Quote:
Originally Posted by Umihito
https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat...k/geos/ja.html
There's your source, the CIA factbook. Can't get much more accurate than that. It's actually 98.5% Japanese Ethnic Group, so I'd count that as pure Japanese and not any group that claims to be Japanese.
Which brings me on to: no such thing as pure Japanese? Huh? What about the every Japanese person who has Japanese great great great etc etc Grandparents? I'm not sure what you mean by no such thing as pure Japanese
You could say that about any country that has expanded it's borders to other places. I'm Welsh but my passport and everything else about me says British, so I count myself as a British citizen by all means. Me being Welsh doesn't make Britain any more diverse. If anyone at immigration or on the international stage asks me what nationality I am, I'm British not Welsh.
I know that ethnic origin in terms of people like the Ainu is all very subjective, and what I said isn't solid proof that people like the Ainu are definitely pure Japanese, but I think that they've been part of Japanese culture and influence long enough to be called pure Japanese.
I agree on mixed race people however, but still I don't think that'd detract too much from the final percentage, especially if they are recent generations as they'd probably be considered Korean, Chinese etc ethnic origin.
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I would question how the cia defines ethnicity but you're right I can't argue with it.
But even then 98.5% Japanese ethnicity does not make Japan homogenous if we're talking physical appearance or culture. I've already made the point about the Okinawans and people in Hokkaido but there are regional cultural differences also.
It sounds like the issue we're having is a language one but considering the opposite of the word pure is impure which implies a racial definition. I would strongly suggest that you stop using the word pure to describe someone who has 100% Japanese geneology.
The fact is there is as much diversity in physical appearance amongst Japanese people as there is throughout East Asia. Some Japanese are as dark as Thai or Vietnamese people and some are as light skinned as Han Chinese or Koreans. (The same can be said for Vietnamese Thais Koreans and Han Chinese respectively)