As part of a global trend, Japan seems to begin embracing the discourse of multiculturalism
in what could be taken as a departure from the ideology of homogeneity. However, looking
closer at the Japanese case, we can see the waysit has promoted the same hegemonic ideology
of homogeneity with a post-modern veil of tolerance. Thus, what could serve as a subversion
to the rigid and essentialized notion of national identity in Japan isneutralized under the
discourse of tolerance without any need for anti-immigration policies, as Japan seems to
move from a disciplinary society to a society of control characteristic of the neo-liberal
countries. Throughout this article it is argued that the symbolic misery instituted through the
schools’ curriculums, together with a culture of tolerance, acts in ways to prevent any creative
interaction with difference, further solidifying rigid notions of Japaneseness and neutralizing
possible nomadic assemblages to take place.