Japan exercised colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945 and many Koreans emigrated to Japan during this period. Today, these Korean migrants and their descendants, who are referred to as Zainichi Koreans, constitute one percent of the total population making them the nation's largest ethnic minority. Culturally different from both Korean nationals in Korea and majority Japanese, the young second and third generation Korean residents have developed a complex ethnic identity through their struggles with Japanese racism. Based on 'life-history interviews' with a number of young Zainichi Koreans in Japan, this study identifies their five broad types of ethnic identity: the pluralist, nationalist, individualist, naturalizing, and ethnic solidarity types. The study also presents case studies of young ethnic Korean women living within Japanese society. Pointing the way towards the eradication of racism, Fukuoka's book will appeal to anyone interested in contemporary Japan or minority studies.

About Editors and Authors

FUKUOKA Yasunori is a Japanese sociologist and Professor Emeritus at Saitama University.

He graduated from the University of Tokyo and, after working as Associate Professor at Chiba Prefectural College of Health, went on to become Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Saitama University. He also served as President of the Japanese Association of Sociology for Human Liberation. He received his PhD in Sociology from the University of Tsukuba for his thesis titled “The Lives of Young Koreans in Japan”. He retired from Saitama University in 2013 and became Professor Emeritus.