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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.
They currently constitute the third largest ethnic minority group in Japan after Chinese immigrants. Their population declined significantly due to death, returning to Korea, and assimilating into the general Japanese population.[4] 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,[5] and from pre-modern immigrants dating back to antiquity who may themselves be the ancestors of the Japanese people.[6]
The Japanese word "Zainichi" itself means a foreign citizen "staying in Japan", and implies temporary residence.[7] 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.
^Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (July 2021). "国籍・地域別 在留資格(在留目的)別 在留外国人" [Foreigners by nationality and by visas (occupation)]. Archived from the original on 2024-09-03. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
^Hester, Jeffry T. (2008). "Datsu Zainichi-ron: An emerging discourse on belonging among Ethnic Koreans in Japan". In Nelson H. H.; Ertl, John; Tierney, R. Kenji (eds.). Multiculturalism in the new Japan: crossing the boundaries within. Berghahn Books. p. 144–145. ISBN978-1-84545-226-1.
^Diamond, Jared (June 1, 1998). "In Search of Japanese Roots". Discover Magazine. Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
^Fukuoka, Yasunori; Gill, Tom (2000). Lives of young Koreans in Japan. Trans-Pacific Press. p. xxxviii. ISBN978-1-876843-00-7.