Japan’s obvious homogeneity

I have always read Hugh Cortazzi’s articles in The Japan Times with great interest and admiration. However, I think he might have gone too far in his Nov. 26 opinion, “Common sense versus PC.” He starts by saying: “Presumably the recent remarks of former infrastructure minister Nariaki Nakayama about Japan being ethnically homogeneous were correctly reported. If so his remarks were tactless, in view of Japan’s Ainu population, but also showed an ignorance of history.”

Later Cortazzi writes: “Nakayama’s alleged comment about racial purity suggested a throwback to prewar Japanese nationalism and an outdated ideology. Was he indulging in historical revisionism?”

To jump from “homogeneous” to “racial purity” is a dangerous thing unless Nakayama explicitly talked about racial purity. Whether we like it or not, Japan IS ethnically homogeneous. The Ainus left are so few in number that only pedants would claim nonhomogeneity.

Source:
Japan's obvious homogeneity
japantimes.co.jp