From “Contested” Multiculturalism to “Localized” Multiculturalism: Chinese and Vietnamese Youth in Osaka, Japan

Abstract

This article examines how everyday experiences of certain subjects at the margins of the state illustrate the gap between official discourses and practices of multiculturalism, and unofficial everyday interpretations or reactions to the former. For this purpose, the article discusses Chinese and Vietnamese youth who experienced educational programs under the framework of “multiculturalism and coexistence” (tabunka kyōsei) in primary school in Osaka, Japan. How do activists and teachers negotiate multiculturalism, and how do these youth remember their experience? The gap found here reshapes or contests state practices and discourses, and thus, illustrates a creative space within state and society.