Aspirations and Intentions of Japanese Migrants and the Impact of Technological Advancement

Abstract

Qualitative and quantitative studies on the topic of technological advancement and migration have shown that social media and information gathered on the Internet facilitate the decision to migrate. It has been argued that "Internet access may amplify individuals' aspirations to move abroad by, for instance, reducing the cost of migration, increasing the benefits, and/or by promoting migration success stories"(Grubanov-Boskovic et al. 2021: 1814). This article contributes to the emerging interest in understanding migration aspirations (desire to migrate) and intentions (migration preparation) prior to migrating in conjunction with the advancing information and communication technologies (ICT). From emigration companies and stories of migrants as well as returnees at the end of the nineteenth century to telephone, radio, and television in the twentieth century to the Internet and the rise of social media in the early twenty-first century, the development of analogue and digital media played an important role in the migration process of Japanese people. It helped forming an imagined West and strengthened the communication as well as information exchange between those who stayed at home and those who already migrated.