Asia Institute - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableCountry Risks and Brain Drain: The Emigration Potential of Japanese Skilled Workers(Oxford University Press (OUP), 2022)While most existing research attributes contemporary Japanese emigration to the pursuit of a better lifestyle, recent qualitative studies point out that concern about country risks is a significant driver . We explore Japan’s brain-drain potential and factors shaping Japanese skilled workers’ interest in emigrating to other countries based on our original survey with an experimental component. We first undertake descriptive analysis using respondents in the (baseline) control group and examine what types of Japanese skilled workers are interested in emigration. We then use respondents in the control and treatment groups to test our preregistered hypotheses regarding the impact of information about Japan’s country risks on their attitudes. The results of our descriptive analysis show that respondents with overseas experience and younger respondents are particularly motivated to consider emigration. Another notable finding is that respondents who distrust the government and media are also more likely to consider leaving Japan than those who do not. Furthermore, through our randomized survey experiment, we find that exposure to information about long-term economic risk encourages people to consider living abroad in the future. These results suggest that the brain drain from Japan is likely to continue, pointing to a need for policy actions to tackle it.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableSkilled or unskilled?: The reconfiguration of migration policies in Japan(Informa UK Limited, 2021-07-21)While Japan has long been perceived as a country with restrictive immigration policies, it has been rapidly widening its immigration gates through various policy reforms in the past decade. The most prominent policy shift in Japan took place in 2018 when the government decided to officially open its labour market to migrants who work in 14 occupational sectors, including agriculture, elder care and construction, which used to be considered ‘unskilled’ and 'semi-skilled' in previous migration schemes. This study analyses how the major shifts in Japan’s migration policies have been introduced through the redefinition of ‘skills’ and ‘skilled migrants’. In doing so, it integrates the scholarly debates on immigration policymaking in Japan and the literature on the conceptualisation of skills. By reviewing the development of skilled migration policies and some impactful discourses driven by global, national and regional forces, this study argues that the ambiguous nature of ‘skills’ and the multi-level merits as outcomes have facilitated the major policy transformation in Japan.
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Item静かなる流出:ポスト3.11における日本人高度人材の豪州への移住(東京大学（University of Tokyo）, 2021-03-01)日本から海外への移住者は増加の一途を辿っている。海外在留邦人は130万人を超え、国外の永住権保持者は2017年に過去最多の48万4150人に達した 。オーストラリアは現在、邦人永住者が世界で2番目に多い国である。日本人の海外移住増加の背景には何があるのか。オーストラリアが移住先として人気の高い国の1つになっているのはなぜか。先進国の高度人材はよりよいライフスタイルを求めて移住するというのが一般的な理解であるが、本研究によれば、2011年3月の東日本大震災と福島第一原子力発電所事故の後に日本を離れた高度人材は、震災後に顕在化した現在および将来のリスクを懸念して移住を決めていた。本稿はインタビューによる詳細な質的調査をもとに、海外移住決定に関するナラティブ（語り）の中から浮かび上がった社会・政治・経済・環境リスクを分析する。この現象を包括的に理解するには今後さらに事例研究を積み重ねる必要があるが、本研究は3.11後の日本からの人材流出には、教育レベルの高い人々の間におけるリスクへの感応性の増大、リスク回避志向性、政治的意識といった幾つかの独自の特徴を内包していることを示唆している。
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ItemSuicide, underemployment and poverty: The gendered impacts of COVID-19 in Japan(Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, 2021-01-03)
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Item「海外における日本人の労働搾取 : 豪州のワーキングホリデー制度とその課題」'The Labour Exploitations of Japanese Abroad: the Working Holiday Program in Australia and its Challenges' (in Japanese)(The Japan Association for Advancement of ILO Activities, 2020-10)This article examines the labour exploitation of Japanese working holiday makers (WHMs) in Australia. Australia is the most popular destination for Japanese WHMs for the last 30 years, and over 10,000 Japanese youths are working in Australia. While the working holiday (WH) can provide valuable 'global experience' for young people, the current system is operating as a labour exploitation system where the majority of Japanese WHMs receive below minimum wage. Au pairs are particularly in a vulnerable situation as they work in private homes and are thus isolated and invisible. Given the reports that youths from other countries are also facing similar situations in Australia and elsewhere, more interventions and engagement are needed at the global levels.
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ItemPolicy transfer from the UN to ASEAN: the case of trafficking in persons(Taylor & Francis, 2019)This article examines the policy transfer from the United Nations (UN) to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the case of trafficking in persons (TIP). It presents pioneering empirical research that analyzes the processes and mechanisms of policy transfer between the UN and a regional organization. Institutional collective action and regime complex theories in international relations are used to complement the existing state-centric policy transfer framework. We argue that the UN-ASEAN policy transfer in TIP is characterized by a two-step process, starting with transfer from the UN to the ASEAN member states, followed by synthesis at the regional level. The consensus-based decision-making approach in ASEAN restricts transfer outcomes to a common low base of national preferences, which is the lowest common denominator. The ability of stakeholders in the TIP field to steer lesson drawing, emulation and coercive transfer at both the national and regional levels allows them to influence the lowest common denominator. At the same time, policy transfer to ASEAN is shaped by “forum-shopping” by the ASEAN member states and other stakeholders within the TIP regime complex, based on the comparative advantage between ASEAN and other cooperation mechanisms in solving TIP-related issues.
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ItemSilent Exits: Risk and Post-3.11 Skilled Migration from Japan to Australia(OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 2019-12-01)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableRedefining the "Highly Skilled": The Points-Based System for Highly Skilled Foreign Professionals in Japan(SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2014-01-01)This article examines recent policy developments concerning highly skilled migration in Japan with a particular focus on the newly introduced points system. After numerous debates, the Japanese government introduced the points system in 2012 to attract more foreign professionals. The Japanese points system differs from those adopted in other countries in that it does not serve as an entry-screening mechanism. Rather, it aims to narrow down the definition of “highly skilled migrants” and promote their settlement by offering them more incentives and privileges. While this is one of the most significant reforms in the country's postwar immigration policies, the analysis suggests that the impact of the existing points system is likely to remain limited. This article identifies the limits of the points system and argues for more fundamental reforms in Japanese corporate practices, integration programs, institutional systems, and more fundamental actions against anti-migrant movements.