Mintohren

Mintohren
Short name in Japanese
Kanji 民闘連 Rōmaji Mintōren
Long name in Japanese
Kanji 民族差別と闘う連絡協議会 Rōmaji Minzoku Sabetsu to Tatakau Renraku Kyōgikai
Short name in Korean
Hangul 민투련 Hanja 民闘連 Revised Romanization Minturyeon McCune-Reischauer Minturyŏn
Long name in Korean
Hangul 민족차별과 투쟁하는 연결협의회 Hanja 民族差別과 鬪爭하는 連絡協議會 Revised Romanization Minjok Chabyeolgwa Tujaenghaneun Yeon'gyeol Hyeop'euihoe McCune-Reischauer Minjok Ch'abyŏlgwa T'ujaenghanŭn Yŏn'gyŏl Hyŏp'ŭihoe
Literal meaning
Long name Coordinated Conference for Fighting Against Racial Discrimination

Mintohren, also Mintōren, is a grass-roots movement created by young Zainichi Koreans to combat ethnic discrimination by encouraging a multicultural and positive approach to integration of Koreans into Japanese society. The movement started in the 1970s as a joint effort of three groups: Mukuge no Kai, founded by Lee Kyung-jae in 1972 in Osaka, Tokkabi Kodomo Kai, founded in 1974 in Osaka, and Seikyu Sha, founded in 1974 in Tokyo. In 1985, they began a campaign in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture which resulted in the establishment of a division in the city board of education devoted exclusively to education for ethnic Koreans, and the elimination of the requirement that city employees hold Japanese nationality.^[1] They also played an important role in the 1980s struggle against the requirement that all foreign residents, including special permanent residents like the Zainichi Koreans, give their fingerprints to police; they organised refusers from different parts of Japan, as well as providing information and increasing awareness of their campaign.^[2]

In contrast to the South Korean-affiliated Mindan and North Korean-affiliated Chongryon, Mintohren emphasises local identities and issues, and rejects the idea that Zainichi Koreans are foreigners with a homeland in Korea and should concern themselves with problems of Korean politics. Instead, they highlight the fact that Zainichi Koreans were born and raised in Japan and intend to continue to make it their home.^[1][2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Fukuoka, Yasunori; Tsujiyama, Yukiko; John G. Russell (translator) (1992). "MINTOHREN: Young Koreans Against Ethnic Discrimination in Japan". The Bulletin of Chiba College of Health Science 10 (2): 147–62. http://www.han.org/a/fukuoka92.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Ryang, Sonia (2000). Koreans in Japan: Critical Voices from the Margin. Routledge. pp. 77–78. ISBN 041521999X. 

External links

• Yasunori Fukuoka's English homepage