Please allow me to bring your attention to the next session in the Toshiba International Foundation funded project "Ethnic Communities Within Global Japanese Studies: Encountering Diversity in a Multi-Ethnic, Multi-Cultural Japan" an International Collaborative Research-Networking Talk Series at Ritsumeikan University. The events in this series will be conducted in a hybrid format.

 

 

Growing foreign migrant presence in urban as well as rural regions of Japan is undeniably visible in numerous social and economic sectors. Their increasingly significant engagement and productivity in employment, business, education, and community interactions seek recognition and acceptance. An integral sense of legitimate belonging emphasizes rights, entitlements, and various strategies of negotiation. This session explores and considers these crucial aspects in connection to the questions of fulfilling gender roles and aspirations, social and legal implications of citizenship, and religious spiritual practice as a coping mechanism.

 

 

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Shifting the analytical lens from familial to "market citizenship," this study examines how Filipina marriage immigrants in Japan negotiate belonging through labor market participation. Drawing on 27 interviews, it identifies how women appropriate, resist, or transform gendered stereotypes to secure residence, highlighting the conditional nature of membership on economic productivity.

 

Rural Japan is facing a severe population decline and labor shortage. Central and local governments are trying to attract new residents to live and work in the countryside. Based on the experiences of and support for different migrant groups from the perspective of (in)visibility, I explore how and why domestic and foreign migrants are treated differently in rural Japan.

 

 

Low-skilled workers often face constrained living and working conditions in their destination countries. Through a case study of Thai workers in Japan, this talk highlights the significance of migrants' religious beliefs and practices during their sojourn under such circumstances. As part of their repertoire for coping with life's difficulties, these religious elements help create spaces that hold particular meanings in their everyday lives in Japan.

 

 

This talk explores the mobility experiences of female Chinese international students in Japan, focusing on those from rural backgrounds. Drawing on life stories, it shows that corporeal mobility does not necessarily result in empowerment and often sustains gendered normative life-course and filial expectations, while some participants mobilize their familiarity with Japan to (re)negotiate personal aspirations and family relationships.

 

 

For any questions or inquiries please contact Dr. Jackie J. Kim-Wachutka at: