The rising fame of multiethnic and multiracial or ‘mixed’ celebrities in
Japan, such as tennis player Naomi Osaka, has brought into focus the roles of
Japan’s Nationality Law and understandings of nationality and citizenship in
shaping identity. According to Article 14 of Japan’s Nationality Law, persons
holding multiple nationalities must choose to forfeit all but one before the
age of 22. In this article I aim to address how multiethnic and multiracial
youths of Japanese descent in Australia are approaching the ambiguities
surrounding their citizenship and nationality rights. To do so I will closely
examine to what extent the Nationality Law affects their future decisions and
identities by drawing upon evidence from in-depth interviews I conducted
with mixed Japanese youth who are the child of one Japanese parent and one
non-Japanese parent and live in Australia. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory
of cultural capital, I argue that mixed Japanese youth in Australia perceive
citizenship less as an agent of identity and more as an index of socioeconomic
opportunity. My findings demonstrate that these individuals actively strive to
maintain their dual citizenship and strategically align their cultural capital
to realise meaningful cross-cultural careers that communicate between
Australia, Japan, and their own mixed identities.
Who Benefits from Dual Citizenship? The New Nationality Law and Multicultural Future of South Korea
