The objective of this chapter it is to capture the current state of the ethnic media in Japan while paying close attention to the changes therein. For these purposes (there are) valuable information resources from central and local governmental agencies, ongoing interviews that are being conducted with the media and audiences along with the three ethnic media studies that the author has conducted with the media (survey questionnaires = 1995, 1997, 2002. (1) Using the above survey questionnaires and interviews as primary sources, the objective is also to investigate the issues that ethnic media in Japan are confronting within an increasingly globalized economy. From the latter part of the 70s the number of foreigners residing in Japan, who are the primary target segment for the ethnic media in Japan, has grown remarkably. Especially since China's open door reform policy of 1978, immigration from China has increased. Furthermore, during the "bubble period" of the late 80s to the early 90s, laborers from around the world were drawn to Japan. In addition, Japan's revisions to the immigration laws of 1990 only fanned the flames more for peoples of Japanese ancestry to move to Japan from around the world, especially those from South America. Additionally, in the latter part of the 90s, Japan had shown signs of moving toward a multicultural and multiethnic country, indicated by a rapidly increasing number of immigrants due to the entertainment industry as well as international marriages. According to statistics from the foreign resident registration records of the Ministry of Justice, the number of registered resident foreigners from 1976 to 1980, albeit rising, was in the 700,000 range, and crossed the 800,000 mark in 1981. From around 1988, a rapid growth trend could be seen, so that by 1989 the number of registered foreign residents grew to a little under 1 million, and after Japan's immigration law revisions of 1990, their numbers grew to 1.1 million. During the period of 1990 to 1991, the fastest growth was seen. In 1991, the number easily surpassed 1.2 million and in 1993 passed the 1.3 million mark. In 1996, the number of registered foreign residents grew to 1.4 million, 1.5 million in 1998, and 1.6 million in 2000, so a trend of growth at the rate of 100,000 every two or three years could be seen. According to the data for 2002, a new historic record of 1,851,758 residents was registered. This population amounts to 1.4 percent of the total national population. Moreover, according to the estimates of the Ministry of Justice, there are at least 200,000 residents overstaying their permissible terms, bringing the number of "foreigners" living in Japan at the end of 2002 to over 2 million. Add those who are naturalized and their families -- this is the target segment for the ethnic media in Japan. Of the approximately 1.85 million foreign residents, if broken down according to nationality (country of origin), North and South Koreans lead with 33.8 percent of the total foreign population with 62,500 residents. Over a 10 year period, this ratio has decreased by almost 20 percent. Although there are newcomers from Korea arriving each year, it is evident that the growth rate of the total ethnic population is even faster. In addition, the number of marriages with Koreans (North and South) has increased as well as the rate of naturalizations, which is thought to be the basis for this decrease in ratio. Given this type of environment, there are two types of ethnic media aimed towards Koreans: the newcomer media, targeting international students and migrant workers; and the old-timer media, targeting the second- and third-generation Koreans. These have the common characteristics of the former being published in Korean and the latter in Japanese. At times, the elder media draw attention to one's ethnic identity and often sparks serious discussions in magazines on how one sees oneself. China comes in second place. There are 424,000 registered residents from China, accounting for 22.9 percent of foreigners. In contrast with the Koreans, the ratio of those coming to reside in Japan from China is steadily rising, and in 10 years, their ratio has risen by seven points. Of course, there are many elderly who have been residents since prewar times, but again, since around the 80s the ratio of newcomers, such as international students, is increasing their ratio. Especially because of China's open door reform policies, the numbers have grown and in 1985, a Chinese-language newspaper was launched by government-sponsored foreign students. However, because most government-sponsored foreign students return to China, the publication was discontinued. In 1988, The Foreign Student's Newspaper, the standard in the community of Chinese newcomers, was launched and continues even today. This newspaper greatly impacted the Chinese community and became the model for all future Chinese language media to follow on its heels. (2) Next, Brazil takes the place of third in rank, with 268,000 residents. These numbers have also been growing and have the fastest rate of growth for the period after the 90s, accounting for 14.5 percent of the total. Due partially to the preferential treatment for those of Japanese descent from Brazil and their relatively large disposable incomes, coupled with the trend toward permanent residency, this group provides promise for the ethnic business market. This group also owns the largest capital holder in Japan's ethnic media world, the Portuguese language paper The International Press, and the leading paper Jornal Tudo Bem. The International Press Japan Co. operates the Portuguese-language paper, a Spanish-language paper as well as the ethnic channel 3 on satellite television, contributing toward the diasporas of their compatriots. In fourth rank is the Philippines with 169,000 foreign residents. They account for 9.1 percent of all the residents and are continuing to grow every year. The prominent characteristic of the Philippine residents, along with Thai residents, is that they have a larger percentage of women, of which over half of them occupy households with Japanese husbands. Because of this trend, the Filipino media keep the cross-cultural family (we are called a "Japanese-Philippines Family" in Japan and the Philippines) in the forefront of their publications. In fifth rank is Peru with approximately 52,000 residents, accounting for 2.8 percent. This market is largely lumped together with the Spanish-language community. Of course, there is a vast difference within the Spanish language community with regards to countries such as Peru and Argentina, and with regards to their national states of affairs and their national personalities. However, in the satellite broadcasting industry where "foreigners" in general are targeted, they are commonly known as the "Latin American" audience. Next in rank are the 48,000 North American residents occupying 2.6 percent of the foreign resident population. While