I stumbled again on a **[word](https://jisho.org/search/%E7%A7%BB%E6%B0%91)**
that is labeled as sensitive.

> This time it's **移民** which means:

**Noun, Suru verb, No-adjective**

emigration; immigration [sensitive] (only the suru verb is labeled sensitive)

Example:

> 合衆国はながいあいだ長い間「るつぼ」としてし知られているが、それはこくみん国民のほとんどがいみん **移民** のしそん子孫だからである。

The United States has long been known as a "melting pot" because most of its
people are descended from **immigrants**.

I don't think that feels **"sensitive"** at all...

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8ORhM.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8ORhM.png)

Since this is already my 2nd question about sensitive word, I should cite some
more credible
[**source**](http://edrdg.org/wiki/index.php/Editorial_policy#Sensitive_Terms):

**Sensitive Terms**

> As in any language, there are words and terms in Japanese which need to be
> used with care and sensitivity, as they may be blunt, cause offence in some
> contexts, etc. In JMdict there is a "sens" tag which may be associated with
> one or more senses of an entry to indicate that the term should be used with
> a degree of caution. Determining which terms should be regarded as sensitive
> is quite difficult. In general the major Japanese-English and English-
> Japanese dictionaries do not attempt to indicate them, probably because they
> are usually compiled for Japanese users who do not need to be told this.
>
> A useful reference is a list of problem terms ( **放送問題用語** ) based on a 1983
> publication by NHK. That list, for example, includes virtually every term
> which includes **盲/めくら** (blindness), so for **盲窓/めくら窓** it advises that "
> **外見だけの窓** " be used instead. Some of the prohibitions seem extreme; for
> example 医者 is on the list, with the advice that **医師** or **お医者さん** be used
> instead, however foreign learners of Japanese are usually taught 医者 without
> any qualification. Note that the list is over 30 years old, and there are
> reports that it is not being followed completely now. The list is
> categorized according to whether terms are banned (×), have some
> reservations (△) or are uncertain (？), and the "×" tag is applied to 122
> terms.
>
> While there can be no hard and fast rules, it is suggested that people
> submitting or amending entries apply the following guidelines when
> considering whether the entry should include a "sens" tag.
>
> If the term is already tagged as "derog" (derogatory) or "vulg" (vulgar",
> there is no need for any additional "sens" tag. In fact it is preferred that
> where appropriate "derog" or "vulg" tags be used; inclusion on the NHK list
> referenced above, particularly if it has an "×" tag, may indicate the need
> for a "sens" tag, however it needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
> The list, for example, says that 新平民 should not be used, but since it is an
> archaism there is no need to state it is sensitive. The list includes 板前
> (chef) and recommends 板前さん be used instead, but it is clear from word-
> frequencies that 板前 alone is much more widely-used; where appropriate
> consider a note indicating preferred alternatives, e.g. for 医者, a note
> "pref. 医師, お医者さん" may be appropriate.

So, in conclusion there are three tags: **_derogatory_** , **_vulgar_** , and
**_sensitive_**.

[**Digging deeper into the
subject**](http://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~marld/allow_to_follow/marld/nhk.html):

(it's included in 禁止・差別用語とされる用語の一覧 [A list of prohibited and is considered
discriminatory terms], actually there are hundreds of 'sensitive' words
inside, but I just pick one here.)

There are three entries labelled as 'x' -> 'x' means banned according to the
[Editorial
policy.](http://edrdg.org/wiki/index.php/Editorial_policy#Sensitive_Terms)

> **移住**
>
> **移住者**
>
> **海外移住者**

According this source, one of the usage where it's okay to use:

> ブラジルにおける「移民50年祭」など固有の名称だけ用い、原則として〔換言〕

**My questions:**

  1. Why is this word **移民** considered sensitive? Why do you think these three words are "banned"?:

> 移住
>
> 移住者
>
> 海外移住者

Is it correct to ban or even consider these words sensitive?

  2. I suspect that this source has already become obsolete mostly, it doesn't reflect modern Japanese usage anymore. So if it's true that **it's obsolete** , **is there any 'more' credible source to show the real 'sensitive' Japanese word list** that foreigner will not use it accidentally? (please differentiate this with 'vulgar' and 'derogatory' (even though this may overlap, probably you can make notes in your answer)

  3. About this **移民** , [**there is a lengthy explanation and history about this word**](https://www.weblio.jp/wkpja/content/%E7%A7%BB%E6%B0%91_%E7%A7%BB%E6%B0%91%E3%81%AE%E6%A6%82%E8%A6%81#%E6%A6%82%E8%A6%81), can someone probably link this history with the word (my Japanese may not hold a candle to the standard, so I need help someone explain if there is correlation with the word being sensitive)

4.This might be asking too much, but If you're a native Japanese, what makes
you think that a word is considered as:

> vulgar
>
> derogatory
>
> sensitive to your ear

Thank you for all your answers!
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question
meaning words etymology word-usage
Why is "移民" labelled as a sensitive word in the dictionary? (in relation with or without the history behind the word)
I personally do not see 移民 as a sensitive word, and I believe it's safe
especially when the 移民 themselves are happy and proud of being 移民. But
according to [this
article](http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2017/1/31/imin-ha-
sabetsugo-1/), a few people seem to believe it has a connotation of
"abandoned/expelled from their homelands".

>
> NHKホームページに問い合わせをしたら、(snip)このような経緯があったことを明らかにした。「以前、ある番組の中で『移民』という表現をしたら、『移民した人を傷つける言葉だ』と抗議をうけたことがあります。『棄民のニュアンスがあるから使うべきでない』とのご意見でした」とその担当者は説明した。さらに「南米の方が誇りを持って使っているのであれば、まったく問題ないでしょう。むしろ、誇りのニュアンスがあって、その言葉でしか表現できないのであれば、なおさらです」と続けた。
>
> その後、共同通信社やなどの特派員にも確認したが、禁止用語にはなっていないし、実際に使われていた。

Political correctness is an ever-changing topic, and mass media is becoming
more and more defensive. NHK's stance seems to be an overreaction at least to
me, but 移民 does have [long historical
connotations](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E7%A7%BB%E6%B0%91-32276) and I
understand if some people dislike it for whatever reason.
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