CALL FOR PAPERS (DEADLINE: 19 December 2014) INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON JAPAN’S NEW IMMIGRANTS:
CAPTURING THE CHANGING ETHNO-SCAPE IN A GLOBALIZING SOCIETY

Date: 13-14 February, 2015
Venue: Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University, Tokyo
Website: http://web.waseda.jp/gsaps/en/wiaps/outline/


People’s cross-border mobility has been an integral part of Japan’s history. Despite a decline in the speed and frequency of international migration in Japan’s post-war era, the migration to Japan has become a significant force since the 1980s, stimulating Japanese society and helping shape the new social and cultural landscapes of Japan. The presence of immigrants challenges the myth of a homogeneous nation many Japanese people and scholars of Japan once entertained. In more recent years, the increase of visibly foreign faces and the unfamiliar languages spoken has also added a sense of excitement and anxiety to the Japanese public.

Existing scholarship on new immigrants in Japan has given substantial attention to the life of Filipino and Chinese marriage migrants, Chinese students and migrant workers of various skill levels, and migrants from Latin America with Japanese ancestry (Nikkei). However, the shifting terrain of immigration policy and economic reforms in Japan, alongside recent crises, means that the dynamics of immigration to Japan are changing rapidly. More importantly, thirty years have passed since the onset of Japan’s ‘internationalisation’ policies shifted towards increasing migration. Those seen as ‘new’ migrant groups are no longer merely new arrivals, with a large number of 1.5 and 2nd generation immigrants having grown up in Japan and calling Japan home. Their education, work and social life tells a story of both Japan’s present and its future.

This workshop aims to capture emerging phenomena related to immigration in Japan. It is particularly interested in showcasing the work of young scholars who are currently researching these important developments. Acknowledging the unique contribution they make as scholars currently engaged in fieldwork, this workshop will provide an opportunity to better understand the changing landscape and possible future of immigration in contemporary Japan.

We seek contributors whose research addresses the following aspects of immigrant life in Japan:
l The organizational life of new immigrants, including schools, workplaces;
l The building of social relations and communities (not limited to co-ethnic);
l Citizenship consciousness and various forms of belonging;
l Issues related to acculturation, identity and well-being;
l 1.5 and second generation immigrants, including those of mixed descents (e.g. children of Filipino-Japanese parents and Chinese-Japanese parents)

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Presentation proposals should include a title, an abstract of 250 words maximum and a brief personal biography for submission by 19 December 2014. Please send all proposals to Dr. Jamie Coates at jamie.coates@gmail.com. Successful applicants will be notified by 10 January 2015.
Based on the quality of proposals and the availability of funds, partial or full funding will be granted to successful applicants. Because of the limited funding, participants are therefore encouraged to seek funding for travel from their home institutions.

CONTACTS:

Prof Gracia LIU-FARRER
glfarer@waseda.jp
Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University

Dr. Jamie COATES
Jamie.coates@gmail.com
Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University