Naturalization, Assimilation or Resistance-

You would expect that that naturalization figures for Japan would be significantly lower than the US. The cultures are completely different. That's not to say that one is 'right' and the other is 'wrong'. They just have a different approach to life and the challenges it presents.

I didn't, however, expect the figures to be so dramatically different. The Japanese Ministry of Justice released the most recent figures on Wednesday here in Tokyo. It turns out that a grand total of 15,291 people were naturalized in 2001. And the figure represents a decrease of 3.4% from last years figures.

Even more interesting is that the vast majority (10,295) of those naturalized were reported to be Korean. This doesn't represent an influx of Koreans that have moved to Japan because they want to become Japanese citizens. It actually represents people that have been living here, often since before WWII, and their children and grandchildren.

Japan Today Japan News - News - 15,291 become naturalized Japanese citizens in 2001 - Japan's Leading International News Network
- posted by tempusmaster @ 5:34 PM