The Socio-economic Reintegration of Indonesian Return Migrants: A Comparative Analysis According to Their Choice of Migration Destination

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K02044
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Area studies
• Research Institution: Nanzan University
• Principal Investigator: MASE Tomoko 南山大学, 外国語学部, 准教授 (80751099)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 小池 誠 桃山学院大学, 国際教養学部, 教授 (00221953) ; 長津 一史 東洋大学, 社会学部, 教授 (20324676) ; 合地 幸子 東洋大学, アジア文化研究所, 客員研究員 (60836542)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: インドネシア / 帰還移民 / 漁船員 / 水産加工労働者 / 移民労働 / 技能実習生

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Many migrant workers in the fish industry and fishing vessels come from Indonesia. We can safely conclude that the socio-economic importance of these workers focusing on the aspect of their returns is as follows;
Indonesian migrant fishers tend to be a job-hopper. They generally want to get higher wage levels and better working conditions, proceeding step by step to drift from Taiwan to another destination. Relation with the host society is a big determinant of timing of their returns. To obtain information of subsequent careers, they often access their networks built in their working countries. After their returns, they will try to get a better measure to earn a living with savings piled up in working countries (But savings will not definitely insure their subsequent careers in the case of technical trainees in Japan). Frequent brief returns and communication technology help them keep their connections to the community of origin and be reintegrated smoothly after their returns.

Free Research Field

インドネシア地域研究

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

（日本を含む）東アジアへ向かう移民労働者の研究は、家事労働や看護・介護労働の分野で蓄積が厚い。これに対し本研究は、日本と台湾においてインドネシア出身の移民労働者が中心的に就労し、キャリアの連続・非連続が可視的な漁船労働と水産加工労働に焦点を当てている。
本研究は地域研究的な視野に立ち、インドネシア語を活用し、インフォーマントとの信頼関係を築きながら、移民労働者の就労地と出身地で実施した聞き取りと観察に依拠するものである。その中でまず移民労働への出発から帰還までの経緯、就労状況、生活形態を描き出し、そこから帰還の契機、帰還後の社会経済的再統合とキャリア再編のパターンを探り当てようとした。