[Celtic Conservative]

On a related topic, have you heard or seen a study using matriarchal DNA that discovered that the majority of Japanese people are genetically closer to the Korean people than the Chinese?. If I remember correctly it caused quite a stir because most Japanese consider themselves to be descended from the Chinese. I've also heard that cultural bias plays into this, as I've heard the Koreans are not regarded as highly as the Chinese by the Japanese.

CC

[blam]

"On a related topic, have you heard or seen a study using matriarchal DNA that discovered that the majority of Japanese people are genetically closer to the Korean people than the Chinese?."

Sounds familiar...Japan was connected to the mainland during the Ice Age. The Oldest people in Japan are the Jomon - Ainu. My guess is that they're early Caucasians that may have crossed over through Siberia. James Chatters (of Kennewick Man Fame), in his book, Ancient Encounters, indicated that the Kennewick Man line may have produced todays Asian and Europeans. So....

[lepton]

On a related topic, have you heard or seen a study using matriarchal DNA that discovered that the majority of Japanese people are genetically closer to the Korean people than the Chinese?.

I have. And it was much more recent than the land-bridge.The articles I read noted that Japan is environmentally odd - its rainy season is during the growing season, which roduces a far more lush environment. This lush environment allowed the oddity of a hunter/gatherer culture to last much longer than it would normally, and thus the displacement of that culture was not until at least the second wave of improved rice strains - and probably the third.

Further there were commentaries about the three Korean kindoms, and how the Japanese seemed to be mostly related to one of these three who historically mostly vanished in the first few centuries after the time of Christ.