Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses preliminary results of the on-going research on child-raising practices among Chinese in Japan. By adopting the family lens I try to understand how individuals conceive of their leaving the home, settling in the new country and moving between the two.

Paper long abstract:

The contemporary migration from China to Japan is taking place not only against the backdrop of intensive economical exchange between the two countries but also political tensions and land disputes. Nonetheless, Chinese have become the most numerous migrant group in Japan in the last several years. The difference in migration paths, place of origin and timing of migration conditions the way how contemporary Chinese migrants carve out the modes of being and belonging within Japanese society which is still largely construed as a homogeneous rather than a multicultural one. But instead of dwelling on questions of assimilation, integration or multiculturalism I propose to analyze the Chinese migration to Japan and its effects through Chinese migrants' family practices.

In my paper I will discuss preliminary results of the on-going research on child-raising practices among this population. By adopting the family lens I try to understand how families in migration adapt to new circumstances and reinvent old practices as well as how individuals conceive of their leaving the home country, settling in the new country and moving between the two, especially as members of a family unit. Special attention will be paid to the family-work nexus of these families by illustrating how migrants' family practices and strategies overlap and connect to business and work related decisions.