2022 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Building a Society More Inclusive of Migrants Through University Education
| Project/Area Number |
20K02946
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| Research Institution | Keio University |
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Principal Investigator |
コミサロフ アダム 慶應義塾大学, 文学部(日吉), 教授 (30791371)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
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| Keywords | Immigration in Japan / Immigrant acceptance / National identity / Social markers / Acculturation in Japan / Japan studies / Intercultural relations / Ethnic & civic identity |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
This study aims to identify Japanese criteria for deciding whether to socially accept migrants, how those criteria change contextually, and the impact of those boundary maintenance practices on migrants’ mental health with the goal of proposing ways for university education to help students become more accepting of migrants in Japan. Last year, I worked on 2 papers that identified: 1. how the criteria that Japanese people value may change depending upon their perceived levels of threat, contribution, and social status among immigrants, and 2. how such acceptance criteria may change according to immigrants’ national background. Analyses reveal that Japanese consider 2 types of criteria important for accepting migrants: ethnic (e.g., Japanese ancestry or birthplace) and civic (e.g., language skills or following social norms). Such expectations vary depending upon contextual variables: greater perceptions of threat resulted in more exclusive attitudes, while higher assessments of contributions and social status engendered more accepting stances toward immigrants. Such findings have important implications for education: by promoting immigrants’ contributions in Japan (both economic and social) and social status, while reducing threat perceptions, educators can engender more inclusive attitudes towards immigrants among students. From April 2022 to the end of April 2023, I had 1 refereed paper accepted about this research (now in press) in an international journal, and I gave 20 presentations in person or online at academic conferences or as invited lectures.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The first reason my research has progressed smoothly is that before my grant began, I completed a pilot study in which I surveyed Japanese university students about their criteria for accepting migrants in Japanese society. In this study, I developed a survey, established a theoretical framework, and designed the statistical tests that could be used, with some revisions, in my current research. For example, by removing and adding some variable measures from the pilot survey, I could construct the new surveys very quickly and have them translated into Japanese. In the past 3 years, I have conducted 4 surveys to gather data from both Japanese and migrants in Japan and done a large volume of data analysis. In April 2023, I finished 1 paper which was accepted in Elsevier’s International Journal of Intercultural Relations (entitled “Constructions of Japanese National Identity: Host Views Using a Social Markers of Acceptance Framework”), and I have assembled a global research team to collaborate in writing other papers comparing my Japanese data with similar data in the US, the Netherlands, and Australia. In these 3 years, I have presented my findings at 8 conferences and published 6 papers related to this line of research.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
I am almost finished a paper that assesses how SMA change depending upon the national background of the immigrants being considered by Japanese people, which I plan to submit to a journal this spring. Also, I will write 2 more papers. Paper 1 will assess the impact of Japanese expectations for SMA on immigrants’ mental health, and Paper 2 will address how Japanese university education can contribute to making Japanese society more accepting of immigrants. I plan to submit Paper 1 to an international journal, while I will publish Paper 2 in a book that I am co-editing: The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Communication. Although most of the statistical analyses are done, I will need to do more for Paper 1 with my research assistant. To disseminate this research, I plan to present at 3 conferences this year: International Academy for Intercultural Research (in Philadelphia), SIETAR (Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research) Japan (Tokyo), and Japanese Studies Association of Australia (Sydney). This grant will enable me to attend the conference for the International Academy for Intercultural Research, an academic organization consisting of scholars from around the globe, of which I am currently the president.
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| Causes of Carryover |
I did not use all of the funds that I had planned because the COVID pandemic made travel impossible for the first two years of my grant period, so I did not spend as much as I thought. This past year, conditions improved, so I resumed presenting my research at conferences and invited lectures. This year, I am planning to use my remaining funds to attend conferences to disseminate my research and to conduct further statistical analyses. If any other money remains, then I will use it either to collect more data or to purchase necessary equipment for my research, such as a personal computer.
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