Although some Chinese had immigrated to Japan by the late 18th Century, the first major surge began just before World War II, when business-minded Chinese from Shanghai, Kwangtung, and Fukien Provinces swarmed into Japanese harbors such as Nagasaki, Kobe, and Yokohama in search of fast profits from Japan's rapidly expanding economy.
The end of the war brought a second increase in the number of Chinese, many of whom were fleeing Communist persecution on the mainland. The total was further increased by the large number of Taiwanese, naturalized as Japanese citizens during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, who now hurried to reclaim their Chinese citizenship. Not long afterwards, government and economic restrictions in Japan once again reduced the number of Chinese immigrants to the country.
The 1980s brought another change in policy. Due to Japan's rapid economic development, the Japanese government relaxed its tight restrictions on entry permits for foreigners. Chinese from Taiwan and the mainland again swarmed to Japan, a large percentage with student visas. But the real purpose for many of them, especially those from mainland China, was to earn money in an affluent country. According to statistics compiled by the Japanese Ministry of Justice in June 1988, there were 110,120 Chinese in Japan. This figure does not include those who are naturalized Japanese, but does include those who have gone to Japan from mainland China.
Unlike overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, who have played a dominant role in the economic development of their host countries, the Chinese in Japan have negligible influence on the domestic Japanese economy. About one-third of the resident Chinese are in the restaurant business. There are an estimated 6,000 or more Chinese restaurants scattered throughout Japan. The other major businesses run by the Chinese include coffee shops, tea stores, real estate operations, and recreational and gambling concerns. A small number of Chinese are also involved in facilitating the extensive trade and commercial ties between Taiwan and Japan.
Chen Chao-cheng— "Chinese have the best capability of survival."
Overseas Chinese can still be successful in Japan, despite the difficulties of establishing a foothold in the economy, according to Chen Chao-cheng, who is an advisor in the Association of East Asian Relations, Tokyo Office (which replaced the ROC Embassy after Japan terminated official relations in 1972), and serves concurrently as director of the office's Overseas Chinese Affairs Division.
"Chinese have the best capability of survival," Chen says. "They make their way into any place there's a chance to make a living. Unlike Japanese, who are group-oriented and skilled at complex organizational approaches, the Chinese prefer to work independently." But this aggressive individualism has some negative results as well, since "this characteristic has kept them from cooperating with each other and has constrained the development of their businesses," he adds.
Dr. Lee Cheng-yee, who is principal of the Tokyo Chinese School and has lived in Japan half his life, gives another perspective on the reasons overseas Chinese are successful in Japan: "After World War II, when devastation prevailed everywhere, the Chinese in Japan were an exception. They were probably the only people enormously benefited by the war, because they enjoyed special quota rights [from the U.S. occupation government] for daily necessities, and they had property rights as well. Many merely marked out a boundary line and claimed that they owned the land."
Gaining possession of land was a particularly sagacious move. Many Chinese later made fortunes when Japan's postwar economic development brought sky-rocketing real estate prices. China Street in Yokohama provides a good illustration. Located a 40-minute subway ride from Tokyo, the street has now become a well-known tourist attraction. The clean yet busy scene entirely changes visitors' usual impressions of dirty and chaotic Chinatowns in other parts of the world. The brilliantly illuminated neon signs of innumerable stores feature Chinese specialties ranging from food to clothing to entertainment. The area in no way pales in comparison with Taipei's own throbbing Eastern District.
Mr. Kensei Hayashi, president of the Manchin-ro restaurant chain and a second-generation Chinese who is now a naturalized Japanese citizen, explains the historical development of China Street: "During the first Sino-Japanese War of 1894, the area where the Chinese resided was classified as a reservation area, much like an Indian reservation in the United States. Chinese were not allowed to move to other parts of the city, and they made a living from the so-called 'three knives' of the overseas Chinese: the cleaver in the kitchen, the razor in the barbershop, and the scissors in the tailor shop. But after World War II, the Japanese found it very difficult to move into this business district because of the booming land prices." The earlier industriousness and thrift has today brought great wealth.
Hayashi's parents immigrated from Kwangtung Province, and he recalls his parents' efforts to preserve Chinese customs during his childhood. Every year on Tomb Sweeping Day, his parents would demonstrate to their children the appropriate ways of showing respect to ancestors, and he requires his children to do the same thing. "No excuse is allowed under any circumstance," he says. Although Hayashi is now a highly successful businessman, he admits that psychologically he still feels some segregation from ethnic Japanese, even though there are no legal differences.
