This project explores the phenomenon that while Japanese government favors skilled labor migration and has created policy incentives to welcome foreign talents,Japanese firms seem to have trouble retaining skilled foreign workers. This project has the following findings.1) Japanese firms' organizational practices result in foreign employees' high turnover rates. In particular, the in-house career system in many Japanese firms is incompatible with the increasingly neo-liberal global labor market in which most foreign employees see themselves in. It is also in conflict with the contemporary ideology of gender equality and diversity. 2) Despite Japanese firms' problems, Japan remains an attractive destination for foreign employees because of the opportunities as well as the cultural appeal. Immigrants' mobility decision is not solely influenced by experiences in a company. Foreign workers might leave a Japanese company, but they do not necessarily leave Japan.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the role that media plays in Chinese migrant lives in Japan, paying particular attention to how their media use reflects changes in Sino-Japanese relations.The research achievements of this project finished in September.1)Dr Coates presented our research findings at several plenaries, guest talks, and international conferences from April to September2)Dr Coates completed a 55 minute documentary film that explores the influence of media practice on young Chinese friendships in Japan. It is currently being submitted to international scholarly film festivals3)Dr Coates submitted several publications that present our research findings28年度が最終年度であるため、記入しない。28年度が最終年度であるため、記入しない

We can find many immigrants' communities in Pacific Rim area. Here, not only major migrants such as ethnic Chinese and oversea Indians, but Japanese, southeastern Asian origin peoples in US, and Africans in Asia. Even in the case of Chinese and Indians, their communities have a vast variety.This project presented varieties of immigrats' community in this area, and rapid changes after 2001. These rapid changes and volume of immigrants are supported by improvement of transporation, world wide communication, and money transfer. We also tried to describe immigrants' community not from viewpoint of residents but from frequent travellers

We can find many immigrants' communities in Pacific Rim area. Here, not only major migrants such as ethnic Chinese and oversea Indians, but Japanese, southeastern Asian origin peoples in US, and Africans in Asia. Even in the case of Chinese and Indians, their communities have a vast variety.
This project presented varieties of immigrats' community in this area, and rapid changes after 2001. These rapid changes and volume of immigrants are supported by improvement of transporation, world wide communication, and money transfer. We also tried to describe immigrants' community not from viewpoint of residents but from frequent travellers.

This research project compares the sense of belonging and citizenship consciousness among the first and second generation Chinese, Brazilian and Vietnamese immigrants in Australia and Japan. Through this exercise, we hope to answer the question whether Japan is on its way to become an immigrant country. Through interviews, survey and media analysis in both countries, this study shows that different receiving contexts have created different levels of citizenship consciousness and different types of identity among immigrants originated from the same countries. This study clarifies issues surrounding immigrant incorporation in Japanese society.

During this financial year, our project team's major efforts were made in the following two areas. First, based on the data we have already accumulated and in order to be able to conduct meaningful comparative analysis, we adjusted the focuses of the project and did a new wave of data gathering. In particular, Farrer (PI) aimed to compare the first generation immigrants' socioeconomic mobility patterns and their sense of belonging in Japan. Since data on Nikkei Brazilians was not sufficient, she and her research assistant conducted fieldwork--both participant observation and focus group discussion--among this group of immigrants in Kanto Area. This research effort gives insights to the causes for different mobility trajectories between different immigrant groups in Japan, especially in accounting for the socioeconomic mobility gap between Nikkei Brazilians and the Chinese and Koreans. In addition, after finishing gathering the data in Australia, Kawakami (CI) continued to gather data among second-generation Vietnamese immigrants in Japan, so as to be able to compare their identity and belonging in these two different immigrants contexts.
The other main research activity this year was data analysis and preparing research reports for publication. Tajima (CI) and Zhao (Research Collaborator) presented their research paper at the Japanese Society of Sociology Annual Conference. Farrer presented at several international conferences and symposiums. One of her articles is published in Asian Pacific Migration Review (SSCI journal).

The objective of the research was to analyze the social mobility of “newcomers" or foreign migrants who arrived in Japan after the late 1980s. To this aim, we collected large-scale data on foreign migrants based on both qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative data were derived from in-depth interviews with 130 foreign migrants (Year 1), while quantitative data were obtained through an Internet-based survey (Year 2 and 3). We have found so far that social mobility patterns vary significantly among the major nationality groups and that they depend more on migrants' region of origin rather than on class origins

Changes in the way of internationalization of higher education to the rapid structural changes in the world, was examined in a comprehensive manner from the theory, international trends and field surveys. First, the internationalization of higher education in each country is different due to differences in the domestic and international context. Second, countries are faced with a necessity of stronger response to global changes. Third, the multilateral initiatives of higher education are in progress. These factors have had a major impact on the international positioning of higher education in Japan.

