Bifurcated Incorporation and Social Mobility in Japan

• In Event: 549 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 12. Mobility and Integration

Abstract

The context of reception is critical in establishing pathways for different types of migrants within host societies. Given that access to government resources is increasingly restricted to citizens and permanent residents and most states provide relatively few avenues to naturalization or permanent residence, host country human capital and social networks are often vital for upward social mobility. I use a variety of research methods including 60 semi-structured interviews, over 800 hours of participant and non-obtrusive observation, and ethnography from a 14-month period in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area to investigate how Sub-Saharan migrants experience mobility within Japanese society. I theorize that there are two distinct groups of long-term staying Sub-Saharan Africans in Japan: one initially incorporated as low-skilled laborers and another initially incorporated as high-skilled laborers or professionals. Migrants initially incorporated as high skilled workers or professionals have comparatively greater access to state resources and discretion to incorporate as individuals. Migrants initially incorporated as low skilled workers must rely on the intervention of native-born individuals in order to experience upward mobility. These findings suggest that visa status is an important signal of initial migrant incorporation trajectory and a significant moderating factor for individual outcomes and social mobility in Japan.

Author

• Tristan Ivory, Indiana University