Abstract: Hoshina Koichi is the major maker of language policy and the main advocate of language assimilation policy in modern Japan, whose view of language policy is mainly built on the concept of “national language” coming from Ueda Kazutoshi. Hoshina's view of language policy is focused on “assimilation”, which can be divided into two dimensions: the internal assimilation of standardization and the external colonial assimilation. It can be found through the research that the view of language assimilation in modern Japan originated from the language purism. Then it gradually developed into language nationalism and finally dissimilated to language imperialism. It is not only an antagonism to east Asian traditional civil order but also a backfire on Chinese Civilization. It also is an overreaction to the crisis in modern Asia. It can be found the imitation and reference to the western powers, especially to Germany, and the ingratiation to militarism in the formation of the view of language assimilation in modern Japan. From Hoshina Koichi's view of language assimilation, we can find multiple contradictions in the language assimilation policy in modern Japan, which influenced the formulation and implementation of the language assimilation policy, and determined the developing path and destiny of modern Japanese language policy.

Key words: modern Japan, language assimilation, national language, language imperialism