Changes in the way of internationalization of higher education to the rapid structural changes in the world, was examined in a comprehensive manner from the theory, international trends and field surveys. First, the internationalization of higher education in each country is different due to differences in the domestic and international context. Second, countries are faced with a necessity of stronger response to global changes. Third, the multilateral initiatives of higher education are in progress. These factors have had a major impact on the international positioning of higher education in Japan.

今日のグローバル化による日本・中国間の活発な経済、文化交流の発展に伴い、日本における中国人就職者が急増している。法務省の統計によると、留学ビザから就職ビザに変更した元留学生の三分の二を中国人元留学生が占めている。それらの中国人元留学生たちは日本企業において、中国関係のビジネスを中心に活躍している状況である。本研究の目的は、日本の企業に勤めている中国人就職者(元留学生)の就職状況とキャリア移動(転職、昇進、職種変更など)を調査・研究することであった。当初の研究実施計画では、東北大学の中国人卒業生を対象として、アンケート及びインタビュー調査をする予定であった。また、そのアンケート回答者の中から10人ないし15人を抽出し、キャリア移動の具体的なプロセスや動機がわかるように、個人訪問をしてフォローアップインタビュー調査をする予定であった。しかし、個人情報保護法の影響により、東北大学卒業生名簿が本研究に使用できなくなった。そこで、研究代表者は平成19年の夏末から秋にかけて関東地方の中国入団体を訪問してアンケート調査の可能性を探り、日本国際貿易促進会の中日関係企業データに収録された1600社の日本企業を通して、中国人就職者(元留、学生)にアンケートを配布することにし、準備を進めた。

This project focused on Nepalese immigrant restauranteurs and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their business operations, living arrangements, and the plight of their employees. In total, we collected 30 in-depth interviews with Nepalese restaurant owners (15) and Nepalese cooks (15) who worked in these restaurants in Tokyo between August 2020 and March 2021.     Immigrant restaurants are precarious during normal times because they have more legal constraints and less access to the host society’s institutional resources. For services and supports most rely on personal, and especially co-ethnic, networks. These networks both help and exploit the co-ethnics. The prolonged COVID pandemic since early 2020 has devastated the restaurant industry around the world and has put even more strain on businesses run by immigrants, exposing the structural vulnerability of such businesses and people depending on them for livelihood. Our research indicates the structural vulnerability and ethnic burden these restaurant owners and workers face as well as their strategies to deal with the hardship brought by the pandemic.  

Many researchers who study skilled migration in Japan have pointed out that, despite Japanese government's welcoming policies toward foreign workers, Japanese firms have trouble retaining skilled foreign workers. The general consensus is that Japanese firms have problems with their organizational culture. In order to understand whether it is the problems of Japanese firms or that it manifests new patterns of career mobility, this research has proposed to investigate the situation in Germany, a country that is not a traditional immigrant country, uses a national language that is not English, and has a distinct national culture. The researcher conducted the pilot study in August , 2017 in Dusseldorf. By participant observation in a German language intensive course and interviewing foreign workers working in German firms, the research has found that:1) There are many similarities between foreign employees working in German firms and those in Japanese firms. Immigrant employees in German firms also share some of the cultural and social issues with immigrants in Japan.2) In the globalizing world, skilled migrants are increasingly seeing global geographic mobility as an integral part of individual career mobility. Multiple migrations are common among immigrant employees in Germany. 

This project focuses on foreigners' as well as Japanese employees' experiences working in Japanese firms that attempt to globalise their businesses as well as their workforce. In collecting the narratives of their work experiences, the study aims to understand the nature of the difficulties corporate Japan has had in attracting and retaining foreign talents. Based on our interviews with close to 20 foreign employees who have been working in Japanese firms and several Japanese employees and managerial personnels this year, this study finds that the apparent difficulty for foreigners to adapt to Japanese organisations, aside from work style and office culture,  seems to have to do with the different meanings foreign employees and Japanese employees attach to work and career as well as the uncertainties Japanese firms treat foreign employees. What Japanese employees view as the instrumental and intrinsic values of work are related to a commitment to the firm which are more consistent with the firm's organisational logic. On the other hand, both Japanese firms and foreign employees have a more ambivalent understanding of the nature of their employment. This sometimes leads to frustrations and high turnovers. A theoretical framework of this study is presented at AAS-in-Asia Conference in June, 2015.

