Japan as a Multicultural Migrant Nation?

Globalisation and Japan’s Dilemma over Opening up or Closing in

Chris Burgess, Tsuda College, Tokyo (cburgess@tsuda.ac.jp)

Outline1) Popular Discourse

1.1) Nihonjinron & Homogenous/Harmonious Japan1.2) Foreigners as Criminals

2) The “No-immigration Principle”3) Immigration Policy (non) Reform

–The 1st and 2nd reform debates

4) Japan Today: Abenomics & Migration4.1) GHR & the global war for talent4.2) Migration as an emergency/temporary measure4.3) Tokyo 2020

5) The “No-immigration Principle”: Why so Resilient?

1. Popular Discourse

1.1 Nihonjinron & Homogeneous/Harmonious Japan

A popular genre of writing on national identity: a form of cultural nationalism

• Mouer and Sugimoto (1986: 406) note that the Nihonjinron Discourse has two central tenets:– Japanese society is 'uniquely' unique– Group orientation is the dominant

cultural pattern which shapes behaviour • A central premise of Nihonjinron is

that the Japanese are a homogeneous people (tan'itsu minzoku) which constitute a racially unified nation (tan'itsu minzoku kokka).

• Remains “dominant & pervasive”, e.g...

The official report of The FukushimaNuclear Accident Independent

Investigation Commission

“What must be admitted – very painfully – is that this was a disaster “Made in Japan.” Its fundamental causes are to be found in the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture: our reflexive obedience; our reluctance to question authority; our devotion to ‘sticking with the program’; our groupism; and our insularity.”

July 2012

Reinforced and Reflected in Political Pronouncements…

Burgess (2010)

Abe sees no problem in education minister calling Japan 'homogeneous'.

TOKYO, Feb. 26 2007 Kyodo

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday downplayed criticisms over his education minister's remarks a day earlier and said there was nothing wrong with the minister calling Japan an ''extremely homogenous'' country.

''I think he was referring to the fact that we (the Japanese public) have gotten along with each other fairly well so far,'' Abe said when asked to comment on the remarks by education minister Bummei Ibuki. ''I don't see any specific problem with that.''

1.2 Foreigners as Criminals

2012 Cabinet Office Poll on “Public Security” ( 治安に関する世論調査 )

84.3%2006

81.1%2012

治安が悪くなったと思う原因(The reason why I think it’s got worse)

2006

2012

2. The “No-Immigration Principle”

An institutionalisation of the tan’itsu minzoku (‘homogeneous people’) idiom…

• “We do not accept immigrants. The Immigration Act does not provide conditions for the acceptance of immigrants. To this extent, it provides a different kind of legal framework than those of the United States, Canada, and Australia, etc. who do accept immigrants. A representative example of such difference is that we have no provision for granting permanent residency at the time of initial entry. Furthermore, this means that on the policy side it is necessary to do as much as possible to prevent foreigners in general from staying long or settling down.”

(K.T. Pak 1998:120, quoting an Immigration Bureau official)

• “We do not accept immigrants. The Immigration Act does not provide conditions for the acceptance of immigrants. To this extent, it provides a different kind of legal framework than those of the United States, Canada, and Australia, etc. who do accept immigrants. A representative example of such difference is that we have no provision for granting permanent residency at the time of initial entry. Furthermore, this means that on the policy side it is necessary to do as much as possible to prevent foreigners in general from staying long or settling down.”

(K.T. Pak 1998:120, quoting an Immigration Bureau official)

Literally “Exit and Entry Control” （出入国管理） managed by the “Entry Control Bureau” ( 入国管理局）

• “We do not accept immigrants. The Immigration Act does not provide conditions for the acceptance of immigrants. To this extent, it provides a different kind of legal framework than those of the United States, Canada, and Australia, etc. who do accept immigrants. A representative example of such difference is that we have no provision for granting permanent residency at the time of initial entry. Furthermore, this means that on the policy side it is necessary to do as much as possible to prevent foreigners in general from staying long or settling down.”

