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Paper short abstract

This paper examines the social mobility of Southeast Asian immigrant women in rural Japan. It contrasts high mobility in employment with the inability to create a stable livelihood, despite stable residency status. It argues that job training is vital to escape this limitation on social mobility.

Paper long abstract

I would like to present the findings on the uncertainty on occupational and social mobility among Southeast Asian migrant women who settled in rural Japan, based on their personal narratives.

In my study area, marriage migrant women built stable foundations for their daily life with their husband within a few years of arriving in Japan—obtaining stable residency status, forming families, purchasing land/homes, and buying cars. However, although their stable residency status such as Permanent Residence removes restrictions on the type of job category that they can apply for, most women are in low-skilled and low-paid positions in repetitive manual jobs in food processing plants and manufacturing factories that supply urban consumers. These jobs are often associated with technical trainees or other short-term residency statuses with job restrictions. Immigrant women frequently change workplaces every few years, with few remaining stably employed at a single job for an extended period.

In addition, they play a significant role in supporting the food system through producing ready-to-eat food products, including agricultural products. Yet they often work under precarious and vulnerable job conditions. Moreover, repetitive manual jobs in plants and factories often fail to develop professional skills, creating barriers to upward social mobility and keeping immigrant women workers in low-skilled positions.

Analyzing interviews with Southeast Asian immigrant women who have lived in Japan for over five years, this study examines workplace transitions within manual labor and highlights how these fail to enable social mobility. I would like to argue that, while their stable residency status eliminates job restrictions, this alone is insufficient for escaping low-skilled work and achieving economic stability without appropriate job training programs for immigrant women.