their numbers are slowly increasing, their constituent ratio has declined. Satellite broadcast media require a fixed potential audience due to the initial outlay of cost relative to print media. Therefore, it follows that this ethnic business targets the top five ethnicities above, and the remaining Spanish-language speakers. Currently in 2002, there are 10 channels operating using SKY PerfecTV. Besides the front-runners, the Brazilian, Latin American and Spanish channels from International Press Japan Co. (IPC), there are five Chinese language channels: TVB Dafu (Hong Kong), CCTV Dafu (China Central Television), Raku Raku China, Phoenix Channel, and Channel Shanghai. (There are also) the Korean language channel KN Television and the Filipino language WINS Philippines. As in the case of IPC, these channels sometimes incorporate locally produced programming covering the local news. However, rebroadcast programs (there are some real-time broadcasts) purchased from their homelands make up most of the programming for each ethnic group. In other words, members of these ethnic communities are able to enjoy watching television as though they were in their homelands. It is no longer unusual for one to read printed ethnic media each day, access the Internet, converse with family and friends and spend leisure time listening to television in one's mother tongue. That is to say that the information environment greatly influencing one's frame of reference is directly connected to one's homeland (country of origin). The growth in the number of such peoples living these types of environments will be addressed later in this paper. Media pertaining to ethnicity As explained above, ethnic media are "media that, due to the nature of their ethnicity, are used by people who are an ethnic minority residing in a particular country." In other words, ethnic media are an abbreviation for ethnic minority media. People who are an ethnic minority are typically foreigners of a specific society and may have relatives or descendants of that country. In either case, it is up to the individuals themselves as to whether they perceive themselves as an ethnic minority. If one sees oneself as an ethnic minority, no matter how many generations may have passed since migrating, there is the possibility of that person coming into contact with ethnic media. For example, the newspaper Hawaii Herald, the contents of which are chock full of information that interests Hawaiians and mainland Americans of Japanese descent, and has been in circulation for over 20 years, uses the national language, English, for both its title and its printed copy. The publisher is, in fact, a Nisei and the editor a Sansei. That is why Niseis (the children of Japanese immigrants) and even the generations following the Sansei (the third generation group that doesn?t understand a word of Japanese), if they have awareness that they are of Japanese descent, they are potential takers. In actuality, it is likely that of the approximately 8,000 issues read, a considerable number are read by the post-third generation. So then one characteristic of ethnic media is that it is defined by its readership. If a framework is not specified, all that the ethnic minority encounters become ethnic media. For example, almost all forms of media would be considered ethnic media, including The Asahi Shimbun newspaper or NHK. That framework must be limited "due to the nature of its ethnicity." As to the reason why the peoples of ethnic minority groups read newspapers written in their native languages or pay high prices to watch satellite television in their native languages, setting aside as to whether they are proactively motivated or passively motivated, has to do with one's ethnicity being of Brazilian, Chinese or some other descent. The current state of ethnic media in Japan
Increasing ethnic media in Japan
To understand the condition of the ethnic media in Japan, as stated above, we conducted three surveys using questionnaires targeting the producers and publishers. In presenting these results, I would like to bring to light all the various aspects of ethnic media currently being published in Japan. The survey conducted in 2002 had the largest number of responses, and being that this data is also the latest, reflecting the current situation, my explanation will center around this survey. The data results from the past two surveys will be incorporated as needed. (The survey conducted in 2002 will hereafter be called the ?02 survey. Likewise, the first survey of 1995 will be called the '95 survey, the second in 1997 as the '97 survey. When no survey year is designated, the data is assumed to be from the 2002 survey).From the breakdown of the different media languages based on the responses from the 2002 survey, as seen in Chart 3-1, the most commonly used languages (media that use this language predominantly as their primary language) in order are Chinese, English, Korean (North and South) and Portuguese. Next are Japanese and multilingual media, followed by media that cover a number of ethnic groups. The reason we have cited the language used in the media initially is that the ethnic media are critical agencies for "foreigners" adjusting to society. For a newly arrived foreigner, a newcomer, more than anything else a message that appears in one's mother tongue is a great help.
As stated above, the ethnic media have grown to have approximately 170 titles, but when did this growth start? When asked about the years in which publications were started, prior to 1984 there was approximately one paper started per year, but after 1985 a marked increase takes place and in the '90s a virtual "ethnic media 'rush hour' in Japan" is seen.As seen in above Chart 3-2, out of the 60 responding publications, over half were created during the 1990s. The surveys that were taken in '95 and '97 indicated a marked growth upon entering the '90s. However, in the '02 survey the curve considerably levels out, remarkably showing no decline. Although, when observed carefully, it is not that growth in the number of new foreign residents and the increase of the number of ethnic media are growing concurrently in parallel time. Typically, the trend is that the ethnic media emerge slightly later. This is because a ramp-up period is required for varying factors to fall in place, such as a reliable number of readers and sponsors, and requisite producers and editors must emerge. The surprising point is that in the midst of the gravely declining Japanese economy of the late 90s, new publications were successively launched. In addition, in the brief three years after 2000, while the economy continued to decline, five more publications were created. The circumstances behind this growth in the ethnic media can be attributed first to the fact that despite the economic recession, the flow of newly arriving foreigners did not wane (the expansion of the ethnic community).
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