The elegantly carved script on a stone tablet at Osaka Chinese School describes the founding of the private school.
Japanese society is noted for being basically exclusive and conservative, and few resident foreigners can achieve status and fame. But Chen says that some Japanese-Chinese and Chinese nationals have made it despite the difficulties. The most famous is Wang Chen-chih, who is the" King of Baseball" in Japan. Others include architect Kuo Mao-lin, financial consultant Chiu Yung-han, go champion Lin Hai-feng, and singer Judy Ongu. Recently, several others have made their name in baseball as well.
Still, Wang Chen-chih—known to literally every Japanese as Oh Sadaharu—is a living legend. During his 21-year baseball career, Wang hit 868 home runs, breaking the record set up by Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (756). He is revered not only for his outstanding performance on the field, but also for being personally hard-working and a model sportsman.
Wang was born in Japan to a Chinese father and a Japanese mother. Although he holds an ROC passport, he regards both Japan and the ROC as his mother countries. He is the first person, and the only foreigner, to win the Honorable Citizen Award—the highest honor in Japan. When former Prime Minister Sato Eisaku was incumbent, he arranged a special conversation with Wang on a New Year's TV special, in hopes that young Japanese would learn from Wang's model character.
In Wang's autobiography, there are a few paragraphs describing how he always took off his hat and paid reverence to Japan's national flag before each ball game. He said it distressed him every time to see some members of the Japanese audience remaining arrogantly in their seats when the national anthem was played. The Japanese Education Ministry singled out these paragraphs and encouraged all school students to read them and be inspired by Wang's sincerity and patriotism.
Overseas Chinese communities have always been concerned about the education of their children, worrying that Chinese language and traditions might be lost as the younger generations grow up in foreign environments. Most schools also face severe financial constraints, but the Tokyo Chinese School is free from this difficulty. Lee Cheng-yee is not only an effective school principal, he has demonstrated genuine entrepreneurship by taking advantage of Japan's recent economic development.
In 1984, the school authorities obtained loans from a Japanese bank and completely overhauled the school building, which is located in the hub of Tokyo. At the same time, they built an office building nearby on land owned by the school, then rented the premises to various Japanese companies. The returns on rent are now paying back the bank loan and supporting the major portion of the school's budget.
The newly refurbished school building has facilities far superior to most similar institutions in Taiwan. The classrooms for music, cooking, and audio-visual language teaching are especially impressive. Except for natural science and arithmetic, the school uses textbooks from Taiwan. The curriculum emphasizes language training, including English and Japanese, as well as Mandarin. The school's staff is also unique. Teachers have an exceptionally high level of educational background. Most have M.A. degrees and some even hold Ph.D. degrees, a situation rarely found in other Chinese schools, but teacher salaries are of course considerably higher than most other overseas Chinese schools.
The strong assimilative power of Japanese society is clearly manifested in the school's approach to education. Like Japanese schools, the administration emphasizes the education of the whole personality, including good manners. For example, the beginning lessons for the first grade students include instructions on traffic regulations and such basic practices as the correct way to use the bathroom.
Principal Chang Hwei-chin says there is a "survival problem."
In stark contrast with the financial affluence of the Tokyo Chinese School, the Chinese school in Osaka has experienced long-term financial difficulties. Even though there is "a survival problem," according to Principal Chang Hwei-chin, the school has been able to maintain good standards. Each year, Chang reports, almost all of the junior high graduates successfully pass the entrance examinations and enter Japanese senior high schools.
Schools for overseas Chinese play mixed roles. For instance, many Chinese students who are pursuing graduate studies in Japan send their children to the Tokyo Chinese School. When they finish their studies, they will take their children back to Taiwan and expect them to enroll in the island's schools without difficulty. Lee points out that this illustrates why the ROC government should continue providing support to overseas Chinese schools.
The overseas schools can also play a role in helping Chinese to assimilate into the host country, although it is sometimes difficult to determine the degree to which this is desirable. Chen of the Association of East Asian Relations says that "the government should take a laissez-faire attitude" about this issue. "The policies vary with the different conditions of each host country, and the actual situation of the Chinese in that host country," he says. "For example, in San Francisco the Chinese community is more concentrated in a small area and the ROC government should help organize the Chinese community and render necessary guidance and assistance. But here in Japan, the Chinese are dispersed and far from forming any influential group, so the government need not encourage nor prohibit assimilation. Instead of reprimanding overseas Chinese for lacking patriotism, shouldn't we just ask ourselves what assistance the mother country can offer them?"