A STUDY OF INTER-ETHNIC RELATIONSHIPS: THE GROWING ETHNIC COMPLEXITY IN THE JAPANESE CITY

Abstract

In examining the growing inter-ethnic complexity as an issue of social change in major Japanese cities since the mid-1980s, it is essential that in addition to learning from the experience of Western society. 1) this discussion be carried out in the context of research on Korean residents in Japan, and 2) the analysis include an examination of the inter-ethnic relationships. These two essential points have largely been ignored in previous research on the internationalization of the Japanese city. This paper is based on field research from the Ikaino district of Osaka city, which is the largest non-Japanese “ethnic” community in Japan. The research reveals hitherto neglected aspects of contemporary urban internationalization by examining the Korean community from the point of view of the relationship between the Korean and Japanese communities. We find that: 1) A Japanese community exists within Ikaino (widely known as “Korea town”). 2) The Korean and Japanese communities live side by side but emphasize their separate identities. 3) The only condition which offers hope for cooperation between the two groups is a common feeling of loss and deprivation. Arguments for and against the employment of unskilled foreign laborers continue to be heard. It is the task of the sociologist to provide an objective, unbiased analysis and to accumulate relevant data, rather than to attempt a quick resolution by supporting one side or the other.