June Reading Reflection

In Sugimoto’s “Nation and Nationalism in Contemporary Japan”, he argues that Japan is facing an issue involving the development of Japanese national identity. With the increasing prevalence of non-Japanese peoples and growing support of multiculturalism, Japan must find a way to combine these new developments with traditional values of national homogeneity.

This dilemma puts Japan in a difficult place. Historically, national homogeneity has been a significant point in defining Japanese identity and citizenship. This type of national identity has been a popular ideology both at the state and local levels (Sugimoto, pg 477). This concept clashes with the growing popularity of multicultural national integration. Multiculturalism puts great importance on citizenship instead of ethnicity, which allows anyone to become part of the Japanese identity. Despite racial differences, multiculturalism allows for many people with a variety of ethnicities to come together under the sovereign nation of Japan. These two different ideologies conflict with each other in many ways; multiculturalism can be interpreted as an attack on traditional Japanese identity, while national homogeneity can be seen as a backwards, ancient concept rooted in racism and national supremacy. However, as Sugimoto argues, these two concepts can be carefully blended together to create a new idea of what Japanese identity means.

While some portions of pluralism can be harmful, the aspect of shared values and land could help unite Japanese citizens into one identity. Emphasizing specific traits like character and attitude could expand the “imagined community” to include those who share them and reside in Japan. Pluralism could also help emphasize international symbols of Japan to build unity and pride within its residents. Multiculturalism can be used to widen the sphere of Japanese citizenship by eliminating the need for homogenous ethnicity. In addition, multiculturalism also emphasizes the creation a legitimate military for Japan to become an ‘ordinary’ sovereign nation (Sugimoto, pg 482). This would help reinforce Japan’s power as a country, and again spread unity and feelings of likeness by representation on the global sphere.

While having both multiculturalism and pluralism on the front of national identity can seem contradictory, together, they can create a more centrist Japanese identity. This would allow more traditional ideas of Japanese identity to be combined with globalizing views, creating an identity that more people can be part of and cherish.