2021 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Community-building among foreign residents during crises and its implications on the host society: The case of Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic
Project/Area Number |
21K12385
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Research Institution | Osaka University |
Principal Investigator |
KIM VIKTORIYA 大阪大学, 人間科学研究科, 特任講師 (00638231)
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Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
マカベンターイケダ マリア 京都産業大学, 経済学部, 准教授 (40388236)
BABOVIC ALEKSANDRA 大阪大学, 人間科学研究科, 特任助教(常勤) (40870100)
M・R・D Carlos 龍谷大学, 国際学部, 教授 (90335414)
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Project Period (FY) |
2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
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Keywords | foreign residents / COVID-19 / pandemic / anticipatory governance / polycentric governance / foreign communities / tabunka kyosei |
Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
During 2021 the group conducted monthly meetings, with all members and a research assistant to decide on research design and plan out activities. The main frameworks of the study will be anticipatory and polycentric governance. Each member conducted literature review on the topics: migrant incorporation and COVID-19 policies (Kim); labor migration, governance of risks (Carlos); crises response and coping mechanisms (Makabenta-Ikeda); review of Japan’s and other countries’ policies and media coverage of COVID-19 response (Babovic). The group organized fieldwork activities: fieldtrips to Hiroshima (Carlos) and Kurume (Kim, Carlos, Ikeda) to survey Filipinos (n=820), who live nearby Hiroshima and Fukuoka; fieldtrip to Kanto (Kim, Babovic) to interview Russian-speaking gatekeepers (n=4) and Brazilian nationals (n=8). While the analysis is not over yet, one of the findings is that many foreign residents were heavily affected by the pandemic during the first few months, and after a year many perceive that they have adjusted well. Filipinos did not belong to any Filipino organizations in their area, which implies that organizations (formalized and not virtual) have not played the role of a vital source of support. Russian-speaking residents did not belong to any Russian formal organizations, however, there was a more distinctive trend of forming online communities with the leadership of Russian-speaking nationals, who serve as opinion leaders in many situations. As for Brazilians, no organizational support as well, but mostly local group of compatriots were distinguished.
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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
We managed to collect large number of secondary academic and media sources that discuss pandemic responses in Japan and around the world. We managed to contact gatekeepers of different communities: Philippines Consulate General in Osaka that allowed us to join their outreach mission to conduct surveys; we interviewed three gatekeepers in charge of Russian-speaking online communities that organize (online) events and activities aimed at Russian-speaking nationals in Japan; and we also interviewed several Brazilian nationals, contact with which will allow us to further organize interviews with other Brazilians in Japan. Members of the group conducted presentations at different research events and publish(ed) research outputs: “Migrant Women in Japan in the time of the COVID-19 Health Crisis” panel at International Convention of Asia Scholars (Kim, Carlos, Makabenta-Ikeda) - preliminary results on the impact of pandemic on foreign residents in Japan; Japan Association for Feminist Economics (Carlos) - the impacts of COVID-19 on Filipino women (this paper will be published in the Association Journal in 2022); "Can migrants and returnees flourish in vulnerable places?" at the ASEAN-Japan Workshop (Makabenta-Ikeda). All members of the group were accepted to introduce findings of our research panel “Migration Policies and Governance in Crisis Situations” at the Nordic Migration Research Conference 2022 and a panel on “Making Sense of Migration Outcomes in Crisis Situations and Policy Implications”at the European Consortium for Political Research.
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Strategy for Future Research Activity |
We plan to analyze primary and secondary sources to elucidate short- and long-term institutional and individual vulnerabilities of migrants in Japan. We will continue thematic analysis of academic and media sources to understand current political and media discourse surrounding the pandemic (Kim, Babovic); review academic literature to understand the frameworks and perspectives in which pandemic policies are portrayed (Kim); review governmental and local responses in different parts of the world and Japan to compare their success/failure, and detailed contents (Babovic). We will analyze Filipino survey findings (Carlos and Kim) and organize similar surveys with Russian-speaking and Brazilian communities (all members). We will also analyze interviews with gatekeepers and migrants to understand how individual migrants support their lives and receive information during the pandemic; whether there are local/foreign communities supporting them and any attempts from sending governments to organize migrants based on their ethnicity/language/country of origin. In the process of data analysis and further data collection we will develop main indicators and signifiers for theoretical implications. As we will use anticipatory and polycentric governance frameworks, we will approach data analysis based on the main categories of each framework and analyze to what extent these perspectives are helpful in crises mitigation process. The group members will present their findings at research meetings and conferences in Japan and overseas.
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Causes of Carryover |
We will continue our surveys and interviews with migrants from local communities. Compared to the Philippines, Russia and other former Soviet Union countries, as well as Brazil do not organize outreach activities. This makes it difficult to conduct large number of surveys in one area, for this reason we will conduct several research trips to areas with large number of migrants (Tokyo, Nagoya, Shiga, Fukuoka) to access large number of respondents. All the group members were accepted to participate at the Nordic Migration Research Conference, and we plan to apply to local conferences and workshops. Participation fees and travel expenses will be covered by our budget. Since there are a lot of newly published research (books and articles) related to COVID-19, we will hire a research assistant to collect information on newly published studies and media articles related to COVID-19 and pandemic, as well as buy these studies for further review. Our 2022 budget will consist of the following contents: 物品費150,000, 旅費530,000, 人件費・謝金374,000,その他146,000
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Research Products
(6 results)