Japan is one of the most developed countries in the world. It is also one of the most technologically innovative countries, with an international reputation for advanced electronics, automotive engineering and even robotics. It’s rich in history and culture, from sushi to samurai to anime. To outsiders, especially non-Asians, Japan has a very homogenous culture, with everyone sharing the same language, national identity, and ethnic background. Surprisingly, however, these differences exist in Japan and in all societies. But despite these differences, what makes a Japanese a Japanese? The movie “Becoming Japanese” aims to answer this question.
Filmmaker Greg Lam’s feature-length documentary delves into what it means to be Japanese through the stories of different groups of Japanese people. In addition to being “Japanese”, if you have Japanese citizenship, Lam asks whether it’s the literal blood in your veins, or whether one or both parents are Japanese, or whether it’s the way you act or speak that determines how to be Japanese. As he travels across Japan, there doesn’t seem to be an easy answer.
As we soon discover, Japan’s diversity can be both surprising and a bit shocking to those who don’t know Japanese culture. Diversity in Japan looks and feels “different” compared to ethnic diversity in Western countries like the US, UK, and Canada because they appear to be a homogenous group of people. There are no significant differences in skin, hair, or eye color, but there are major differences in their dialects and cultures, even though they mostly originated in the Japanese archipelago thousands of years ago.
There are the native Ainu people of the northern island of Hokkaido. In southern Okinawa, the presence of U.S. military bases on the island further separated Ryukyu and Okinawans. Today, due to the immigration of Japanese coffee farmers to Brazil in the early 1900s, there is a group of Japanese known as the Nikkei Brazilians, who have a strong Japanese look and heritage, but are very Brazilian. They do not speak Japanese and are treated like foreigners in Japan.
The Zaichi Koreans are another large ethnic group in Japan, made up of descendants of Koreans who came to Japan as forced laborers when Japan annexed Korea in the 1910s. They are a much-maligned group that face persecution and discrimination in nearly every sphere of society. Finally, there are “Hafu” or mixed-race/half-Japanese and returnees or “Kikokushijo” who also have difficulty integrating into society.
The Japanese are resilient — and innovative. Although the number of people who consider themselves Japanese varies, it is these two qualities that will keep the country prosperous.
As one citizen with an ID said, “To be Japanese is to be Japanese. If you think you are Japanese, you are Japanese. Japan – it is a nation-state, a culture and an existence Status. If it were you, would it feel good to be Japanese? You are Japanese.”
Directed by: Greg Lam
