The State and Racialization: The Case of Koreans in Japan

It is frequently acknowledged that the notion of ‘race’ is a socio-political construct that requires constant refurbishment. However, the process and consequences of racialization are less carefully explored. By examining the ideology about nationhood and colonial policies of the Japanese state in relation to Koreans, I will attempt to demonstrate why and how the Japanese state racialized its population. By so doing, I will argue that the state is deeply involved in racialization by fabricating and authorizing ‘differences’ and ‘similarities’ between the dominant and minority groups. Introduction The last decade has seen a growing interest in the state within the field of sociology and political science. While the main contributors of the study have been scholars in comparative and historical sociology and researchers in the economics of development, student of race and ethnicity have gradually paid attention to the role of the state in forming racial/ethnic communities, ethnic identity, and ethnic mobilization (Barkey and Parikh 1991; Marx 1998). State policies clearly constitute one of the major determinants of immigrant adaptation and shifting identity patterns (Hein 1993; Olzak 1983; Nagel 1986). However, the study of the state’s role in race and ethnic studies is still underdeveloped, and many important questions remain to be answered. It is frequently acknowledged that the notion of ‘race’ is a socio-political construct that requires constant refurbishment (Ferber 1998; Balibar and Wallerstein 1991; Omi and Winant 1986). Therefore, ‘race’ itself is the object of investigation and should be treated as a dependent variable rather an independent variable that functions as an analytical category. However, the process and consequences of racialization are less carefully explored (Carter, Green and Halpern 1996). As one scholar put it, “What is at stake to know the impact of ‘race’ is why and how the state ’racializes’ these minorities, what is the consequence of racialization” (Marx 1997). 1 Please do NOT cite or quote without consent of the author.