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Paper short abstract

Despite the "dekasegi" trend observed in other regions, this paper explores the transnational mobility of Japanese men in London to re-evaluate their professional identities and career trajectories. My findings suggest that destination choice is deeply intertwined with the specific form of capital.

Paper long abstract

Recent media discourse in Japan highlights a rise in "Dekasegi wa-hori (labor migration Working Holiday makers)”, driven by domestic economic stagnation and subsequent diversification of lifestyles. This trend suggests that young Japanese are increasingly moving abroad to secure economic capital. However, this study reveals a counter-narrative among Japanese men in London. Drawing on qualitative interviews, this research examines how these men—at a life stage where conventional Japanese masculinity expects institutional career stability—negotiate their identities through transnational mobility.

Contrary to the "dekasegi" trend observed in regions like Australia, my informants in London primarily pursue cultural capital in creative fields such as fashion and photography. For these men, London functions not as a site for high-wage labor, but rather as a space that allows them to temporarily detach from the rigid expectations of the Japanese labor market while seeking global validation for their professional identities.

This paper argues that the transnational mobility of Japanese men is increasingly bifurcated. While some pursue economic survival, those in London utilize the Working Holiday scheme to negotiate their masculinity by accumulating cultural prestige rather than immediate financial gain. This choice represents a strategic negotiation: they risk the delay of attainment of conventional adulthood to pursue self-realization that transcends domestic corporate norms. These findings suggest that destination choice is deeply intertwined with the specific form of capital—economic or cultural—that individuals seek to convert into their future social status.

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Paper short abstract

This paper explores how Japanese students and young professionals educated in Central Europe decide to stay, re-migrate, or return to Japan. Focusing on the social construction of skills and mobility capital, it examines how internationally acquired competencies are valued across labour markets.

Paper long abstract

This paper investigates how Japanese students and young professionals educated in Central Europe navigate decisions to return to Japan, re-migrate within Europe, or remain at the local labour market, focusing on the interplay between their emergent career aspirations and the social meanings attached to skills. Given the increasingly diverse mobility trajectories of young middle-class Japanese, the study argues that understanding contemporary mobility requires attention not only to structural opportunities but also to how skills are differently valorized across contexts.

Empirically, the paper combines two qualitative datasets. The first draws on previous research with young Japanese middle-class professionals with overseas education and work experience. The second introduces new interview data with Japanese students in the Czech Republic—primarily in medicine, arts, and music—as well as young adults entering Europe through temporary schemes such as the Work & Travel visa. These cases illustrate the growing diversity in mobility channels through which Japanese nationals engage with European educational and labour markets.

Analytically, the study uses mobility capital (Murphy-Lejeune 2002) and Kaufmann et al.’s (2004) concept of motility. The discussion around the strategic deployment of the accumulated credentials is supported by Liu-Farrer’s scholarship on the social construction of migrant skills, which illustrates how skills are shaped by actors and institutions within local, national, and transnational contexts, and are interpreted differently depending on labour market norms and cultural expectations.

This perspective allows the paper to explore how participants’ internationally acquired skills are interpreted, recognised, or discounted in diverse professional fields, and how the social evaluations shape aspirations to stay, re-migrate, or return to Japan. By foregrounding skill as a socially mediated construct, the paper contributes to Japanese studies by revealing how mobility decisions are embedded in cultural understandings of competence, professional worth, and belonging.

References:

Kaufmann, Vincent, Manfred Max Bergman and Dominique Auderset Joye. 2004. “Motility: Mobility as capital.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 28: 745-756.

Liu-Farrer, Gracia. 2024. “The Social Construction of Skill in International Migration: Perspectives from Asia.” Annual Review of Sociology 51: 423-440

Murphy-Lejeune, Elizabeth 2002. Student Mobility and Narrative in Europe. The New Strangers. London: Routledge

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This paper analyses how Japanese male dancers pursue aspirations across borders and asks what kinds of ‘diversity’ are accepted in global ballet markets. It examines the extent to which these markets prioritise individual talent regardless of non-Western body types, aesthetics and ethnicity.

Paper long abstract

Men remain a small minority among ballet learners in Japan, yet more male dancers are studying abroad and entering prestigious overseas schools and companies. In 2021, there were approximately 7,900 male learners (around 3%) out of roughly 256,000 learners nationwide (Showa University of Music, Ballet Research Institute 2021). This paper examines how boys and men navigate stigma and prestige across amateur and professional pathways, focusing on masculinity, the body and racialised aesthetics.

It is sometimes argued that stigma surrounding boys and men in ballet is lower in Japan than in some other countries, partly because alternative masculinities have gained visibility since the 1990s, contributing to broader acceptance of male dancers (Monden 2019). Japanese male professionals, however, often encounter different constraints outside Japan. As ballet increasingly circulates as a global cultural product, rather than solely a Western form of ‘high art’, international mobility is shaped by organisational diversity agendas that claim to value skill regardless of nationality and promote representation (e.g. Paris Opera Ballet 2021). Declining participation in some Western classical arts may also encourage more international recruitment (Yoshihara 2021), potentially widening opportunities for Japanese dancers.

Despite these shifts, Japanese dancers may face prejudice linked to body size, proportions and gender expression. Although ballet is now a global cultural form, institutional standards of the ‘ideal’ body and aesthetic remain grounded in European norms. Accounts from male dancers who entered elite schools and companies highlight the difficulty of meeting physical demands framed through Western expectations. Even those who graduate near the top of their cohort may struggle to secure contracts or advance due to height or physique. Some report pressure to alter their bodies, while others describe injuries associated with attempts to compensate for perceived physical differences. Many ultimately return to Japan to continue performing or to establish companies and schools that support the next generation.

This paper analyses how Japanese male dancers pursue aspirations across borders and asks what kinds of ‘diversity’ are accepted in global ballet markets. It examines the extent to which these markets prioritise individual talent regardless of non-Western body types, aesthetics and ethnicity.

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Paper short abstract

This paper analyzes the transnational political engagement of Japanese migrants who actively support a Japanese political party, focusing on their motivations for long-distance political participation and the meanings and broader implications of such engagement.

Paper long abstract

Contemporary migrants actively engage with their homelands in various ways, including following homeland news, visiting their countries of origin, sending remittances, and consuming popular culture. Such migrants are often described as transmigrants, as they maintain social, cultural, and political ties across national borders. One important dimension of transmigrant practices is homeland political engagement, which includes expressing political opinions, campaigning for homeland political parties, and participating in elections through external voting. This paper examines the transnational political engagement of Japanese migrants. While existing scholarship on migrants’ homeland political participation has largely focused on migrants from the Global South, relatively little attention has been paid to Japanese migrants. Although research on Japanese migration has expanded in recent decades—addressing migration motivations, settlement experiences, and the diversity of migrant categories such as expatriates, marriage migrants, and cultural migrants—their engagement with homeland politics remains underexplored. To address this gap, this study draws on interviews with Japanese migrants in Europe who are active overseas supporters of a Japanese political party. Although these individuals have no intention of returning to Japan, they remain highly engaged in Japanese politics and participate in various activities to express their concerns and political views from abroad. This paper traces their migration trajectories, examines their reasons for leaving Japan, and analyzes their motivations for political engagement across distance. It further explores the meanings they attach to such engagement and discusses its broader implications for understanding transnational political participation among Japanese migrants.