A comparative research on the relationship between the influx of migrants and the improvement of the status in the traditionally lowly regarded occupations

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24530600
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Sociology
• Research Institution: Komazawa University
• Principal Investigator: NISHIMURA yuko 駒澤大学, 公私立大学の部局等, 教授 (80276451)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): OGAWA Reiko 九州大学, 法学研究科, 准教授 (30432884) ; WHITE Bruce 同志社大学, 国際教育インスティテュート, 准教授 (00411059)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 低職位 / 移民 / 皮なめし / 介護 / 近代国家

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research focuses on the process of the improvement of social status in traditionally lowly regarded jobs such as the tanners and caregivers, how such low status could be improved by the influx of migrants in those sectors. In the Western and Asian societies, lowly regarded tanners position improved by the migrant population such as the Jews and Hakkas. When they succeed in working with the modern state, their traditional occupation no longer involved social stigma. On the other hand, Japanese tanners could not do so in spite of their contribution in the modern skinning and tannig technology. As for the low status of the care givers in Asia, Asian migrants' status as care givers improve in their host countries when their skills are recognized by the state, i.e. the national care giving insurance system. The improvement of social status therefore depends on the creation of the system of public recognition which is backed up by the state.

Free Research Field

社会人類学