Theorising immigrants' integration in past and present Japan

Recognising the importance of historical, institutional, and cultural structures in migration studies, this chapter examines the specificities of the Japanese context. It traces theories on the formation of Japanese national identity from the late 19th century through the aftermath of the Second World War, focusing in particular on the pre- and post-war discourse of nihonjinron (“theses on the Japanese people”), which is crucial for understanding Japan’s stance and theoretical evolution towards immigrant integration. Two dominant conceptions of Japanese origins are discussed: one positing an indigenous, pure, and homogeneous race rooted in the archipelago, and the other envisioning the Japanese as a people of mixed origins, shaped by migration from the Asian continent and the Korean peninsula. The chapter then explores the historical and political background of colonial subjects’ integration in the 20th century, before concluding with an overview of more recent theories on immigrant integration, particularly those developed from the 1990s onwards.