Mongolians in Japan

Ethnic group
Mongolians in Japan
Total population
19,490 (in December, 2023)[1]
Languages
Japanese, Mongolian
Mongolians in Japan
Japanese name
Kanji在日モンゴル人
Transcriptions
RomanizationZainichi Mongorujin
Cyrillic name
CyrillicЯпон дахь Монголчууд
Romanisation name
RomanisationYapon dahi Mongolchuud

There is a small community of Mongolians in Japan, representing a minor portion of emigration from Mongolia. As of December 2023, there were 19,490 registered Mongolian citizens residing in Japan, according to the Immigration Services Agency, up from 2,545 in 2003.[2]

Students

International students form a large proportion of the registered population of Mongolians in Japan.[3] The earliest Mongol exchange students, all three of them women, came to Japan in 1906, when Mongolia was still ruled by the Qing Dynasty.[4] Japan was also a popular destination for students from Mengjiang (in today's Inner Mongolia) in the late 1930s and early 1940s; among them were several who would go on to become famous scholars, such as Chinggeltei.[5][6] Japan and the Mongolian People's Republic officially agreed to send exchange students to each other in 1974; the first Mongolian student to arrive under the agreement came in 1976. As of May 2006[update], 1,006 Mongolian students were studying in Japanese institutions of higher education.[3]

Aside from Mongolian citizens, there were also estimated to be roughly 4,000 members of the Mongolian minority of China residing in Japan as of 2005[update]. Like migrants from Mongolia proper, they also came mostly on student visas, beginning in the 1990s; they were sponsored by professors of Mongolian studies at Japanese universities. They are a close-knit community; they reside mostly in the Nerima and Sugamo areas of Tokyo and in many cases the same apartment has been occupied serially by successive migrants for more than a decade, with each passing the lease on to another migrant before leaving the country or moving on to different accommodation.[7]

Sumo wrestlers

Asashōryū Akinori and Hakuhō Shō glaring at each other

Starting in 1991, Mongolians began to become especially prominent in sumo; as of 2005[update], Mongolians composed roughly 5% of all ranked sumo wrestlers, making them more than 60% (37 out of 61) of non-Japanese rikishi in Japan.[8][9] In a 2009 survey conducted by a Japanese statistical agency, of the four sumo wrestlers named as most famous by Japanese people, three were Mongolian.[10]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ 令和５年末現在における在留外国人数について
  2. ^ "令和５年末現在における在留外国人数について | 出入国在留管理庁". www.moj.go.jp. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  3. ^ a b Embassy of Japan in Mongolia 留学生交流, Mongolia: Embassy of Japan, retrieved 2007-08-17
  4. ^ 横田 素子[YOKOTA Motoko] (2009), 1906年におけるモンゴル人学生の日本留学 [The first Mongolian students in Japan in 1906] (PDF), East West South North (in Japanese) (15): 155–172, archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-30, retrieved 2009-10-18
  5. ^ 徐志民 [XU Zhimin], 抗战时期日本对蒙疆地区留日学生政策述 [Review of policies towards Mengjiang students studying in Japan during World War II], Journal of Inner Mongolia University (in Chinese (China)), 38 (5)
  6. ^ 草原名人：开创蒙古语言研究黄金时期的清格尔泰 [Famous man of the plains: Chinggeltei, who pioneered the golden age of Mongolian language research], People's Daily (in Chinese (China)), 2007-07-19, retrieved 2010-06-02
  7. ^ Le Bail, Hélène (September 2005), "The New Chinese Immigration to Japan: Between mobility and integration", China Perspectives, 2005 (61), doi:10.4000/chinaperspectives.521
  8. ^ Wallace, Bruce (2005-02-27), "Beating Japanese wrestlers at their own game", San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved 2007-09-05
  9. ^ Himmer, Alastair (2007-05-22), "Mongolians running amok in sumo", Reuters, retrieved 2009-10-18
  10. ^ "Mongolians Most Famous in Japan", UB Post, 2009-08-21, retrieved 2009-10-18
  11. ^ Frederick, Jim (2003-04-21), "Asian Heroes - Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj", Time Magazine, archived from the original on April 22, 2003, retrieved 2007-08-17
  12. ^ "Hakuho hits sumo summit", Taipei Times, 2007-05-31, retrieved 2009-11-01
  13. ^ "Bis in die Haarspitze", Der Spiegel (in German), 2007-06-02, retrieved 2007-09-05
  14. ^ "Taka, Musashimaru win, set up all-yokozuna finale", Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 1999-11-20, retrieved 2007-09-05
  15. ^ "Mongolian striving to become top sumo wrestler", Japan Weekly Monitor, 2002-01-25, retrieved 2007-09-05
  16. ^ "Rising Mongolian star wins first sumo tournament", Agence France-Presse, 2009-05-24, retrieved 2011-01-26

External links

  • Mongolian Association in Japan
  • Япон дахь Монгол Оюутны Холбоо (Union of Mongolian Students in Japan)