The employment and settlement of Japanese Brazilian migrants in Japan
Date
2009
Authors
Nakagawa, Masataka
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Abstract
By removing restrictions on entry and residence for foreign-born people of Japanese descent, the amendment of the Japanese Immigration Act in 1990 facilitated economically-motivated migration from South America, particularly from Brazil, which is home to the largest overseas ethnic-Japanese (Nikkei) population. This study is designed to explore interactions of the following two salient consequences of this ethnic-priority immigration policy. Despite the principle that "non-skilled foreign workers are not admitted for employment purposes" being retained under the country's immigration policy, the ethnic-priority feature of the amended Immigration Act has been utilised as a "side door" through which an increasing number of Japanese Brazilian migrants have been absorbed into the low-skilled end of the Japanese labour market. While their intensive concentration in unstable labouring jobs is raising concerns over their labour market incorporation and economic advancement, a considerable proportion of these Japanese Brazilian migrants are now prolonging their stay, or settling, especially with the growth of the "second generation" immigrant population. To achieve the aim to explore aspects of employment and settlement and their interactions, this study employs a comprehensive framework linking economic causes to social and demographic consequences of migration of Japanese Brazilians to Japan. In addition to a range of secondary data analysis, this study presents both quantitative and qualitative analysis of primary data drawn from an original survey specifically designed for the purpose of this study. The results of the demand-side analysis that contains examination of the factors associated with utilisation of foreign workers in the manufacturing sector - by far the largest employer of Japanese Brazilian migrant workers- depicts the vulnerable status of their employment which is firmly embedded in the restructuring process that has generated the burgeoning demand for a low-skilled and flexible workforce. In contrast to their intensive concentration in unstable labouring jobs in the peripheral segment of the Japanese labour market, Japanese Brazilian migrants are from diverse background in terms of education and occupational status in Brazil. The contrast between the homogeneity in employment status in Japan and the heterogeneity in socioeconomic and human capital background in Brazil is reflected in differentiated levels of satisfaction with labour market outcomes in Japan. The results of analysis of earnings determinants indicate that Japanese Brazilian workers are not rewarded on the basis of their individual human capital. Rather, it is social capital that determinants labour market incorporation and wage outcomes for this economically disadvantaged and institutionally vulnerable immigrant group. Japanese Brazilian migrants' insensitivity to engagement in these unstable and low-skilled jobs - that provide little opportunity for skill attainment and occupational mobility - can be explained by their initial economically-focused "temporary" migration strategy, with which they are committed to the main purpose of migration such as hard work, saving, and remittances. Their initial migration strategy is to work hard, save much as they can, and remit savings to Brazil. The intention to be a "temporary'' migrant worker, however, is not a fixed propensity but a variable one that changes over the course of a migration career generating a set of irreversible changes. Although various factors contribute to this process such as the development of social connectedness and the reinforcement of economic attachment in the destination, the most salient aspect associated with the prolongation of stay- or the transition from a "sojourner" with a "target-earning" migration strategy to a "settler"- is family reunification and new family formation in Japan. This new phase in the settlement process raises concerns over children's education and future opportunities, and thereby complicates the migrants' struggle with the gap between the evolution of family circumstances and the continuity of engagement in unstable and vulnerable jobs. This further confuses the development of the family's future settlement strategy with ambiguity and uncertainty that characterises the concept of "settlement" among Japanese Brazilian migrants in Japan.
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