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Paper short abstract

This paper logs the self-expressed identities of educators who undertook an International Baccalaureate Educator Certificate (IBEC) program in Japanese higher education. I illustrate a profound divide between their grounded stories for taking IBEC, versus those of a top-down economic nationalism.

Paper long abstract

As part of the Japanese Government’s push to cultivate so-called gurōbaru

jinzai (‘global human resource’ or ‘global jinzai’), a promotional consortium was

established in 2013 by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and

Technology (MEXT), and the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO).

International Baccalaureate (IB) schools have risen from 16 that year, to 137 as of

November 2025, while IB Educator Certificate (IBEC) programs at soon-to-be nine local

universities have surfaced during this same juncture. Select educational elites inside this

IBEC community have since promoted a new trope believed necessary to help cultivate

such ‘global jinzai’: gurōbaru kyōiku jinzai (‘global educator resource’ or ‘global

educator jinzai’). I draw on a year of participatory fieldwork inside an IBEC program to

highlight an inherent disconnect between this economically nationalist discourse, and the

self-expressed identities of the people undertaking the initiative. Informed by 34 semi-structured interviews, supplemented by field notes and relevant survey data, I

urge societal elites to abandon a culture of top-down governance that semantically

perplexing, humanly unfaithful slogans like ‘global (educator) jinzai’ are symptomatic of.

I instead call for such leadership to have its privileged agendas kept in check by

prioritizing bottom-up approaches to policy and strategy making. In this instance, having

its narratives and language informed by those navigating education in the

names of the ‘international’ and ‘global’ on the ground.

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Paper short abstract

This paper examines networks among Vietnamese Buddhist temples in Europe, Australia, and Japan. It conceptualizes these temples as nodes embedded in societies through everyday practices. Focusing on Japan’s position, the study highlights connectivity beyond national frameworks.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines transnational networks among overseas Vietnamese Buddhist temples, focusing on how religious practices, knowledge, and organizational resources circulate beyond the territorial framework of the Vietnamese nation-state. Drawing on multi-sited fieldwork conducted in Europe, Australia, and Japan, it highlights how these temples are simultaneously embedded in local societies while remaining connected through transnational religious networks that extend across regions. Rather than treating overseas temples as peripheral extensions of Vietnamese Buddhism or as isolated migrant institutions, the paper conceptualizes them as interconnected nodes within a global religious network shaped by migration, mobility, and contextual adaptation.

The analysis pays particular attention to Japan’s positioning within these networks. Instead of framing Japan as a central authority or a marginal recipient of religious influence, the paper approaches Japan as a significant relational space where regional linkages intersect and transnational connections are negotiated. Through patterns of communication, coordination, and practical collaboration, overseas Vietnamese Buddhist temples maintain shared orientations while adapting to diverse legal, social, and cultural environments. These processes reveal how regional configurations shape the ways transnational religious ties are sustained and reconfigured over time. These connections are sustained not primarily through formal institutional hierarchies, but through everyday practices, informal exchanges, and repeated interactions among temples across national boundaries.

By foregrounding relational dynamics rather than individual actors or centralized institutions, the paper demonstrates how transnational religious networks are reproduced through routine practices such as ritual coordination, mutual support, and the circulation of experiential knowledge. Such an approach underscores the importance of relational spaces in understanding how religious networks operate across multiple regional contexts. This perspective allows for an understanding of overseas Vietnamese Buddhism as a dynamic and regionally diversified religious formation rather than a unified or centrally governed tradition. Situating Japan within broader global Vietnamese Buddhist networks, the paper contributes to ongoing discussions on transnational religion, migration, and the globalization of Buddhism, while offering a regional perspective that highlights the significance of East Asia within wider transnational religious configurations.

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Paper short abstract

This ethnographic research examines Indian migrant workers in Japan under the TITP and SSW visa schemes. Linking India’s young workforce to Japan’s ageing economy, it shows how efficiency-driven labour programs shape work, time, and wellbeing, often obscuring migrants’ physical and emotional costs.

Paper long abstract

The labour economy is reshaped by demographic asymmetries, as workforce-scarce ageing societies increasingly turn to labour-abundant countries to address shortages. Japan and India exemplify this dynamic: Japan faces acute labour shortages driven by its ageing population, while India’s young workforce confronts limited domestic opportunities despite economic growth. This mismatch has opened new pathways for Indian workers migrating to Japan through the Technical Intern Training Program and the Specified Skilled Worker visa, particularly in manufacturing, construction, agriculture, food processing, and nursing care.

Based on ethnographic research with Indian migrant workers in Japan, this paper highlights migrants’ narratives to examine how work, time, and wellbeing are negotiated within Japan’s demanding labour regime. One worker noted, “I was only given five days of holiday to go back to India—two days go in travel,” illustrating how institutional schedules compress family life and transnational belonging. Others described opting for night shifts because “it pays us more,” while simultaneously expressing anxiety about long-term health impacts. Such accounts reveal how economic calculation, physical endurance, and moral responsibility toward family are tightly interwoven in everyday decision-making.

While scholarship on migration to Japan has focused on Southeast Asian workers, the presence of Indian migrants under these visa categories remains underexamined. This paper explores the gendered allocation of work across sectors, the role of intermediary agencies, and cultural norms shaping workplace integration. The paper argues that while transnational labour programs are designed for efficiency, they often hide the everyday physical and emotional costs faced by migrant workers.

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Paper short abstract

This study examines migrants’ experiences of Japan’s post-2023 immigration and refugee policies through the lenses of differential inclusion and layered precarity, by combining policy analysis with qualitative research, including interviews with immigrants from Türkiye and field observations.

Paper long abstract

Revisions to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act(ICRRA) were passed in 2023, aiming to address controversial issues in Japan, such as low refugee recognition rates, challenges in the detention system, repeated asylum applications, and overstays. Together with accompanying measures introduced in subsequent years, including special residency grants for families with children born in Japan, revisions in ICRRA reshaped the legal conditions of immigrants and asylum seekers, yet their everyday consequences are unexplored.

Addressing this gap, this study examines real-life implications of post-2023 policies for immigrants from Türkiye, a group increasingly visible in public debates as non-recognized asylum seekers, focusing on social inclusion, access to services, and strategies for achieving legal stability using the frameworks of differential inclusion and layered precarity.

The study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining critical policy analysis of legislative documents and governmental notifications with qualitative research. Qualitative data includes semi-structured interviews with Turkish immigrants in Saitama Prefecture, complemented by participant observation through community engagement and work as an immigrant consultant and interpreter.

Post-2023 policies produce differential inclusion through fragmented access to rights and services, resulting in layered precarity. While some migrants on provisional release obtained residency status through special grants, improving access to services, others experienced no change, status loss, or shifts to supervisory measures without meaningful improvements in daily life. Many remain excluded from health insurance and lawful employment, continuing to face deportation. Introduction of additional restrictive measures, such as the inability to renew driving licenses, further exacerbates social exclusion and access barriers. Legal outcomes are often fragmented within families, with partial family recognition intensifying insecurity and constraining decision-making, while bureaucratic nontransparency heightens uncertainties. Furthermore, the overvisibility of Turkish immigrants in public debates and social media, combined with policy changes, heightens their precariousness as they face growing hate speech and anti-immigrant sentiment. Some migrants pursue alternative pathways to legal stability, such as employment-based visas, but these remain limited due to restricted networks and complex procedures.

By foregrounding migrants’ experiences, this paper contributes to migration and refugee studies on Japan by demonstrating the everyday consequences of Japan’s post-2023 policies for immigrants from Türkiye, which remains understudied.