Sino-Japanese Children Born of the Second Sino-Japanese War Who “Returned” to Their “Homeland”: Experiences, Identities, and Belonging




Kuramitsu, Kanako

PublisherCambridge University Press

2025

Asia-Pacific Journal : Japan Focus

e13

23

1557-4660

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1017/apj.2025.10012

https://doi.org/10.1017/apj.2025.10012

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/499505542



This article examines the little-known experiences of children born of Chinese mothers and Japanese fathers who had consensual relationships during and after the Second Sino-Japanese War in China, with a specific focus on those who migrated to Japan after 1972. To understand how and why they—in their own words—“returned” to their “homeland,” this article analyzes historical circumstances as well as Sino-Japanese children’s experiences, identities, and belonging in comparison with other groups of “children born of war” in different historical and geopolitical settings. Their long-neglected stories point to a missing part in narratives of the 8-year war.


I received a small amount of funding from the University of Turku to support the writing of this article. This research was supported by funding from the Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Initial Training Network (ITN) of the European Commission. The funder had no role in the design of the study, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or writing of the manuscript.


Last updated on 2025-27-08 at 13:11