WHAT IS “A JAPANESE”? Perspectives of a Naturalized Japanese (and his students) By ARUDOU Debito...
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Transcript of WHAT IS “A JAPANESE”? Perspectives of a Naturalized Japanese (and his students) By ARUDOU Debito...
WHAT IS “A JAPANESE”?Perspectives of a Naturalized Japanese (and his students)
By ARUDOU DebitoAssociate Professor, Hokkaido Information University
International Christian University, Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Download this Powerpoint Presentation at
www.debito.org/ICU042507.ppt
Alright, I’ll ask you, right now:What is “a Japanese”?
There are no right or wrong answers.
Just write down your own, personal opinions as you discuss it with your friends.
Take a few minutes, go ahead.
じゃあ、 Are these people Japanese or not?
Wada AkikoEntertainer
Miyazawa RieActress
Umemiya AnnaModel, Tarento
Kinugasa SachioBaseball hero
Oh SadaharuBaseball hero
Alberto FujimoriFmr. Peru Prez
じゃあ、 Are these people Japanese or not? (2)
KonishikiTarento
AkebonoPro Fighter
Ramos RuiSoccer Hero
AmyDaughter
AnnaDaughter
Arudou DebitoYours Truly
Previous Student Surveys: “Who qualifies to be a Japanese?”
In-class, orally, show-of-hands informal survey with discussion.
HIU regular and senmon gakkou intensive classes.
Nationwide: Sapporo, Niigata, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Kokura (recorded), plus Sendai, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Oita (not recorded).
Overwhelmingly male, lower-income bracket, non English majors, ages 18-25 (plus a few shakaijin).
1995-2005, with little significant change over time.
Students’ answers (in no order of preference or importance)
A person who has lived in Japan
日本に住んだことがある人A person who considers him/herself "Japanese"
自分が「日本人だ」と思う人A person who has Japanese citizenship
日本国籍を有する人A person who has assimilated into Japan
日本に溶け込んでいる人A person born in Japan
日本で生まれた人A person who has spent the majority of his/her life in Japan
人生の大半を日本で過ごした人
Students’ answers (2) (in no order of preference or importance)
A person who likes Japan 日本が好きな人A person who has Japanese blood 日本の血が入っている人A person who knows a lot about Japan 日本について詳しい人A person using Japanese in everyday conversation 日常会話で日本語を使う人A person with Japanese parents/grandparents 両親・祖父母に日本人がいる人A person who is proud of Japan 日本について誇りを持つ人
Person Is Japanese Is NOT Japanese
Cannot say/
Don't know
Total Votes
Highest Vote's
Percent of Total
Wada Akikoa òaìcÉAÉLéq
135 students 31 students 39 students 205 65.9%
Miyazawa Rieb ã{ëÚÇËǶ
207 4 8 219 94.5%
Umemiya Annab î~ã{ÉAÉìÉi
184 7 18 209 88.0%
Kinugasa Sachiob àflä}èÀóY
47 4 22 73 64.4%
Oh Sadaharua â§íÂé°
138 47 34 219 63.0%
Alberto Fujimoric ÉAÉãÉxÉãÉgÅEÉtÉWÉÇÉä
69 78 41 188 41.5%
Survey Results (1)
NOTES: a) Zainichi without Japanese citizenship b) Mixed-blood person with Japanese citizenship, born in Japan. c) Naturalized Japanese citizen.
Person Is Japanese Is NOT Japanese
Cannot say/
Don't know
Total Votes
Highest Vote's
Percent of Total
Survey Results (2)
NOTES: a) Zainichi without Japanese citizenship b) Mixed-blood person with Japanese citizenship, born in Japan. c) Naturalized Japanese citizen d) Daughters Amy and Anna were included because of their equal status as born in Japan, raised in Japan, native speakers of Japanese, same parents, but with different phenotypes. Before voting, students were shown the same photos as those included in this Powerpoint presentation.
Konishikic è¨ã— 117 12 17 146 80.1% Akebonoc èå 131 35 35 201 65.2% Ramos Ruic ÉâÉÇÉXó⁄àÃ
174 22 23 219 79.5%
Daughter Amyb d àüî¸ÇøÇ·ÇÒ
200 3 18 221 90.5%
Daughter Annab d à«ìfiÇøÇ·ÇÒ
194 5 18 217 89.4%
Arudou Debitoc óLìπèoêl
176 16 29 221 79.6%
Interpretations of the data
People voted clearly Japanese, registering more than 85% of the total votes, were the “mixed children” (Miyazawa Rie 95%, Daughter Amy 91%, Daughter Anna 89%, Umemiya Anna 88%).
Almost everyone in the survey was voted to be “a Japanese”, even if they did not have Japanese citizenship (Wada and Oh).
Interpretations of the data (2)
The lone exception, even with “citizenship” was Alberto Fujimori. Even with blood, students said it was his lack of language Japanese ability.
However, Arudou Debito was granted “Japaneseness”, because of his language abilities. This would not have happened if students had only just met him, or had only seen a photo of him, they said.
Conclusions
Having Japanese language ability is the qualifier to “entitlement” for “Japaneseness”. If you want to be considered a Japanese, you had better speak out and claim it.
Conclusions (2)
“Japaneseness” and “language ability” may in fact not be a racially-based social construct, as more non-native speakers and multiethnic natives continue to appear.
This is good news for Japan’s emerging multicultural, multiethnic, and multilingual society.
Conclusions (3)
But in Arudou Debito’s view, “A Japanese” is someone who has Japanese citizenship. Nothing else.
If you don’t make the qualification for “Japaneseness” a matter of earnable citizenship, any other conditions are too grey and arbitrary for clear judgment
Conclusions (4)If you don’t make “Japaneseness” a
matter of legal status, i.e. something earnable, you get into unchangeable conditions, such as blood or birth.
Ascribing something as important to identity as nationality to something granted only by birth will result in a lot of hurt international children with Japanese passports.
Downloads
See my website at
www.debito.orgDownload this Powerpoint Presentation at
www.debito.org/ICU042507.ppt
--Thank you for listening to my presentation!