Japan's Korean Residents Caught in the Japan-North Korea Crossfire

The Asahi Shinbun and the International Herald Tribune recently published a five-part series on Korean residents in Japan. Many of these zainichi - the word literally means "residing in Japan" - have lived in the country for two, three and even four generations. Having been deprived of the Japanese citizenship that they obtained under colonial rule in the years 1910-1945, the 600,000 zainichi are those Korean residents who have not become naturalized Japanese citizens. The series shows that they now find themselves in a crossfire between the North Korean and Japanese governments. The zainichi are the largest ethnic minority in a country that often prides itself, mistakenly, on being homogenous

Ancient history · Geography · Asian Culture and Media Studies · History · Japanese History and Culture · Korean Peninsula Historical and Political Studies