Special Permanent Resident (Japan)

A Special Permanent Resident (特別永住者 tokubetsueijūsha) is a resident of Japan with ancestry usually related to Korea or Taiwan when those countries were under Japanese colonial rule. They had been subjects of the empire of Japan, but had lost that status after the war when the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. Korean residents of Japan, known as Zainichi Koreans, were permitted to naturalise and become Japanese citizens, but many hesitated to do so given anti-Korean prejudice in Japan. Following the 1965 treaty between Japan and South Korea, Zainichi Koreans gained Special Permanent Resident Status.^[1]

As of 2006, around 500,000 people in Japan were classified as special permanent residents.^[2]

References

1. Suzuki, Kazuko Columbia University : Koreans in Japan (Zainichi Koreans) Retrieved June 23, 2016
2. Permanent Residency September 12, 2006 Japan Times Retrieved June 20, 2016