7 ms·

If immigrants replace Japanese in the country of Japan, is it still Japan?

by SnowHill9902 4y ago

formerly_proven 4y ago
If immigrants replaced Americans in the country of America, is it still America?
- SnowHill9902 4y ago
  That’s essentially my own question. It’s not specific to Japan. Do you want to answer it?
  - beaconstudios 4y ago
    Yes, it's still the same country. And nobody's being replaced if the Japanese are reproducing at lower than replacement rate.
    - teakettle42 4y ago
      If you replace a country’s culture, it’s still the same country?
      - TeaDrunk 4y ago
        That's just called changing culture. This happens at each generation at least.
      - krapp 4y ago
        Japan's culture has arguably been almost completely replaced several times over. Is it still Japan?
      - ativzzz 4y ago
        Change is the only constant in nature
      - beaconstudios 4y ago
        yes. A country is a series of lines on a map. also did you mean to imply that culture is essentially tied to ethnicity? because it isn't.
  - akiselev 4y ago
    - School-Cotton 4y ago
      The name is irrelevant. It’s certainly not the set of cultures it was before that event happened, no.
    - indecisive_user 4y ago
      Well sure, the name of the continent is still "America", but the actual country, the United States of America, did not exist before European colonists. So no, it's not the same country now.
    - throwaway_1928 4y ago
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- bfung 4y ago
  Comes down to the culture and ideology of the country. Is the culture thinking being a X is race based or is it based on a way of life, or both? At least back in the 80s and 90s, my US education and history books say that America is the melting pot of the world, and ideally not race based, but based on the idea of personal and religious freedom. USA as we know now began as a country of immigrants - so by definition, yes, USA still stands regardless of race and ethnicity. Whereas, the older countries having a more homogeneous race, ethnicity, and culture, that question is a lot fuzzier.
- decafninja 4y ago
  The United States is not an ethno-state though. Maybe during its founding and in the past it was, but it has long stopped being so, despite the recent desires of some factions to want to turn it into one again. Multiculturalism has long become one of the defining characteristics of the US. Japan (and frankly, many other countries) are indeed ethno-states.
- bmitc 4y ago
  America isn't a several millennia old, monoculture-ish country. Edit: well, it was.
- Ekaros 4y ago
  USA with maybe Canada, is rather special case. In general other countries around the world are more or less ethnic, or at least have be big ethnic groups and somewhat shared cultures.
Forgeties79 4y ago
Yes. Japan is a country. It’s a socially constructed set of boundaries and rules. It can be whatever they want it to be. You’re tiptoeing dangerously near some very questionable ethnic/racial arguments.
- SnowHill9902 4y ago
  Who is “they”? Cf. ship of Theseus.
- canjobear 4y ago
  That's a very Western view of what a country is. The current immigration policies of Japan suggest that "they" do not see it that way.
  - Forgeties79 4y ago
    A country is literally a boundary set by a group of people that other groups of people (largely) agree on. It is, by definition, a social construction. There’s no interpretation to be had tbh. Now the Japanese’s own sense of identity/culture? It’s a deeply personal and subjective matter. But national boundaries? Not at all.
- unholythree 4y ago
  More than a country, I'd say the Japanese are a nation, see meaning #4 of the definitions below. I think America (the US) is nation only in sense of meanings #1, 2 and 3 which are synonyms of country. country kŭn′trē noun 1) A nation or state. 2) The territory of a nation or state; land. 3) The people of a nation or state; populace. 4) The land of a person's birth or citizenship. 5) A region, territory, or large tract of land distinguishable by features of topography, biology, or culture. 6) An area or expanse outside cities and towns; a rural area. 7) The people of a district who are eligible for jury service. nation nā′shən noun 1) A relatively large group of people organized under a single, usually independent government; a country. 2) The territory occupied by such a group of people. 3) The government of a sovereign state. 4) A people who share common customs, origins, history, and frequently language; a nationality. 5) A federation or tribe, especially one composed of Native Americans. 6) The territory occupied by such a federation or tribe.
nine_zeros 4y ago
Why will the Japanese get replaced? Immigrants will just blend in and build a future Japan. Just like Japan of 2020 is not the same as Samurai Japan of medieval times. Times change, societies change, demographics change. That is just the way things are. It's better to harness it than to reject it to the detriment of progress. See: The story of America becoming a superpower.
- bigbigbiga 4y ago
  Not much has really changed in Japan since the fuedal period, in fact, a lot of the policies from the feudal period play a direct role in modern day japan. Anyways Immigration is always an issue with many aspects of Japanese life, without a stable population growth in Japan the japanese people could easily disappear in a similar way that many ethnic groups in America have disappeared over generations or in east europe where several ethnic groups banded together to form larger nationalistic identities such as the creation of the russian "ethnic" group. Japan has suffered a similar fate with the designation of a Yamato people that does not have a true ancestry. Ethnic groups in Japan are unacknowledged as the Ainu people suffer from discrimination on a systemic level in the Hokkaido region. Comments like this show true ignorance on topics in relation to societies. By your logic should we all just die out and let the Indian and Chinese ethnic groups become the dominant and only groups in the world? Is everyone actually just Han Chinese?
  - selimthegrim 4y ago
    Japan had a caste system, but it’s not what it used to be.
  - unmole 4y ago
    > Not much has really changed in Japan since the fuedal period, Hard to take a comment that starts with this seriously.
- random1233456 4y ago
  compare riding the subway in nyc to the subway in japan and tell me everyone will just blend in and no one will notice

If immigrants replace Japanese in the country of Japan, is it still Japan?

formerly_proven 4y ago

If immigrants replaced Americans in the country of America, is it still America?

