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Throughout the recent history of human migration Japan has differed from the other developed countries. During the great European exodus to North America during the 19th and 20th centuries the Japanese emigrants, being barred from entry there in 1907, went to South America, North East China and South East Asia. After the Second World War, when Europe was rebuilt using migrant labor, Japan closed its borders and achieved spectacular economic growth by domestic labor. Towards the end of the century, when Europe and North America became the target for migrants from less developed countries, Japan cautiously opened a front door to ethnic Japanese returning from South America keeping a watchful eye on the small trickle of foreign immigrants through the side doors. With the problem of a rapidly aging population structure and falling dependency rates, Japan now faces the same dilemma as other developed countries, whether to accept large scale immigration or keep the borders closed. ; 1. Introduction 3. Latin America as the emigration target 4. The colonization of Manchuria 5. The postwar emigration from Japan Early postwar emigration Emigration changes character 6. The migration flow turns 7. Japan as an immigration country The entertainment industry International marriages Refugees and Asylum seekers Colonial returnees from China The nikkeijin from Latin America 8. Internationalization and integration Ethnicity and Japanese culture Legislation and integration 9. Prospects for the future References.