The Korean Diaspora in Post War Japan: Geopolitics, Identity and Nation-Building (International Library of Twentieth Century History)

The Korean diaspora living in Japan - the Zainichi - represent the only Korean migrant group that has not been granted citizenship by its host state. Yet despite being Korean nationals, with legal rights of abode in Korea, the Zainichi are culturally Japanese and have no intention of returning to their now divided homeland. The indistinct status of the Zainichi has meant that, since the late 1940s, two ethnic Korean associations, the Chongryun (pro-North) and the Mindan (pro-South) have been vying for political loyalty from the Zainichi, with both groups initially opposing their assimilation in Japan. Unlike the Korean diasporas living in Russia, China or the US, the Zainichi have become sharply divided along political lines as a result. Myung Ja Kim examines Japan's changing national policies towards the Zainichi in order to understand why this group has not been fully integrated into Japan. Through the prism of this ethnically Korean community, the book reveals the dynamics of alliances and alignments in East Asia, including the rise of China as an economic superpower, the security threat posed by North Korea and the diminishing alliance between Japan and the US. Taking a post-war historical perspective, the research reveals why the Zainichi are vital to Japan's state policy revisionist aims to increase its power internationally and how they were used to increase the country's geopolitical leverage. With a focus on International Relations, this book provides an important analysis of the mechanisms that lie behind nation-building policy, showing the conditions controlling a host state's treatment of diasporic groups. Table of contents Introduction Alliance Cohesion, Diaspora and Nation-Building Policies Zainichi Diaspora: from the Shadow of Japan's Colonial Legacy No Alliance and a Strong Historical Legacy-Exclusionary Policies towards the Zainichi in the Post-World War II Era (1945–1964) Alliance Cohesion Matters: Japan's Policy towards the Zainichi during the Cold War Era (1965–1980s) Does Alliance Cohesion Still Matter in the New Post-Cold War Geopolitical Era (1990–2014)? Conclusion The Zainichi - The Korean diaspora that has lived in Japan since the end of World War II - is the only Korean migrant group not yet granted citizenship by its host state. Despite remaining Korean nationals with legal rights of abode in Korea, the Zainichi have become culturally Japanese and have no intention of returning to their now divided homeland. The indistinct status of the Zainichi, combined with the post-migration division of their home state, has meant that two ethnic organisations - the pro-North Chongryun and the pro-South Mindan - have been vying for their political loyalty, with both groups initially opposing the assimilation of the diaspora into Japan. Unlike the Korean diasporas living in Russia, China or the US, the Zainichi have become sharply divided along political lines as a result. Myung Ja Kim examines the Zainichi in the light of Japan's changing national policies in order to understand why the diaspora has not been fully integrated into Japan. Through the prism of this ethnically Korean community, this book reveals the dynamics of alliances and alignments in East Asia, exploring the rise of China as an economic superpower, the security threat posed by North Korea and the historic ongoing challenges for Japan-South Korea relations. Taking a postwar historical perspective, the research reveals why the Zainichi were vital to Japan's revisionist aim to rise to prominence on the global stage and how they were used to enhance Japan's geopolitical leverage. With a focus on international relations, this book provides an important analysis of the mechanisms that lie behind nation-building policies by closely examining a host state's treatment of diasporic groups. -- Book jacket "The indistinct status of the Zainichi has meant that, since the late 1940s, two ethnic Korean associations, the Chongryun (pro-North) and the Mindan (pro-South) have been vying for political loyalty from the Zainichi, with both groups initially opposing their assimilation in Japan. Unlike the Korean diasporas living in Russia, China or the US, the Zainichi have become sharply divided along political lines as a result. Myung Ja Kim examines Japan's changing national policies towards the Zainichi in order to understand why this group has not been fully integrated into Japan. Through the prism of this ethnically Korean community, the book reveals the dynamics of alliances and alignments in East Asia, including the rise of China as an economic superpower, the security threat posed by North Korea and the diminishing alliance between Japan and the US. Taking a post-war historical perspective, the research reveals why the Zainichi are vital to Japan's state policy revisionist aims to increase its power internationally and how they were used to increase the country's geopolitical leverage.With a focus on International Relations, this book provides an important analysis of the mechanisms that lie behind nation-building policy, showing the conditions controlling a host state's treatment of diasporic groups."--Bloomsbury Publishing.