Contemporary Japan by Jeff Kingston

Author:Jeff Kingston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published: 2012-05-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chinese Migrants

Most of the 655,000 Chinese-born people residing in Japan as of 2008 came after the mid-1980s, making them the fastest-growing ethnic community. Between 1990 and 2005, 58,879 Chinese became Japanese citizens, while as of 2008 there were 128,501 Chinese permanent residents, most gaining this status since 2000. Significantly, Chinese are the largest number among foreigners married to Japanese and this trend is increasing. In 2005, over 50,000 Chinese residents in Japan held spouse visas and an additional 35,000 had dependent visas.

Compared to nikkeijin, Chinese in Japan tend to have strong language skills and fewer problems functioning in society and in the workplace, but as with other foreigners they do face discrimination. Typically, these migrants start by working at Japanese firms, but many leave to start up their own ventures because they find the rules and regimen at Japanese firms oppressive and depressing. In addition, Chinese women confront gender barriers in Japanese companies and so choose other opportunities that don’t constrain their careers. Chinese migrants also realize they can’t ever really assimilate and don’t want to anyway. Instead, they identify and exploit profitable niches as transnational entrepreneurs, tapping into China’s economic boom.9

Since 2006, China has overtaken the US as Japan’s leading trade partner and the China trade has been a major source of growth in the Japanese economy. Bilingual, culturally adept, and armed with contacts on both sides of the East China Sea, Chinese migrants play a key part in building business networks and relationships that are the basis for surging economic ties. They are building bridges in the twenty-first century that help offset the highly contentious disputes over history and territory that have defined and influenced bilateral relations since the late nineteenth century.

More than 80,000 Chinese are studying at Japanese universities, many courtesy of Japanese government scholarships, accounting for some two-thirds of Japan’s foreign student population. During the mid-1980s Chinese authorities eased restrictions, making it easier for students to study abroad, an attractive option given the sad state of Chinese universities at that time. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nakasone (1982–7) promoted internationalization of Japan by setting a goal of attracting 100,000 foreign students by the end of the twentieth century. To this end, the government relaxed procedures and criteria for student visas in 1984 and established scholarship programs. From 1984 to 2005, more than 250,000 Chinese language and university students came to Japan.

Upon graduation many Chinese start their careers at Japanese companies. This influx of white-collar, highly educated migrant Chinese is slowly prompting a reassessment of xenophobic attitudes towards foreigners, at least within government policy-making circles and among human resource managers, if not the public at large. Prejudice against Chinese in Japan, however, remains widespread and the government and media fan concerns about their involvement in crime.10

Japanese remain dubious about foreigners in general and, in opinion surveys more than two-thirds express negative feelings towards China, the highest anti-Chinese sentiments in all of Asia.11 Chinese regularly report housing discrimination and are often stopped for identification checks by police. The media has

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