The Wajin’s Whiteness: Law and Race Privilege in Japan (批判的人種理論と日本法―和人の人種的特権について)

Abstract:     
Over the past thirty years, American law scholars have drawn attention to the pervasive role of race in shaping the development of law and legal processes in the United States. Their studies highlighted the relevance of race beyond obvious fields such as civil rights, constitutional, and criminal law, emerging as a coherent doctrine known as Critical Race Theory. This article contends that Critical Race Theory can be applied usefully in the Japanese law context by helping to understand minorities and racial circumstances in Japan. Moving beyond theory, the article explores the practical implications of Critical Race Theory for minority movements in Japan and suggests areas for promising future study.
The SSRN posting includes the article in English as well as in Japanese translation. The Japanese translation by Prof. Ichiro Ozaki, Hokkaido University Law School, Sapporo, Japan, was published in Horitsu Jiho, Vol. 80, No. 2, pp. 80-91, Feb. 2008. The English original is unpublished.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 32

Keywords: Japan, minorities in Japan, Critical Race Theory, Whiteness, Comparative Whiteness Studies, Wajin, Ainu

Accepted Paper Series