Vietnamese Perspectives on Vietnamese Migrants in Japan

Workshop Series “Insider Perspectives: Scholars Investigating their Own Cultural Milieu in Japan” organized by Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Collaborative Research Unit Refugees and Migrants in Tokyo: An Oral Narrative Approach 

Date: June 23rd, 14:00 - 16:00 

Place: Sophia University, Yotsuya Campus, Bldg. 10, room 301 

Please register from HERE: 

https://forms.office.com/r/0C1RNj5Bwn   For detailed program, click HERE.

Facing a similar problem with other Global North countries, Japan’s aging population and labor shortage are serious threats to its economy. This has motivated the Japanese government to open its doors to accept more foreign migrant workers while remaining a seemingly homogenous country with restrictive immigration policies and mixed public sentiments. Although Vietnamese are the second-largest foreign population in Japan, little research has been done to understand the sentiments and attitudes of this ethnic group regarding how they perceive their life in Japan and migration decisions. With a hope to contribute to public and academic understanding of foreign migrant workers in Japan, this workshop will offer a multi-perspective view of the lived experiences of different Vietnamese migrant groups, how they are contributing to the Japanese economy, responding to life obstacles as well as negotiating different life trajectories to make settlement decisions. Viewing workers as individuals with agency, our workshop emphasizes that although their social identities as technical intern trainees, or full-time workers as well as gender identities might influence their life choices, these migrants are actively seeking solutions amidst adversities to negotiate the most desirable life pathway.  

Program

Welcome to ICC 

David Slater - Sophia University  

Vietnamese Graduates of English-Taught Programs in Japan: Navigating Working and Dating Lives as Parts of the Educational “Niche” 

Mai Chi Nguyen - Sophia University 

Defining Dependency: Gender Roles of Vietnamese Families in the Japanese Economy 

Phuong Anh Le - Waseda University 

(Break)  

Technical Intern Training Program: A Case Study of Vietnamese Technical Intern Trainees in 2019 - 2023 

Bao Quyen Tran - Sophia University 

Vietnamese Skilled Migrants’ Life in Japan: Their Strategies for Social Mobility and Identity Negotiation 

Hong Vy Huynh Vu - Waseda University 

For paper abstracts and speaker bios, please click HERE

You can register from the QR Code below.