한신대지진과 일본 다문화 커뮤니티의 변화 : 고베시 나가타구의 사례

Abstract

What were the social effects of the Great Hanshin Earthquake which assaulted Kobe metropolitan area in January 1995? How did the multicultural communities in Kobe, in particular Nagata-ku area change after such calamity? <BR> Foreign communities in Kobe were formed during three different historical moments. Firstly, with the opening of the port in the latter half of the 19th century, Westerners, Chinese and Indians developed a mixed settlement. Secondly, with rapid industrialization during the First World War period, many Korean workers emigrated from colonial Korea to Japan. Lastly, with the internationalization and globalization tendencies during the latter half of the 20th century, there emerged so-called ‘new-comers’ from all over the world, especially South-east Asia and Latin America. The second and the third moments made decisive impacts in the formation of the present local communities of Nagata-ku area. <BR> Local identities of Nagata-ku area were characterized by the multinational, multicultural communities composed mainly of the low-income foreign immigrants. Therefore, Nagata-ku area turned out to be one of the most seriously damaged areas in Kobe by the earthquake in 1995. Due to the demolition of housing caused by the earthquake, Japanese government started large scale housing development with a three year plan of housing reconstruction. But government-led reconstruction focused not on the rehabilitation of the livelihoods and urban communities but on the reconstruction of the buildings and urban built environments only to weaken the solidarities of local communities constituted of various social minorities including the aged, the poor, and the foreign residents. <BR> Despite the apparent weakening of local communities during this reconstruction process, I could find the multicultural communities in Nagata-ku area even stronger than before. The FMYY, which had been organized for temporary relief activities, was transformed into a center of communication of multicultural local communities in this area. The dynamics and the changes of the multicultural communities in Nagata-ku suggest a new image of a Japanese society moving towards multicultural society.