Russian diaspora in Japan, 1990-2010

This article contributes to the research of the modern history of Russo-Japanese relations in the XX-XXI centuries, primarily exploring one of the most unknown chapters of the present-day relations between Russia and its Far-Eastern neighbor - quantity and main characteristics of the modern Russian natives’ community in Japan. The author based his work on numerous materials (some of them almost unknown in Russia), including official data form the Japanese Governmental sites, statistics, private information obtained from the author’s personal experience of life in Japan for more than 20 years, interviews with Russian people of different social strata living in various parts of Japan, etc. Special attention was paid to the field work in the Russian state-run school at the Embassy in Tokyo and to collecting data about other Russian-language schools in Japan (most of them private). Consequently, this article is to explore the phenomenon of Russian post-perestroika migration to Japan (on different purposes), its gender specific and many other characteristics, finally giving a general portrait of the Russian community in modern Japan. While the so called «old Russian Emigration» to this country - mostly people who fled the revolutionary homeland in the beginning of the ХХ century - have been relatively well-researched to the present, the great number of Russians who left their homeland after the collapse of the former Soviet Union is still almost untouched by scientific scrutiny. Then-Soviet Union colony in Japan (where Russians played most significant role) in mid-1980s had merely exceeded 300 people; this figure has grew up more than 20 times in just only two decades. Twenty years ago there was exchange of post-graduate students and young researchers of different fields (almost all of them being unmarried) who formed the biggest group of Russians on Japanese soil. Nowadays the Russian community in Japan, totaling more than 7,000 persons, outnumbers the Portuguese and the French communities (as well as many others). That makes the Russians quite a visible part of foreign society in present-day Japan. There are few Russian schools for children (including those from international marriages), although there is a state-run school attached to the Russian Embassy in Tokyo and so called «Russian clubs» which provide many different activities throughout the year, including the traditional celebration of the Russian New Year. Among the Russians, who came to Japan in recent years, the largest group is made up of women (mostly in their 20−30s), many of them having Japanese spouses, while most Russian men in Japan (of any age) are single or married to compatriots. Some of those Russians, who built a family here, finally take Japanese citizenship, but more often they prefer to keep being Russian citizens with status of permanent residence in Japan. These and many other interesting topics are touched on and explored in the article presented here.