2021 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Keeping Tabs on Aliens: An Analysis of Monitoring Mechanisms in Japan's Immigration Law and Policy Framework
| Project/Area Number |
17K03316
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| Research Institution | Nagoya University |
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Principal Investigator |
石川 クラウディア 名古屋大学, 国際機構, 准教授 (10283467)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-04-01 – 2023-03-31
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| Keywords | paradigm shift / international students |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In FY 2021, the PI kept abreast of relevant literature, white papers, and academic articles, focusing, in particular, on control mechanisms engendered by COVID-19, as they pertain to international student mobility. Research sessions held at academic associations, foremost the Japan Association for Migration Policy Studies (JAMPS), with which the PI has continued her engagement, have provided valuable insights.
With regard to research activities, in parallel to FY 2020, due to the significant repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on this research theme, the PI was limited to publicly reporting her findings at an invited lecture on Japan's managed immigration policy to the Nagoya University Law School. Here, she focused on the adverse trajectories imposed by COVID-19 on the development of Japan's immigration policy.
The topic of 'monitoring mechanisms' in immigration revolves around the construction and maintenance of an actual immigration policy. That being the case, COVID-19-related developments, spanning from the end of FY 2019 to FY 2021, have undeniably hampered the progress of this research. In order to render the research more relevant to the changing immigration environment in Japan, in FY 2022 the PI intends to add to the research a hypothesis of the ramifications of the pandemic on future immigration policy in this country.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
4: Progress in research has been delayed.
Reason
1. The PI is responsible for co-ordinating this university's inbound student exchange programme, which in FY 2021 was beset by numerous challenges generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dealing with the repercussions on international student mobility at this University continued to be given priority. Additionally, the University also underwent a major reconstruction of its international organisation.
2.The advent of COVID-19 has had/is continuing to have serious implications for the pursuit of this particular research. The PI has not only been unable to travel abroad to engage in in-depth survey interviews; more significantly, immigration policy, both in Japan and at the global level, has been put on hold, with international mobility in FY 2021 kept to an absolute minimum. Moreover, post-COVID immigration policy paradigms can be expected to undergo a dramatic shift, thereby complicating this research.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
In order to continue this research project in FY 2022, the PI will be required to make significant adjustments for the paradigm shift in immigration-centred research that has been engendered by With-COVID. Whilst overseas travel (Germany, Australia) for the purpose of conducting interview surveys has become feasible; COVID-19 engendered regulations, increased travel costs, and a damaging exchange rate, render travel impractical. The employment of ICT applications, such as ZOOM, etc., may help to mitigate some of the challenges, but initial access to subjects through such means should be understood to be limited. Nevertheless, research on 'monitoring mechanisms' in immigration law and policy remains a pertinent issue, and the PI intends to proceed with her research as follows:
1. Continue with literature and policy paper reviews, taking particular note of COVID-19 implications for future immigration policy.
2. Give an oral presentation of research results at the Japan Association of Migration Policy Studies and, thereafter, compile the research into
reports for publication.
3. Work on a chapter for the proposed publication of a handbook on global migration and Japan.
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| Causes of Carryover |
Overseas field-work, which requires substantial funding, is intrinsic to the pursuit of this research. In both FY 2020 and FY 2021, travel plans were aborted due to the continued spread of COVID-19 and subsequent regulations, which rendered travel both at the international and domestic level unfeasible.
Considering the continued impediments to travel, it seems unlikely that the PI will be able conduct overseas surveys in FY 2022 either. In this event, the PI will return the relevant budget to the funding organisation.
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Research Products
(2 results)
