Minorities and ethnic groups in Japan

Japan is often considered a culturally homogeneous country. However, several groups have their own distinct identities, histories and traditions, particularly the Ainu of Hokkaido and the peoples of the Ryukyu Islands, which include Okinawa.

Discovering Japan’s ethnic groups and minorities means exploring a cultural mosaic that is often overlooked behind the image of a homogeneous country. Drawing on more than 20 years of exploration and on-the-ground experience, Shanti Travel offers an insight into the archipelago’s cultural diversity through its history, struggles, traditions and the contemporary challenges faced by its different communities.

Key facts Ethnic group: a group of people who share a common history, culture, traditions or language. An ethnic group does not necessarily correspond to a nationality or citizenship.

Category	Details
Majority population	Japanese (Yamato)
Indigenous peoples	Ainu and Ryukyuans
Regions concerned	Hokkaido and the Ryukyu Islands
Cultural diversity	Languages, crafts, music and local traditions
Interest for travellers	Heritage, festivals, museums and cultural discovery

Yamato

The Yamato people make up the majority of Japan’s population and have shaped the country’s national identity for more than two millennia. Originating in the Nara region (the former province of Yamato), this group gradually established its dominance, laying the foundations for a centralised society in the 3rd and 4th centuries. National myths glorify the Yamato people and have helped shape the idea of a homogeneous Japan. The concept of yamato-damashii (the Japanese spirit) expresses values such as attachment to the group, loyalty and social harmony.

Historically, this unity was built through the assimilation or marginalisation of other island peoples, particularly the Ainu in the north and the Ryukyuans in the south. During the Meiji era, centralisation and assimilation policies strengthened Yamato cultural and administrative dominance, contributing to the erasure of other ethnic identities. Even today, although contemporary realities have softened this narrative, the idea of a unified Japanese identity remains deeply rooted in the national consciousness.

Ainu

The Ainu are an Indigenous people of northern Japan, primarily found in Hokkaido, with historical communities also living in the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. Their origins date back more than 1,000 years. They are believed to have arrived from northern Asia via the Russian peninsulas. According to Japanese legends, they were the first inhabitants of the archipelago and had physical characteristics that differed from those of modern Japanese people: men traditionally had thick hair and beards, while women wore ritual tattoos and decorative traditional clothing.

Ainu culture is rooted in animism and places great importance on nature and spirits known as kamuy. Ceremonies such as the Iomante (bear ceremony) reflect the depth of this spiritual connection. Traditional crafts, including wood carving, embroidery and basket weaving, are the subject of preservation efforts, as is the Ainu language. This unique language isolate is now critically endangered, with around 300 speakers.

After centuries of marginalisation and assimilation policies, the Japanese government officially recognised the Ainu as an Indigenous people in 2019. This paved the way for greater recognition of their heritage, including initiatives such as Upopoy, a national museum and park in Hokkaido. However, this legal recognition is still relatively recent. Many Ainu living outside Hokkaido remain largely invisible, and achieving genuine equality in access to healthcare, education and employment, as well as tackling discrimination, remains a major challenge. Travelling to northern Japan also means taking the time to discover and listen to this strong cultural identity, which combines the preservation of traditions with modern forms of expression.

Ryukyuans

The Ryukyuans are native to the Ryukyu Islands, of which Okinawa is the best known. Descendants of an independent kingdom that existed from the 15th to the 19th century, they have preserved distinctive linguistic traditions (the Ryukyuan languages, now seriously endangered), religious practices (ancestor worship and shamanic traditions), cuisine and artistic expressions that set them apart from the Yamato majority.

The annexation of the kingdom by the Japanese Empire in 1879 accelerated a policy of assimilation: Japanese became the language of education, and local distinctions were administratively abolished. Even today, the Japanese government does not officially recognise the Ryukyuans as a distinct minority, instead classifying them as part of the majority population. This remains a source of tension. After the Second World War, the region was under US administration until 1972. The establishment of US military bases, imposed without meaningful consultation, has fuelled a sense of dispossession and mistrust towards Tokyo.

The preservation of traditions and languages, resistance to cultural standardisation and the impact of the military presence continue to shape everyday life for the Ryukyuans. Their situation highlights the tensions between cultural identity, assimilation policies and institutional recognition in Japan.

Burakumin

The Burakumin illustrate the complexity of Japanese society. They do not constitute an ethnic minority, but rather a group historically associated with occupations considered "impure" during the feudal period, such as butchery, tanning, burial work and execution. Isolated in specific neighbourhoods known as buraku, they have long faced institutionalised exclusion.

Although the caste system was abolished during the Meiji era, its legacy persists in the form of discrimination in employment and housing, as well as barriers to marriage. Clandestine registers identifying families from these neighbourhoods have also existed. Physically indistinguishable from the rest of the population, some Burakumin have resorted to "passing" to conceal their origins. The struggle for dignity and recognition has led to the emergence of influential organisations such as the Buraku Liberation League. The government introduced a policy of social rehabilitation (dōwa), and since 2016, a law has officially condemned discrimination against Burakumin, although equality remains uneven. The Burakumin therefore remind us that the idea of Japanese homogeneity is a social construct rather than a reality shared by everyone.

Foreign minorities: Koreans and Chinese people in Japan

Although Japan is home to various immigrant communities, the largest groups include Koreans (Zainichi), whose history is closely linked to the painful legacy of Japanese colonial rule in Korea (1910–1945), and Chinese people, who today form the largest foreign community in Japan by population. These communities, mainly based in major cities, still face discrimination in everyday life, particularly in employment, housing and access to citizenship. Official recognition of their specific status also remains limited. Nevertheless, they enrich urban Japanese culture through their cuisine, economic dynamism, music and expressions of cultural identity.

Cultural heritage today

Travelling in Japan with Shanti Travel means discovering a society that is far from homogeneous, shaped by a diversity of histories, languages and traditions. Japan’s ethnic minorities and foreign communities reflect the continued presence of distinctive cultures, some of which have been marginalised and many of which are still seeking recognition and preservation. Meeting these communities and understanding the challenges they face today can add a deeper human and historical dimension to your experience of Japan, one that is difficult to access without an expert guide.

To explore Japan’s cultural diversity further, also discover cultural differences in Japan and plan a tailor-made trip to experience the country’s many identities.