Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2020

Indian Migrants in Tokyo:
A Study of Socio-Cultural, Religious and Working Worlds

Dr. Megha Wadhwa

Date: November 29th, 2020
Time: 19:00 - 20:30 (JST)
On Zoom
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How does an extended stay in Japan influence Indian migrants' sense of their identity as they adapt to a country very different from their own? The number of Indians in Japan is increasing. The links between Japan and India go back a long way in history, and the intricacy of their cultures is one of the many factors they have in common. Japanese culture and customs are among the most distinctive and complex in the world, and it is often difficult for foreigners to get used to them.
'Indian Migrants in Tokyo' by Megha Wadhwa is the first ethnographic book on the Indian community in Tokyo that analyses their life from various standpoints. It draws on interviews with around 100 Indians living in Japan and extensive participant observation. Wadhwa examines their lifestyles, fears, problems, relations and expectations as foreigners in Tokyo, and their efforts to create a 'home away from home' in Japan.

Dr. Megha Wadhwa will be discussing her almost-decade-long research on her own community in Tokyo with Prof. Ashok Chawla and Prof. Michio Hayashi.

・Prof. Ashok Kumar Chawla
Advisor (Japan) at the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, Prof. Chawla plays a key role in connecting India and Japan. He is also a visiting professor at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan, and Tokyo International University.

・Prof. Michio Hayashi
Professor of Art History and Visual Culture at Sophia University, Tokyo. He specializes in modern and contemporary art history and art criticism. He is also the Director of the Institute of Comparative Culture, Sophia University.

・Dr. Megha Wadhwa
Originally from India but has been a resident of Japan since 2007. She is presently a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Institute of Comparative Culture. She has written several articles on the Indian Community for The Japan Times.

Special gratitude to Professor Emeritus, Sophia University - Dr. Takefumi Terada and Dr. Cyril Veliath for mentoring Wadhwa during her Ph.D. They will also join the discussion and give final comments.

Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture: 7-1 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8554

Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture
7-1 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8554
Tel：+81-(0)3‐3238‐4082
Fax：+81-(0)3‐3238‐4081
E mail：i-comcul(at)Sophia.ac.jp
Web：http://icc.fla.sophia.ac.jp/index.html

Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture
7-1 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8554
Tel：+81-(0)3‐3238‐4082
Fax：+81-(0)3‐3238‐4081
E mail：i-comcul(at)Sophia.ac.jp
Web：http://icc.fla.sophia.ac.jp/index.html