Permanent Residents of Japan
"General" and "Special" permanent residency
By William Wetherall
First posted 16 March 2006
Last updated 10 September 2012
Forthcoming.
Special Permanent Resident statistics
Municipal statistics which differentiate resident aliens by status of residence show nationality breakdowns by type of permanent residence status. Figures for 2004 show the following regional and nationality distributions for persons who have Special Permanent Residence.
|
The population of SPR Koreans in Japan is rapidly shrinking because of death, naturalization, and nationality laws that treat dual-national children of Koreans and Japanese as Japanese when in Japan. This decline has sometimes been offset by an increase in the number of Koreans who are taking up residence in Japan as general aliens, which means that the total population of "Koreans in Japan" -- regardless of their legal status -- has remained about the same.
Until 1966, Japan was unable to formally differentiate between "Chosenese" as legacy or residual affilates of an entity that no longer existed, and "ROK nationals" as affiliates of an existing and recognized entity. Until then, the right of abode of such persons was not set by law.
For more about the changes statuses of various kinds of Koreans in Japan after 1945, see relevant articles under "Occupations and settlements" and "Legacy issues" in The Sovereign Empire feature of this website.