２０１４年8月４日～２０１４年８月２５日・中国上海でアメリカ、オーストリア、ヨローパへの投資移民を申請した、あるいはしている10名以上の個人対象者の聞き取りをした。又、二つの移民仲介会社に訪れ、フォーカスグループを行った。その成果を "Outmigration of the Rich and the Shaping of an Elite Class inContemporary China"というタイトルの論文にして、国際ジャーナルChinaQuarterlyに投稿した。または、２０１５年２月１２－１４日に、”Japan’sNew Immigrants: Capturing the Changing Ethno-scape in a Globalizing Japan”という国際シンポジムを開催し、 この分野の研究している国内或いは国外の研究者との意見交換ができた。このシンポジムで発表された論文をSocial Science Japan Journalで特集として投稿する予定がある。又は、共著の本を編集する企画がある。

Research Goal: The purpose of this special research grant is to partially conduct the proposed Kaken Kiban-B project that failed to obtain a grant during the FY 2011-2 and prepare for the Kaken application due in October 2011. The original research goal for the proposed Kaken Project is to investigate the citizenship consciousness and sense of belonging among different immigrant groups in Japan, and compare them with those who have migrated into Australia, a more classic immigrant country. Due to the limited funding, the researcher was only able to investigate the Chinese immigrants in Japan, and taking advantage of a conference trip to the U.S., compare them with Chinese immigrants who have settled in the U.S.--another classic immigrant country. Research activities: The main research activities during this period is fieldwork. This project employed 4 Waseda University MA students to conduct interviews and transcribing these interviews. During the course between June, 2011 when the funding started and mid-November, 2011 when the funding ended (because my Kaken Kiban-B project was finally approved), with the help of these research assistants, we were able to interview 44 Chinese immigrants in Japan, including both 1st generation immigrants who have been in Japan for over 5 years and 1.5 generation immigrants who arrived in Japan before the age of 12. These interviews yielded valuable insights into the Chinese community in Japan. In order to understand the Chinese in Japan better, the researcher also conducted fieldwork among settled Chinese immigrants in the U.S. because the research needed to go to a conference there in any case. In the Southeast of US, the researchers met with an ethnic Chinese anthropology professor, Guo Zibin, from the University of Tennessee, in order to better understand the Chinese community there. The researcher also interviewed settled Chinese professionals in North Carolina. This overseas fieldwork provides wider perspectives for understanding the Chinese in Japan. Self-evaluation of the research progress and outcomes:This was a particular productive research year, thanks to the help of the 4 capable and diligent RAs. This research grant allowed me to collect a lot of data efficiently and established solid empirical and theoretical foundation for the kaken kiban-B project that is on-going now.

This project proposed to understand international students’ career aspirations and how they perceive the opportunity structure in Japanese labor market. Based on my research among the Chinese student migrants in Japan, I hypothesized that both home country’s economic situations and the transnational economic ties between home and host countries affect international students’ labor market participation and their career outcomes in Japan. Because of the limit of budget, the actual fieldwork was reduced in the fiscal year. With the assistance of students, I surveyed and interviewed with international students at Waseda University. Following are some findings from this investigation. 1) Employment prospect did influence whether students aspire to remain in Japan upon graduation. For example, among government funded international students, Southeast Asian students were more likely to feel that they were bound to service their home countries upon finishing their designated degrees in Japan. It scarcely crossed their mind that they might look for employment in Japan. In comparison, Chinese, North American and European students, except for JDS students, were more likely not only to consider staying in Japan, but also to find employment in Japan upon finishing their target education. 2) Most privately funded international students expressed interest in working in Japan if employment was possible and also participated in organized recruiting events. There was this awareness that Japanese companies, especially globalized firms, were actively recruiting international students. But the degree of aspiration was different among European and North American students and East Asian students, especially Chinese students. Chinese students demonstrated a stronger aspiration to work in Japan upon graduation. They were more active in participating in the institutionalized job searching process. 3) While European and North American students were more likely to look for jobs in their home country companies, and chose to stay in Japan partly because of the difficulty in reentering the labor market in their home countries, Chinese students are more aware of their occupational niche in Japanese firms. Many expressed their conscious choice of positions involved in the transnational economy between Japan and China, and believed that their career advantages lied in such occupational niches.