when you live in an ethnically homogeneous society
Japan isn’t ethnically homogeneous. Westerners simply aren’t interested in learning the history and social makeup of the island, or even acknowledge anyone lives outside Tokyo.
The Ainu, the Ryukyuans, and the Yamato are all distinct cohorts. And that’s before you get into the post-Meiji cultural divergences.
The ainu and ryukyuan are a tiny fraction of the population, and there are only 2% of foreigners living in Japan, with half of those being Korean. There arent many countries with a lower diversity of population than that.
Japan isn’t ethnically homogeneous. Westerners simply aren’t interested in learning the history and social makeup of the island, or even acknowledge anyone lives outside Tokyo.
The Ainu, the Ryukyuans, and the Yamato are all distinct cohorts. And that’s before you get into the post-Meiji cultural divergences.
The ainu and ryukyuan are a tiny fraction of the population, and there are only 2% of foreigners living in Japan, with half of those being Korean. There arent many countries with a lower diversity of population than that.