Japanese Immigrants In Modern Times And Anti-Japanese Movement In The United States

Japanese immigrants are a special ethnic group in the immigration history of the United States. This dissertation takes the Japanese immigrants from 1885 to 1924 as the object of the study, illustrating their immigration process, analyzing their assimilation and integration in the American Society, and exploring the relationship between the Japanese immigrants and anti-Japanese movement in the United States as well. Generally speaking, the immigration process during this period could be divided into three stages, i.e., stage of sporadic migration, stage of large-scale immigration to Hawaii and to Continental United States. Thanks to favorable historical and geographical factors, their migration behavior is mainly driven by economic interests. Additionally, some immigrants emigrate overseas for avoiding military service in Japan or by the inducement from their fellow countryman. The extent of Japanese immigrant's assimilation and integration in the American Society is rather low. From the prospective of their own, the reasons lie in the independent life-style, relatively isolated community as well as the strong identity of native culture. Subsequently, these reasons become the excuse for the exclusionist that Japanese immigrants should be excluded. In turn, the rise of anti-Japanese movement blocks the process of Japanese immigrants'assimilation and integration in the American Society. From the view of the immigrant-receiving country, the white-supremacy racism and the inheritance of the prejudice and discrimination on yellow race since Anti-Chinese movement result in the break-out of anti-Japanese movement. Meanwhile, anti-Japanese movement is affected by the U.S.-Japan relation. During that period, Americans universally hold a fierce precaution against Japan and its subjects, for Japan as a great power becomes a threat to U.S. national security. Anti-Japanese movement in the United States ended with the promulgation of the Immigration Act of 1924. The Immigration Act of 1924 prohibits the immigration to the United States for Japanese immigrants and become the watershed between Issei and their descendants.