Nationality and Special Permanent Residency

Together with groups from other former Japanese colonies, such as Taiwan, these Korean residents were granted a unique legal status: Special Permanent Residency. Throughout the twentieth century, the Japanese government was reluctant to grant permanent residency to foreigners, and those with the exceptional circumstances described above were given this special category rather than regular permanent residency.

Today, holders of Special Permanent Residency are generally known as Zainichi (residents living in Japan). Many are now fifth- or sixth-generation residents, and those who apply for naturalization can, in most cases, obtain Japanese nationality without difficulty. Yet many choose not to naturalize. The chief reason is that Japan does not recognize dual citizenship; acquiring Japanese nationality would require relinquishing the nationality their families have preserved across generations. As a result, Zainichi Koreans live without Japanese passports or voting rights, despite being part of Japanese society and paying taxes and social insurance contributions.

Communities with a high concentration of Zainichi Koreans exist throughout the country. Due to ferry routes that once connected Osaka with Jeju Island, the Osaka region in particular has long been home to large Korean communities. In Ikuno Ward, the best-known Korean district in Osaka, about 20,000 Zainichi Koreans live today (Note 5), amounting to roughly one in every six residents. Since naturalized citizens are not included in this figure, the number of people with roots in twentieth-century Korean migration is substantially higher. Similar communities exist in nearby cities such as Kobe’s Nagata Ward and Kyoto’s Minami Ward. Even in regions farther from Osaka, such as Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki that are close to the Korean Peninsula, Zainichi Koreans play indispensable roles in local society.

Some later emigrated to other countries. My friend Lisa, a third-generation Zainichi Korean from Ikuno, now lives in New Jersey with her American spouse. Her native language is Japanese, and she speaks no Korean, yet she must visit the Korean consulate in New York for official paperwork, to communicate with South Korean officials in English. Still, she has no intention of obtaining U.S. citizenship. “Korean nationality is something my grandparents and my parents cherished while living in Japan,” she told me. “I feel responsible for preserving it, too.”

Not all Zainichi Koreans hold South Korean passports. Some have North Korean nationality, while others retain a status recorded simply as “Korea,” referring to the undivided peninsula. These individuals refuse to adopt either South Korean or North Korean nationality. Jin, a fourth-generation Zainichi Korean from Nagata, explained that international travel requires cumbersome procedures, yet he still will not adopt a South Korean passport. “My family and I don’t want to side with or oppose either country,” he said. “We’re already a minority in Japan; there’s no reason to deepen divisions among minorities.”