A Few Good Sources from My Research in Japan

In the comments section of previous posts, I've alluded to a number of sources that I found while doing the research on my dissertation:  hundreds of articles and dozens of books.  Today, I thought I would give you a shortlist of some that I found particularly interesting in my international migration studies. A few made it onto my international migration reading list.  I didn't necessarily cite them and I don't necessarily agree with the arguments in them.  However, they made me reconsider my own ideas and biases and that is never a bad thing.  Some of the titles may rub you the wrong way, but don't let "contempt prior to investigation" get in your way,

The Japan Statistics Bureau (on-line)  An amazing source of statistics about Japan and it's all available on-line.  For statistics on the number of migrants and their visas status see Chapter 2 of the Statistical Handbook.  Want to know the number of North Americans or Oceanians in Japan and on what visa they entered Japan?  This is the place to look.

Statistics Japan - Prefecture Comparisons:  Another good source.  Fascinating graphics.  See the maps for where Americans or Brazilians live in Japan.

An Introduction to Japanese Society Fourth Edition (2014) by Yoshio Sugimoto.  Best overall introduction to Japan that I found.  Well-written, great list of other sources and I recommend it highly.

Global fatigue: Transnational markets, linguistic capital, and Korean-American male English teachers in South Korea, Journal of Sociolinguistics (2012) by J. Cho.  Migrants from multi-cultural and multi-racial countries can have ancestors from all over the world.  I shouldn't have to point that out but I still encounter assumptions about "Western" migrants being people of European origin.   Cho is American and here is what he found when he moved to Korea to teach.

Old colonial or new cosmopolitan? Changing white identities in the Hong Kong police, Social Politics (2010) by P. Leonard.   How do "expats" react when the world around them changes?

White privilege, language capital and cultural ghettoisation: Western high-skilled migrants in Taiwan,  Journal of Ethnic Studies and Migration (2011) by Pei-Chia Lan.  Fascinating argument about how "Western" migrants "leverage" their cultural and linguistic capital in order to move abroad.  This one is cited a lot.  A must-read.

Identity, Gender and Teaching English in Japan (2016) by D. Nagatomo.  Fascinating book.  Nicely written. She's been in Japan since the 1970s and has done some excellent research.  Great antidote to the misconception that migration (including marriage migration) in Asia is mostly male.

A History of English Language Teaching ELT 2nd Edition (2004) by A.P.R. Howatt and H.G. Widdowson. Not the easiest read but it gives the history, contexts and controversies around the profession.

White Migrations:  Gender, Whiteness and Privilege in Transnational Migration (2014) by C. Lundstrom.  The book is based on her study of Swedes in the United States.

Men and Masculinities in Global English Language Teaching (2014) by R. Appleby.  This book is based on her research on Australian men in Japan.  This one is controversial.  But I suggest reading it to learn why that is.

Self-Initiated Expatriation:  Individual, Organizational and National Perspectives (2012) edited by M. Andreson, A. Al Ariss and M. Walther.  Another must-read.  This is a collection of articles about "self-initiated expatriates" people who are not sent abroad by a company ("assigned expatriates") but who find jobs locally with local firms. This is another perspective on migration from international HR and recruitment.  

Highly skilled globetrotters: mapping the international migration of human capital, OECD (1999) by S. Mahroum.    What does it mean when skilled workers see the possibilities for employment in the world, not just their own country?

Transcultural Japan:  At the Borderlands of Race, Gender and Identity (2007) edited by S. Murphy-Shigematsu and D. Willis.  Good read about the diversity in Japan.

I will stop there because the list is getting long.  I could have added so many more.  Feel free to add your own titles in the comments section.