1 of 30 Babies in Japan has a Foreign Parent

[nskripchun]

1 out of 30 may not seem like alot (it's slightly over 3%), but it represents a pretty big population shift for Japan.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080804a1.html


The Japan Times: Monday, Aug. 4, 2008
Kyodo News

More children born with a foreign parent
Japan needs to deal with legal ramifications, experts say

One of every 30 babies born in Japan in 2006 had at least one parent originating from overseas, according to a recent government survey.

The survey by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry found that the mother, father or both parents of 35,651 babies born here originated from countries other than Japan. This represents about 3.2 percent of the 1.1 million babies born nationwide in 2006.

The survey indicates that an increasing number of foreign nationals coming to Japan for employment or study are settling in the country, experts said.

While the increase in children with at least one non-Japanese parent will broaden the range of cultural background among the country's residents, a lot more needs to be done to accept and provide legal protection for people from different backgrounds, they said.

Around 19,000 of the babies had non-Japanese fathers, 26,000 had non-Japanese mothers and 9,000 had parents who were both from abroad, according to the survey.

North and South Korean nationals formed the largest group among non-Japanese fathers, followed by Chinese and Brazilians. Among the non-Japanese mothers, Chinese were the largest group, followed by women from the Philippines and North and South Korea.

The trend reflects the increasing number of foreigners marrying Japanese nationals. Of newly registered marriages in 2006, 6.6 percent involved at least one foreign national.

Of the year's 49,000 marriages of mixed couples, about 36,000 involved a Japanese husband and non-Japanese wife.

Of the babies with at least one non-Japanese parent, 5.7 percent were born in Tokyo, followed by 4.9 percent in Aichi Prefecture and 4.5 percent in Mie Prefecture.

Kids' language woes

A record 25,411 foreign students needed assistance with the Japanese language in everyday life or in the classroom as of last September, up 13.4 percent from a year earlier, according to a study on public schools by the education ministry.

It was the fifth consecutive annual increase. The number of such students has increased 46.9 percent since 1997 as more foreign workers have settled here and started to have school-age children.

Of the total, 21,206, or 83.5 percent, said they were receiving Japanese-language education, down 2.1 percentage points.

A panel of experts proposed in June that the education ministry step up training of Japanese-language instructors in light of the growing need.

A breakdown by native languages indicates the largest group of such children speak Portuguese, accounting for 40.2 percent.

A majority of them are thought to be Brazilians of Japanese ancestry. They were followed by Chinese speakers, forming 19.9 percent, Spanish speakers at 13.7 percent and Tagalog speakers at 11.4 percent.

By prefecture, Aichi had the largest concentration with 5,030 children, followed by 2,631 in Shizuoka, 2,601 in Kanagawa and 1,913 in Tokyo.

Of the total, 18,142 attend elementary schools, 5,978 go to junior high and 1,182 are in high school. There are 1,276 schools nationwide that have five or more such students, and there are 112 schools with 30 or more such students, according to the ministry.

The number of Japanese students who needed language assistance also increased to a record 4,383. Many of them were returnees from overseas or born to Japanese and foreign parents.

[ktkbs]

most of them are korean/chinese and lets hope it stays that way

[99999]

I never knew that the japanese liked spanish girls, i guess the stories of fat american men otaku's going to japan to get girls were just overblown.

[tokyolovestory]

I never knew that the japanese liked spanish girls, i guess the stories of fat american men otaku's going to japan to get girls were just overblown.

I don't see where the article referenced Spanish girls.

[awong]

I wonder what kind of adjustmen many of the brazilian japanese have when going back and if its a better option vs staying in brazil. I know one kid at school peferred being in the US over brazil b/c it was easy to get mugged or robbed in brazil. PLus he was getting insane financial aid even though his family was rich in brazil...

[ktkbs]

it was easy to get mugged or robbed in brazil.

not to mention murdered

[99999]

I don't see where the article referenced Spanish girls.

Spanish speakers at 13.7 percent

Here's a video of a argentine woman that can cook.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5usmp_wife_webcam

[jansob]

I've been living here (mostly) for 6 years now, and this has been kind of big news. With the population going down, Japan needs all the people it can get. But as with everything in Japan, it's complicated. Here are things as I see them from my place down south.

First, not many of these are white guys with Japanese wives. There are plenty of otaku loserboys, but they don't actually marry here as often as many suppose. Japanese women are not quite as clueless as is often assumed when it comes to marriage...they may want to have a fling with a foreigner, but not many really want to marry one unless he's got a good job and a future. But the otaku loserboys are disproportionately visible due to their incessant blogging, websites and the fact that they are mostly in big cities and get on tv a lot.

