Ancient DNA Reveals Triple Origins of Japanese People

A 2021 DNA study published in Science Advances by an international team from Japan, Ireland, and China has upended the long-held Dual-Structure Theory of Japanese origins. The research, led by Cooke et al., analyzed ancient remains and identified a third major migration wave during the Kofun period (300–700 AD), composed largely of East Asian populations similar to modern Han Chinese. This wave, following the earlier Jomon hunter-gatherers (arriving ~38,000 years ago) and Yayoi farmers (300 BC–300 AD), contributed significantly to the genetic makeup of modern Japanese. The Jomon, known for cord-marked pottery and dogu figurines, were isolated on the archipelago after rising seas cut land bridges. The Yayoi introduced rice farming, metal tools, and weaving from the Korean Peninsula and coastal China. The new Triple-Structure model shows that modern Yamato Japanese carry only 10–20% Jomon DNA, with higher concentrations in Ainu of Hokkaido and Okinawans. The study confirms that Japan's population history is far more complex than previously assumed.