Are Japanese People Tungusic?

The assertion that Japanese people are Tungusic is inaccurate. The Japanese are primarily associated with the Japonic language family, which includes the Japanese and Ryukyuan languages. In contrast, Tungusic refers to a group of languages spoken by various ethnic groups in northeastern Asia, including Siberia and Manchuria, with examples such as Manchu and Evenki.

Genetic Distances and Linguistic Relationships

Genetically, Japanese people are quite distinct from Northern Tungusic people. Pie charts detailing the distribution of Y paternal lineage haplogroups for Japanese, Northern Tungusic, and Southern Tungusic show a clear genetic distance. The Hezhen, a Northern Tungusic group, are most genetically distant from the Japanese, while the Manchu, Southern Tungusic, show slightly closer genetic ties. However, maternal ancestry sheds further light on the genetic makeup of Japanese people. The Japanese predominantly exhibit Typical Northeast Asian (NEA) haplotypes, with the haplogroups D being the most frequent, especially sub-haplogroup D4, making up 54% of the total Japanese population. Interestingly, haplogroups M8 and CZ are especially frequent among arctic Siberian populations, reaching their highest frequency among Northern Tungusic people, while Japan and South East Asia show the lowest values.

Cultural and Linguistic Theories

There are several cultural and linguistic theories that claim connections between Japanese people and other ethnic groups, particularly those related to Tungusic peoples. However, these theories often contain biases and have undergone significant scrutiny over time. Let's delve into some of these theories:

The Sumerian-Turkic Connection

The idea that the Sumerians are related to Turks was first proposed by a French scholar, Fran?ois Lenormand. Despite some similarities, such as both languages being agglutinative, the Sumerian language also includes prefixes, while Turkish has only suffixes. This has led to the theory's rejection in current linguistic circles, as it is difficult to prove that the Sumerians were indeed of Turkic origin.

The MU Lost Continent and Sun Language Theory

This theory suggests that Turkic is the oldest language and that all other languages originated from it. It was adopted by European and Russian scholars in the early days of the Turkish Republic to address the inferiority complex of the Turkish people after centuries of European dominance. However, this theory is considered nonsense and is not believed by anyone in Turkey, let alone Germany's ethnic cleansing attempts.

The Ural-Altaic Language Family

The theory that includes Japanese and Korean in the Ural-Altaic language family is now largely abandoned. While the language family once held academic consensus, recent scientific research has failed to establish a common pre-Ural-Altaic language. Instead, it is believed that the similarities in these languages are due to later contact rather than a shared origin. This theory is mentioned in the Turkish curriculum but is considered an unimportant topic, with no significant importance in today's academic circles.

In conclusion, while there are cultural and linguistic theories that connect Japanese people to Tungusic peoples, these theories lack substantial evidence and are often biased. The genetic and linguistic evidence clearly shows that the Japanese people have their own unique lineage and language family separate from Tungusic.