Japan and the United States have polar opposite views when it comes to citizenship. But as xenophobia becomes an increasingly acceptable populist force in U.S. politics, it may well be in Japan's interest to diverge from Washington and broaden the definition of what it is to be Japanese. While racial tolerance has never been Japan's strength, there has never been a better time for Tokyo to make its mark as a realist of diversity.
The U.S. is one of the few countries in the world where being born on U.S. territory is enough to be bestowed U.S. citizenship. Japan, on the other hand, is like most other countries where having parental lineage is a prerequisite for being Japanese. The challenge, of course, is that the definition of being truly Japanese has actually been much more stringent than that based on legal nationality.
It's never been easy to have different background from the norm in Japan. Even kids of expatriates, who are often offspring of children of Japanese executives representing blue chip companies with a Japanese father and a Japanese — often stay-at-home — mother, have as many problems fitting in once they return from a few years overseas. The fact that there is a specific terminology, "kikoku shijo," to describe them speaks volumes about the exceptional status given to them as they try to adjust to two realities of living completely in Japan and spending some time in their formative years abroad.
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