Naturalization requires total assimilation, the total destruction of our ethnic identity. Though the law doesn't require it, administrative guidelines force applicants for naturalization to show proof of assimilation to demonstrate that we are sufficiently Japanese. To prove assimilation, we are pressured to take Japanese names, forced to speak only Japanese, and must demonstrate that we have adopted Japanese beliefs and customs. Naturalization removes some legal barriers to equality, but it doesn't eliminate the social discrimination that afflicts those of us with Chinese or Korean blood. Our children are taunted at school and taught to revile their ethnic origins.
Intermarriage is frowned upon.
Employers regularly check the ethnic background of job applicants for evidence of non-Japanese ancestors. We are barred from becoming regular teachers in public schools and shut out from virtually every type of civil service or municipal job. Large corporations discriminate against Japanese-botn Koreans when hiring. Korean and Chinese businesses are relegated to the lowest level of Japan's elaborate network of corporate subcontractors. The Education Ministry censors textbooks to remove any reference to wartime atrocities in Asia.