Koreans in Japan
Japanese residents of Korean origin or descent / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Koreans in Japan (在日韓国人・在日本朝鮮人・朝鮮人, Zainichi Kankokujin/Zainihon Chōsenjin/Chōsenjin) (Korean: 재일 한국/조선인) are ethnic Koreans who immigrated to Japan before 1945 and are citizens or permanent residents of Japan, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South Korean nationals who have immigrated to Japan since the end of World War II and the division of Korea.
在日韓国・朝鮮人 재일 한국・조선인 | |
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Total population | |
434,461 (December 2023) ![]() (in December, 2023)[1] ![]() (December 2023)[2] Details[2]
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Regions with significant populations | |
Tokyo (Shin-Ōkubo) · Osaka Prefecture (Ikuno-ku) | |
Languages | |
Japanese · Korean (Zainichi Korean) | |
Religion | |
Buddhism · Shinto/Korean Shamanism · Christianity · Irreligion | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Korean people · Sakhalin Koreans |
Koreans in Japan | |||||||
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Korean name | |||||||
Hangul | 재일 한국・조선인 | ||||||
Hanja | 在日 韓國・朝鮮人 | ||||||
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Japanese name | |||||||
Kanji | 在日韓国・朝鮮人 | ||||||
Kana | ざいにちかんこく・ちょうせんじん | ||||||
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They currently constitute the second largest ethnic minority group in Japan after Chinese immigrants, due to many Koreans assimilating into the general Japanese population.[3] The majority of Koreans in Japan are Zainichi Koreans (在日韓国・朝鮮人, Zainichi Kankoku/Chōsenjin), often known simply as Zainichi (在日, lit. 'in Japan'), who are ethnic Korean permanent residents of Japan. The term Zainichi Korean refers only to long-term Korean residents of Japan who trace their roots to Korea under Japanese rule, distinguishing them from the later wave of Korean migrants who came mostly in the 1980s,[4] and from pre-modern immigrants dating back to antiquity who may themselves be the ancestors of the Japanese people.[5]
The Japanese word "Zainichi" itself means a foreign citizen "staying in Japan", and implies temporary residence.[6] Nevertheless, the term "Zainichi Korean" is used to describe settled permanent residents of Japan, both those who have retained their Joseon or North Korean/South Korean nationalities, and even sometimes includes Japanese citizens of Korean descent who acquired Japanese nationality by naturalization or by birth from one or both parents who have Japanese citizenship.