Paper short abstract:

The upcoming Brexit will impact society on many levels. Tens of thousands of Japanese living in London will face uncertain times. My research project examines Japanese trajectories and biographies within this network in times of crisis.

Paper long abstract:

By early 2020 the UK will have left the European Union after a long and bitter struggle. Brexit will have many social and economic impacts. One is that tens of thousands of Japanese living in London will face a time of uncertainty. Many of these work for Japanese banks with European headquarters in the City of London. However, the EU has already signaled that it will declare banks in the UK as foreign and thus unable to handle financial transactions within the regime of the Union. Many banks have either withdrawn from London already, scaled down their business there, or are thinking about how to deal with an uncertain future. This affects not only Japanese employees and their families, but also the Japanese shops and institutions that have been catering to their needs.

Most diaspora research until now has considered cases like the Japanese in London as a matter of periphery-centre relations. Thus most publications on this topic only deal with London's local ongoings as well as those between the capitals of the UK and Japan. However, the crisis of Brexit will shed new light on the Japanese diaspora network within Europe. Banks will not withdraw completely, but relocate to banking centers such as Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or Dusseldorf, taking their Japanese staff along with them. My ongoing research project aims to map the Japanese diaspora network in Europe as Brexit unfolds. Using interviews and participant observation, I examine Japanese trajectories and biographies within this network with the aim of cutting through the problematic binary of periphery and center. As a major crisis within the diaspora network, Brexit offers an opportunity to unveil everyday relations and decisions within this network which would usually be more difficult to uncover.