Japan has long been known as a homogeneous nation. However, today its “diversity dilemmas” are getting increasing attention. The term multicultural education became popular among policymakers and educators in Japan with the visible increase of recently immigrated foreigners (or newcomers) in the wake of the revised immigration law of 1990. This entry discusses the history of multicultural education in Japan and its development for students returning to Japan from abroad, for ethnic minority students, and for non-Japanese students. Initiatives relating to multicultural living together (i.e., the respectful coexistence of people with different cultural backgrounds) are also described. The entry concludes with a look at the future of multicultural education in Japan.

According to the national census, about 2.19 million non-Japanese people lived in Japan as of ...