SnowHill9902 4y ago
That’s essentially my own question. It’s not specific to Japan. Do you want to answer it?
- beaconstudios 4y ago
  Yes, it's still the same country. And nobody's being replaced if the Japanese are reproducing at lower than replacement rate.
  - teakettle42 4y ago
    If you replace a country’s culture, it’s still the same country?
    - TeaDrunk 4y ago
      That's just called changing culture. This happens at each generation at least.
    - krapp 4y ago
      Japan's culture has arguably been almost completely replaced several times over. Is it still Japan?
    - ativzzz 4y ago
      Change is the only constant in nature
    - beaconstudios 4y ago
      yes. A country is a series of lines on a map. also did you mean to imply that culture is essentially tied to ethnicity? because it isn't.
- akiselev 4y ago
  - School-Cotton 4y ago
    The name is irrelevant. It’s certainly not the set of cultures it was before that event happened, no.
  - indecisive_user 4y ago
    Well sure, the name of the continent is still "America", but the actual country, the United States of America, did not exist before European colonists. So no, it's not the same country now.
  - throwaway_1928 4y ago
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
bfung 4y ago
Comes down to the culture and ideology of the country. Is the culture thinking being a X is race based or is it based on a way of life, or both? At least back in the 80s and 90s, my US education and history books say that America is the melting pot of the world, and ideally not race based, but based on the idea of personal and religious freedom. USA as we know now began as a country of immigrants - so by definition, yes, USA still stands regardless of race and ethnicity. Whereas, the older countries having a more homogeneous race, ethnicity, and culture, that question is a lot fuzzier.
decafninja 4y ago
The United States is not an ethno-state though. Maybe during its founding and in the past it was, but it has long stopped being so, despite the recent desires of some factions to want to turn it into one again. Multiculturalism has long become one of the defining characteristics of the US. Japan (and frankly, many other countries) are indeed ethno-states.
bmitc 4y ago
America isn't a several millennia old, monoculture-ish country. Edit: well, it was.
Ekaros 4y ago
USA with maybe Canada, is rather special case. In general other countries around the world are more or less ethnic, or at least have be big ethnic groups and somewhat shared cultures.

Forgeties79 4y ago

Yes. Japan is a country. It’s a socially constructed set of boundaries and rules. It can be whatever they want it to be. You’re tiptoeing dangerously near some very questionable ethnic/racial arguments.

SnowHill9902 4y ago
Who is “they”? Cf. ship of Theseus.
canjobear 4y ago
That's a very Western view of what a country is. The current immigration policies of Japan suggest that "they" do not see it that way.
- Forgeties79 4y ago
  A country is literally a boundary set by a group of people that other groups of people (largely) agree on. It is, by definition, a social construction. There’s no interpretation to be had tbh. Now the Japanese’s own sense of identity/culture? It’s a deeply personal and subjective matter. But national boundaries? Not at all.
unholythree 4y ago
More than a country, I'd say the Japanese are a nation, see meaning #4 of the definitions below. I think America (the US) is nation only in sense of meanings #1, 2 and 3 which are synonyms of country. country kŭn′trē noun 1) A nation or state. 2) The territory of a nation or state; land. 3) The people of a nation or state; populace. 4) The land of a person's birth or citizenship. 5) A region, territory, or large tract of land distinguishable by features of topography, biology, or culture. 6) An area or expanse outside cities and towns; a rural area. 7) The people of a district who are eligible for jury service. nation nā′shən noun 1) A relatively large group of people organized under a single, usually independent government; a country. 2) The territory occupied by such a group of people. 3) The government of a sovereign state. 4) A people who share common customs, origins, history, and frequently language; a nationality. 5) A federation or tribe, especially one composed of Native Americans. 6) The territory occupied by such a federation or tribe.

nine_zeros 4y ago

Why will the Japanese get replaced? Immigrants will just blend in and build a future Japan. Just like Japan of 2020 is not the same as Samurai Japan of medieval times. Times change, societies change, demographics change. That is just the way things are. It's better to harness it than to reject it to the detriment of progress. See: The story of America becoming a superpower.

bigbigbiga 4y ago
Not much has really changed in Japan since the fuedal period, in fact, a lot of the policies from the feudal period play a direct role in modern day japan. Anyways Immigration is always an issue with many aspects of Japanese life, without a stable population growth in Japan the japanese people could easily disappear in a similar way that many ethnic groups in America have disappeared over generations or in east europe where several ethnic groups banded together to form larger nationalistic identities such as the creation of the russian "ethnic" group. Japan has suffered a similar fate with the designation of a Yamato people that does not have a true ancestry. Ethnic groups in Japan are unacknowledged as the Ainu people suffer from discrimination on a systemic level in the Hokkaido region. Comments like this show true ignorance on topics in relation to societies. By your logic should we all just die out and let the Indian and Chinese ethnic groups become the dominant and only groups in the world? Is everyone actually just Han Chinese?
- selimthegrim 4y ago
  Japan had a caste system, but it’s not what it used to be.
- unmole 4y ago
  > Not much has really changed in Japan since the fuedal period, Hard to take a comment that starts with this seriously.
random1233456 4y ago
compare riding the subway in nyc to the subway in japan and tell me everyone will just blend in and no one will notice