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The construction of the transnational labor market - an economic sociological investigation about the roles of personnel industry in Asia

Research Project

Project/Area Number 19K02111
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Section一般
Review Section Basic Section 08010:Sociology-related
Research InstitutionSophia University

Principal Investigator

IMAI Jun  上智大学, 総合人間科学部, 教授 (30545653)

Project Period (FY) 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2023)
Budget Amount *help
¥2,340,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥540,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥120,000)
Keywords人材業者 / 労働力 / アジア / 規範 / 将来の構想 / 越境する労働市場 / 経済社会学
Outline of Research at the Start

この研究の問いは、国境を超える労働移動が拡大する中で、人材業者(労働者派遣・紹介事業者
等)が誰を顧客とし、どのような商品やサービスを作り、どのように人を動かしているのか明らかにすることで、理論的想定としての市場ではなく、社会的に構築される具体的制度としての労働市場の形成機序を明らかにすることである。

Outline of Final Research Achievements

First, it was confirmed that Japanese-based personnel agencies expanded into Asian countries following the Great East Japan Earthquake, accompanying the overseas expansion of Japanese companies. These agencies conducted worker selection and skill development based on the adaptation to Japanese culture, including language. This process can be seen as the effort to define, therefore a part of the institutionalizing of "labor power" in the emerging labor market.

In the latter part, due to the stagnation of field surveys caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus of the research shifted. One focus was desk research, where the spread of labor mobility norms in Asia, focused on the situations of the ratification of ILO conventions by Asian countries. The other focus was the theoretical one. The formation of the concept of labor mobilities by personnel agencies (and states) confirmed in the first half of the research might be the beginning of the social construction of the labor market.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

労働市場を作り上げるためには、労働力を商品として定義したり、交換のための規則を作ったり、共有したりする政治的・文化的過程が必要になる。EUのように国家間レベルで共通の労働市場を創ろうとするのではないアジアという地域においては、(日本をベースにした)人材業者等が労働市場を創ろうとする活動の一翼を担う重要な主体である。この研究では、彼らがまず「日本語人材」とでも呼ぶべき労働力商品を作ってきたことを明らかにした。また理論的には、商品や規則形成における「将来構想」の重要性を指摘している。

Report

(6 results)
  • 2023 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2022 Research-status Report
  • 2021 Research-status Report
  • 2020 Research-status Report
  • 2019 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (1 results)

All 2022

All Journal Article (1 results)

  • [Journal Article] The vanguards of building transnational labor markets: the activities of Japanese THAs in Asia2022

    • Author(s)
      Imai Jun
    • Journal Title

      Sophia University Studies in Sociology

      Volume: 46 Pages: 27-55

    • Related Report
      2021 Research-status Report

URL: 

Published: 2019-04-18   Modified: 2025-01-30  

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