Discovering minorities in Japan: First Korean representations in Japanese cinema

Open Access

Abstract

It is often assumed that there is a general absence of minorities represented in Japanese cinema, a statement which is justified by the Japanese official discourse that Japan contains"no minorities"1. The Japanese government"s response to the United Nations" call for the elimination of discrimination against minorities was an oficial statement that no minorities existed in Japan and therefore there is no discrimination against minorities in Japan. The statement added that Japan believed minority groups should not be discriminated against in those countries where they did exist".