Paper short abstract:

This study qualitatively explores how Filipino women married to Japanese husbands living in Japan exert influence as mediators in transnational civil societies. Specifically, it examines the Okayama Kurashiki Pilipino Circle (OKPC), a group based in the country’s Okayama prefecture.

Paper long abstract:

Studies concerning international marriage in Asia have primarily investigated women's agency with regard to the workforce or the balance of power between wives and their husbands. Unlike those before it, this study qualitatively explores how Filipino women married to Japanese husbands living in Japan exert influence as mediators in transnational civil societies. Specifically, it examines the Okayama Kurashiki Pilipino Circle (OKPC), a group based in the country's Okayama prefecture.

The OKPC was established over a decade ago to provide these women with mutual support and to promote their children's awareness of both Filipino and Japanese heritage. Through their activities, the OKPC strives to overcome the stigmatization and discrimination imposed upon their children and themselves in Japanese society.

In the late-2000s, the OKPC expanded its focus and joined forces with a locally based international non-governmental organization (INGO) to provide emergency relief following a series of natural disasters in the Philippines. The women collaborated with families residing in the Philippines to assist and enrich the INGO's programs and activities.

This case demonstrates that through family networks, as well as with knowledge and experience in both cultures, Filipino women can underpin a transnational civil society and subsequently increase their status and their children's.