(K.T. Pak 1998:120, quoting an Immigration Bureau official)

Literally (temporary) “entrants” （入国者） not (permanent) “immigrants” ( 移民）

The “1899 System”

• Tessa Morris-Suzuki (2002) argues that this key principle has remained largely intact since the first Nationality Law of 1899: an exclusionary “1899 System” that aims to (a) prevent an influx of unskilled labour and (b) restrict access to Japanese nationality

Supported by public opinion…

What should be done to secure the labour supply amid a declining population?

• Increase Rate of working women: 82%

• More elderly should work: 77%• More Foreign workers should be

accepted : 37% (no=54%)– Of the 37% who said “yes”, only

10% said manual workers ( 単純労働者） should be accepted

Cf. June 2010 Asahi Shimbun Survey: for= 26%, against=65%

3. Immigration Policy (non) Reform

The 1st and 2nd reform debates

• 1st Reform Debate (89-93)– Debate over allowing in foreign manual workers– Result: visa categories enlarged/Nikkeijin/Trainees

• 2nd Reform Debate (99-08)– 1st phase (99-03)– 2nd phase (04-08): revolutionary proposals…

Chiavacci (2012)

• 2006: Taro Kono proposes new “medium skilled” foreign workers category

• 2007: Jin’en Nagase proposes foreign guest worker programme

• 2008: 80 LDP MPs & Sakanaka propose accepting/integrating 10 million migrants

• Results– More restrictive entertainer visa policy– Inclusion of health workers in SE Asian EPAs

4. Japan Today: Abenomics & Migration

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/11/14/japan-gdp-abenomics/

4.1) Global Human Resources• Cultivating Japanese “global human resources”

( グローバル人材）• Attracting “highly skilled foreign professionals”

( 高度人材 )– “point system” introduced in May 2012…

4.2 Migration as an emergency/ temporary measure

“I’d like you to consider the measures [for utlising foreign workers in nursing care & house-keeping] from the viewpoint of women’s active participation in society, and medium and long term economic growth, while being careful not to view them as immigration policies” (April 4th) 「移民政策と誤解されないよ

う」

Keywords: Caution/Need for Debate

4.3) Tokyo 2020

• Making Japan more tourist friendly: hospitality (omotenashi) for visitors/guests– e.g. more English signage

• Satisfying demand for construction workers– Expansion of technical internship (trainee)

programme to allow longer stays (until fiscal 2020)

5. The “No-immigration Principle”: Why so Resilient?

2014/03/08: Banner in front of Urawa Red’s Supporters Section“The area behind the goal post is our domain. We don’t want to see other people, especially

foreigners, entering that area.”

Post-colonial Melancholy?

• Is Japan’s ambivalence towards globalisation (opening up) rooted in a mentality that still clings to the idea of the nation as a self-enclosed entity – a homogeneous centre?– i.e. ongoing effect of colonialism/imperialism?

• Idea of “Home” as permanent, stable• Foreign as temp. phenomenon that

eventually will be absorbed in/by the domestic sphere (or dissipate)

Paul Gilroy, Postcolonial Melancholia

Outline1) Popular Discourse

1.1) Nihonjinron & Homogenous/Harmonious Japan1.2) Foreigners as Criminals

2) The “No-immigration Principle”3) Immigration Policy (non) Reform

–The 1st and 2nd reform debates

4) Japan Today: Abenomics & Migration4.1) GHR & the global war for talent4.2) Migration as an emergency/temporary measure4.3) Tokyo 2020

5) The “No-immigration Principle”: Why so Resilient?

Japan as a Multicultural Migrant Nation?

Globalisation and Japan’s Dilemma over Opening up or Closing in

Chris Burgess, Tsuda College, Tokyo (cburgess@tsuda.ac.jp)