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Russians in Japan

Russians living in Japan, known domestically as Zainichi Roshia-jin (Japanese: 在日ロシア人), consist of Russian citizens living in Japan, as well as Japanese nationals with Russian ethnicity or ancestry.

Russians in Japan
The Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo
Total population
11,634 (in December 2023, only counting Russian citizens living in Japan)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Hakodate, Tokyo, Wakkanai, Kobe, Sapporo, Yokohama, Chiba
Languages
Russian • Japanese
Religion
Japanese Orthodox Church
Related ethnic groups
Russians in Korea

Russians were first recorded in Japan in 1739 in Kamogawa, during the period of sakoku. This does not include Russians whose ships landed in Ezo, which was not under Japanese administration at the time. In the 18th century, Russians were sometimes called "Red-haired Ainu" in Japan.[2]

As of December 2023, there were 11,634 Russian citizens holding residency in Japan.[1] According to Japan's Ministry of Justice, a majority of the Russian citizens residing in Japan are permanent residents.[3] The Russian community in Japan is the largest in East Asia; its population exceeds those of bordering China and South Korea.

Russian missions

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The Russian Mission, or Orthodox Church of Russia in Japan, dates from 1861. A hospital had been previously built in Hakodate for Russians and Japanese.[further explanation needed] Nikolai Kasatkin was attached to it as chaplain with a church near the hospital. The hospital was destroyed by fire, though the church survived; Kasatkin remained as a missionary at Hakodate and baptized a number of Japanese. In 1870 the Russian minister to Japan obtained a grant of a special territory as a branch of the Russian legation at Surugadai in central Tokyo. He subsequently founded educational institutes for young men and women.

Russian Revolution

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After the October Revolution and Russian Civil War, about 2 million Russians fled mostly to the United States and Europe. Some[quantify] of them settled in Japan. In the years immediately following the revolution, most lived in Tokyo and Yokohama. After the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923, a significant number of them moved to Kobe.

Contemporary Japan

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As of 2005, the statistics of Japanese government reported 37,000 Russians enter Japan yearly on average, not counting temporary landing permits of seamen and tourists. The number of Russians that stay in Japan longer than 90 days (the maximal duration of a temporary visa in Japan) is about 6,000. The Russian Embassy School in Tokyo serves Russian diplomat families in Tokyo.[4]

Racism

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Main article: Racism in Japan
See also: Anti-Russian sentiment

There were reports of Japanese harassing Russian citizens living in Japan. One shop at least was slandered online and kept getting silent phone calls.[5] Around 89% of Japanese have somewhat to very negative views on Russia.[6] Discrimination and harassment against Russians in Japan worsened after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.[7]

Notable people

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Further information: Category:Japanese people of Russian descent and Category:Japanese people of Ukrainian descent

Fictional people

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See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b "在留外国人統計（旧登録外国人統計）" (in Japanese). Japanese Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  2. ^ The Making of Modern Japan. Harvard University Press. 2002. p. 261. ISBN 978-0-674-00991-2.
  3. ^ Exum, Anika Osaki (2023-02-21). "'We're all different': Russians in Japan reflect on year since Ukraine invasion". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  4. ^ https://www.mofa.go.jp/
  5. ^ "Editorial: Discrimination against Japan's Russian residents cannot be tolerated". Mainichi Daily News. 2022-04-25. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
  6. ^ Poushter, Moira Fagan, Sneha Gubbala and Jacob (2024-07-02). "3. Views of Russia and Putin". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2024-08-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "International Affairs Archives". Pew Research Center. 2024-07-09. Retrieved 2024-08-23.

Sources

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  •   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Japan". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  • Sawada Kazuhiko, Nihon ni okeru hakkei-Roshia-jin no bunka-teki eikyo (Cultural impact of White Russians in Japan), in Naganawa Mitsuo and Sawada Kazuhiko, eds., Ikyo ni ikiru — Rai-Nichi Roshia-jin no sokuseki (Living in a foreign land: Traces of Russian residents in Japan) (Yokohama, 2001), 31–46; Zai Honpo gaikokujin ni kansuru tokei chosa zakken (Miscellaneous statistical data on foreign residents in Japan, vol. 1, K–3–7–0–15, Diplomatic Record Office, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
  • Podalko, Petr E. "The Russian Community in Kobe: A Historical Overview." 青山国際政経論集 70 (2006): 103–127.
  • Podalko, Petr Ėduardovič. Japonija v sudʹbach rossijan: očerki istoriii carskoj diplomatii i rossijskoj diaspory v Japonii (Japan in Russian people's lives: Essays on the history of the Czarist diplomacy and the Russian diaspora in Japan). Moscow: Institut vostokovedenija RAN, 2004.
  • Nakamura Yoshikazu, Naganawa Mitsuo, Podaruko Pyōtoru, eds., Rainichi Roshiajin no sokuseki. Yokohama-shi: Seibunsha, 2008.
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