Nationality Regimes in Modern East Asia: Chinese Migrants’ Naturalization in Japan in the Early 20th Century

This presentation examines the relationship between migration and nationality in modern East Asia through the case of Chinese migrants in Japan who acquired Japanese nationality in the early twentieth century. Focusing on the period from the promulgation of the Meiji Nationality Law in 1899, through the enactment of the Chinese nationality law (the Law on the Acquisition and Loss of Chinese Nationality) in 1909, and up to the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912, the presentation analyzes why Chinese residents in Japan chose to naturalize, their social and personal backgrounds, and the legal procedures required in the process of naturalization.

Drawing on individual application files of naturalized Chinese preserved in local archives in Tokyo, Kanagawa, and other regions of Japan, this study addresses two core questions. First, how were emerging nationality regimes in modern East Asia perceived, interpreted, and strategically utilized by Chinese residents? Second, what did nationality mean to Chinese residents in Japan: an institutional guarantee for everyday life abroad, or a sense of belonging and self-identification. By focusing on migrants rather than government actors, this presentation reconsiders the diverse practices of naturalization that developed as nationality regimes were newly introduced and still in the process of formation.