japanese Asian people. There are far more Japanese children with a Chinese, Korean, or Filipino parent than there are with a Western parent. So Japan is not becoming 'Whiter'.

Many people (myself included) see increased diversity and foreign representation in Japan as a good thing. You probably would too if you lived in Japan and repeatedly found your existence denied (foreigners are often not included in official population statistics) or exoticized by idiotic TV programs.

 

[Majestic]

And the Japanese themselves are a mixture of various ethnicities, having undergone waves of immigration from the mainland (Korea and China) through the centuries. Some say the imperial line itself is linked to Korea. So this idea of "diluting the pure blood of Japan" already seems more emotional than rational, but the premise of this whole thread is a bit cringe, so we're already departing from the shores of rationality.

 

[salamat]

Only a racist would see a 'Whiter' population as a positive thing. Most Westerners are not racist, even if the systems in their home country (and most countries in the world) are, and many Westerners are not White. I think we can leave skin colour out of this discussion.

Note that the number of Western people in Japan is much smaller than the number of non-Japanese Asian people. There are far more Japanese children with a Chinese, Korean, or Filipino parent than there are with a Western parent. So Japan is not becoming 'Whiter'.

Many people (myself included) see increased diversity and foreign representation in Japan as a good thing. You probably would too if you lived in Japan and repeatedly found your existence denied (foreigners are often not included in official population statistics) or exoticized by idiotic TV programs.

interesting, i live in the states and the media I have seen make it seem like half western was the overwhelming majority

 

[salamat]

And the Japanese themselves are a mixture of various ethnicities, having undergone waves of immigration from the mainland (Korea and China) through the centuries. Some say the imperial line itself is linked to Korea. So this idea of "diluting the pure blood of Japan" already seems more emotional than rational, but the premise of this whole thread is a bit cringe, so we're already departing from the shores of rationality.

Well thats just human history, its the same in many european countries too

 

[mdchachi]

The statistic you cited doesn't corroborate your headline. That is, if 2% are half, most likely only a tiny fraction of them are half European-American (aka white). Japanese DNA won't get diluted with "whiteness" any time soon.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

Too late. Depending on who you ask, Japan is already Western, and by extension so are all its citizens.

Western world - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[salamat]

Only a racist would see a 'Whiter' population as a positive thing. Most Westerners are not racist, even if the systems in their home country (and most countries in the world) are, and many Westerners are not White. I think we can leave skin colour out of this discussion.

Note that the number of Western people in Japan is much smaller than the number of non-Japanese Asian people. There are far more Japanese children with a Chinese, Korean, or Filipino parent than there are with a Western parent. So Japan is not becoming 'Whiter'.

Many people (myself included) see increased diversity and foreign representation in Japan as a good thing. You probably would too if you lived in Japan and repeatedly found your existence denied (foreigners are often not included in official population statistics) or exoticized by idiotic TV programs.

I have actually met an esl teacher on a flight to Narita who wished that Japan was still controlled by the US like back after ww2. He ranted that Japan would be better off if white people were in control of the country. It was a very akward 10 hours sitting next to him

 

[mdchachi]

I have actually met an esl teacher on a flight to Narita who wished that Japan was still controlled by the US like back after ww2. He ranted that Japan would be better off if white people were in control of the country. It was a very akward 10 hours sitting next to him

That would be an awkward flight indeed. You didn't mention the guy's ethnicity. White? Japanese?

 

[salamat]

That would be an awkward flight indeed. You didn't mention the guy's ethnicity. White? Japanese?

He was white, he was the type who complained how America was getting too liberal/leftist