Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2018


*Economic experiences of South Manchuria Railway employees in postwar Japan, 1945-1956 *


*Sumiyo Nishizaki*


October 19th, 2018


18:30-20:00


Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University


The economic impact of large influxes of population is a topic that has been much debated. This research contributes to those debates by examining one of the most significant, but least researched, examples of post-war migration -the repatriation of more than six million people to Japan after World War II, including both demobilized soldiers and civilians. One pervasive image of Japanese civilian repatriates is that of the immigrant farmer of Manchuria, despite the fact that many returned from other regions, including Korea, Taiwan and Sakhalin, and that repatriates consisted of not only farmers but also colonial government officials, employees of public and private corporations, small business owners, teachers, and priests amongst others. In relation to Japan's post-war economic recovery and growth, this paper will focus on another major group --the employees of Japanese wartime public corporations. In particular, it will examine approximately 100,000 people who had worked for the South Manchuria Railway Company (SMR) and their post-war occupational transitions.


Sumiyo Nishizaki is an assistant professor of economic history and migration studies in the College of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University. She is a specialist on Japan's economic transition from a wartime to postwar economy. She earned an MA in East Asian Studies from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and completed a PhD programme at the London School of Economics in February 2017, with a thesis titled 'After Empire Comes Home': Economic Experiences of Japanese Civilian Repatriates, 1945-1956".


Language: English / No Prior registration necessary

This talk is organized by Professor Shinzo Araragi (Faculty of Global Studies)


Institute of Comparative Culture (ICC) Sophia University: 7-1 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8554, JAPAN/ Web: http://icc.fla.sophia.ac.jp/