The logics of staying for highly skilled Asian migrants in Japan

Abstract

Japan welcomes highly educated migrants, but do these migrants stay on in Japan? Drawing on a web survey of 600 immigrant employees working in Japan, this paper evaluates different factors influencing migrants’ stay and leave intentions. The results indicate that economic and employment-related reasons have limited impact on migrants’ stay intentions. Nationalities also predict migrants’ varied willingness to stay in Japan, indicating the blurring boundary between economic and cultural logics of migration. Among all factors, marrying locals provides the strongest incentive to stay, demonstrating again that affective and social ties exercise the most power in anchoring the migrants.

Interior frontiers and highly skilled migrants' work-related challenges in Japan

“…Many of the frequently discussed workplace practices that highly skilled migrants are dissatisfied with stem from the tradition of lifelong employment in Japan ( Liu-Farrer, 2023 ). While it is understandable that Japan has developed its own system of human resource practices, what comes across clearly is employers’ unwillingness or inability to be flexible and accommodate their non-Japanese employees ( Liu-Farrer, 2023 ).…”

“…Many of the frequently discussed workplace practices that highly skilled migrants are dissatisfied with stem from the tradition of lifelong employment in Japan ( Liu-Farrer, 2023 ). While it is understandable that Japan has developed its own system of human resource practices, what comes across clearly is employers’ unwillingness or inability to be flexible and accommodate their non-Japanese employees ( Liu-Farrer, 2023 ). This suggests the existence of an interior frontier, where one-way submission to the rules is expected of outsiders, while insiders do not have to show any flexibility in accommodating them ( Lems, 2020a ; Lems, 2020b ).…”

“…In spite of lawmakers’ and policymakers’ good intentions, highly skilled migrants do not necessarily find Japan to be an attractive destination and those who have come do not necessarily integrate smoothly into the workplace or are able to find alternative employment when they wish to. In fact, research has shown that the country can be unattractive ( Morita, 2017 ; Liu-Farrer, 2023 ), highly skilled migrants face challenges in the workplace ( Hof and Tseng, 2021 ), and there is discrimination in the hiring process ( Igarashi and Mugiyama, 2023 ). In the context of Japan’s rapidly aging and declining population and shrinking workforce, there is urgency in understanding and addressing the issues involved.…”

Humanising research on migration decision-making: a situated framework

“…As regards the emotional dimension, the fast-growing literature on emotion and migration highlights the importance of focusing on individuals’ desires and feelings (e.g., guilt, fear, sadness, excitement, satisfaction, dissatisfaction) as they envision and imagine migrating or staying. For instance, what impede Asian highly skilled migrants to leave Japan are their affective and social ties developed from staying longer in the country and/or marrying a Japanese citizen ( Liu-Farrer, 2023 ). By considering emotions, the analysis avoids over-simplification and brings the psychology of migration directly in dialogue with existing migration scholarships in which migrants and individuals aspiring to migrate or stay are viewed as rational actors.…”