Global Movement to End Statelessness and Japanese Nationality — History, Human Rights and Identity

• Published in: 한림일본학 (구 한림일본학연구), 0(39) pp. 259 - 284
• Main Author: 아키야마 하지메
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 일본학연구소 01.12.2021
• Subjects: 일본어와문학
• ISSN: 1738-5334; 2466-1015
• DOI: 10.18238/HALLYM.39.10

There is a global movement to end statelessness to protect human rights, and this movement is generally accepted. However, in Japan, some people, people from the former colonies in particular, have critical stance toward this movement. Based on this background, this paper attempts to explain why some people in Japan have a critical stance toward ending statelessness compared to that around the globe. This paper argues this is because the nature of nationality is different in Japan from the global one. Solidarity is an effect of a Japanese nationality, while the European assumption of having a nationality is the liberation of individuals. In the history of France, based on the current nation-state system, people who had a nationality were assumed to have solidarity. The purpose of this solidarity was liberation from the monarchy. As a result, human rights protection was expected. However, in Japan, nationality was not necessarily connected with human rights, and solidarity became important feature of nationality. As a result, the features of a nationality are different in Japan compared with the European one. There are stateless Chosen-seki Zainichi Koreans, for instance, who do not wish to acquire any existing nationality. This Japanese perspective offers a critical insight into the possession of a nationality and the global movement to end statelessness. KCI Citation Count: 0