Nihonjin

Nihonjin (日本人) is the Japanese term for a person from Japan or for someone of Japanese ethnicity. The name is formed from Nihon (Japan) and jin (person). The standard reading is Nihonjin, with Nipponjin as an alternative in some contexts.

In modern usage, Nihonjin can refer to nationality (a person who is Japanese) or to ethnicity (ethnic Japanese). Legally, Nihon kokumin translates as “Japanese citizen,” but the distinction between nationality and ethnicity is nuanced and context-dependent; in everyday language the two senses often overlap.

The term is central to Nihonjinron, a body of writings about the identity and perceived uniqueness of Japanese people, though such ideas are debated and criticized for essentialist assumptions. Japan is largely ethnically Japanese, but includes minority groups and a diaspora that influence how the term is understood.

Related terms include Nippon, Nihon kokumin, and Japanese people.