The white guys who have kids here usually stay here, because most Japanese have no desire to live abroad. I know a bunch of these families and have no problem with them. They usually are settled here, speak Japanese, and are respectful of the culture...and their Japanese in-laws. I know plenty of people here will shriek in horror at the mixing of the races, but it's not the huge number most people think it is.

The great majority of these kids are Chinese or Korean-Japanese. It's very unclear whether the survey counts those Koreans whose families have been here for generations but won't be considered Japanese until they change their names and register with a Japanese name. If that's the case, then this isn't such big news in reality. There are also a large number of Brazilians and Brazilian/Japanese.

Does it mean Japan is getting more tolerant of foreigners? No in the short run, yes in the long run. These kids are going to face massive discrimination to the extent they are easily identifiable as
half" (the usual term here). To the extent their families use a Japanese name and they look Japanese, not so much. As society ages and these kids outbreed "full-blood" Japanese and make up a larger percentage of the population and workforce, of course things will get better in the discrimination department. But the official reaction to them will take decades to improve. Japanese bureaucracy is incredibly inflexible and cruel, serving to make almost all problems worse and create them where they did not exist before. The people are much more open...but usually bow to the rules. I think in 50 years, Japan will be a decent place for foreigners to raise families. If I still had kids at home, I wouldn't be here.

Half-white or black kids have it either better or worse depending on where they are. In some cities, being half-white or half-black means you're "cool and cosmopolitan", in other places and in the countryside, you're a freak to be avoided because they can't figure out which box to put you in. Imported racism (added to the homegrown kind) means half-black kids usually have it worse than kids with a white parent, as you would expect.

Of course YMMV....all the above are massive generalizations. I'm a weird mix myself, so my perspective may be a bit unusual.
I know J/White kids who've had a tough time in big international cities and J/Black kids who've done fine out in the sticks and J/other Asian kids with all sorts of experiences.

[ktkbs]

You're actually hoping that Japan turns into the cesspit of multiracial hatred that America is?

Ouch.

[ellencho]

Ok, so according to 99999, spanish speakers = spanish. Hey awong, I don't know if your parents are aware, but you guys are Spanish now.

[angi]

Awong is a Mexican Filipino. And Spanish too. I saw his passports, so I know these things.

[nightshade]

Awong is a Mexican Filipino. And Spanish too. I saw his passports, so I know these things.

You're the 44s panopticon!

This makes me think--why isn't there a Transformer called Panopticon? It would transform into a giant prison...right, no mobility.

[tokyolovestory]

Ok, so according to 99999, spanish speakers = spanish. Hey awong, I don't know if your parents are aware, but you guys are Spanish now.

Don't worry, awong. If this is true, I'm Spanish too. And all this time I thought I was Japanese. :confused:

[nskripchun]

You're the 44s panopticon!

This makes me think--why isn't there a Transformer called Panopticon? It would transform into a giant prison...right, no mobility.

There was a G1 Transformer named Perceptor. He transformed into a microscope. =)

And as for speculation of these "foreigner children" being accepted into Japan, one can hope the country is becoming more tolerant. Like jansob already mentioned, in certain parts of the country, especially the heavily urbanized areas like Tokyo or Osaka, being half-anything, as long as you're at least half-Japanese and can speak Japanese well, discrimination is so bad. Unfortunately, if you're missing one or both of those elements, you can get into trouble.

I made some friends who are 2nd and 3rd generation Zainichi (Korean Japanese). Even though ethnically they're 100% Korean, culture and language-wise, they're almost completely Japanese. Pretty much all of them had stories of a pretty shite life - being picked on and bullied just because they were Korean as kids, and even post-college discrimination - companies suddenly rescinding their job offers under "mysterious circumstances", etc. This even considering that many Zainichi have changed their last names to Japanese last names and speak Japanese perfectly fluent. Many 2nd and 3rd gen of course have assimilated to the point where they can't speak Korean.

One time, an expat friend of mine was walking around with a mutual Zainichi friend in downtown Kobe, and somehow got into an argument with some Japanese punks when they found out he was Korean. It eventually degenerated into a like 3-4 Japanese guys with knives chasing my 2 friends. One got stabbed in the leg and sent to the hospital, and of course, the Japanese police insinuated that the "Korean" had started it and was to blame.

No wonder so many Zainichi become Yakuza.

[kalbi]

No wonder so many Zainichi become Yakuza.

LOL. Quite true.

[Heyyu]

I agree that Japanese girls aren't as stupid as people believe. I've been in Tokyo, which admittedly is a cosmopolitan city, and I think the girls are quite clever actually. The thing about white guys in Japan is that while it's somewhat true they're more likely to get short flings, many Japanese girls will not enter into any serious relationship with them, ESPECIALLY one that results in babies.

Many Japanese girls are aware that many foreign guys are only there temporarily and are not family-material. In fact, many of the Japanese girls that do have flings with Gaijin will almost never bring them home to the parents.