Narratives of ethnolinguistic bordering: Cultural encounters of Philippine nikkeijin workers in Aichi, Japan

Abstract

By virtue of Japan's 1990 Immigration Policy, the so-called 'nikkeijin' or descendants of Japanese nationals who emigrated and settled in American and Southeast Asian territories before the Second World War, have been allowed to 'return' to their ancestral homeland (Japan). As a consequence, thousands of Brazilians, Peruvians and Filipino nikkeijin have been granted residency status by the Japanese government, with the clear expectation that they demonstrate cultural proximity leading to integration. Within their workplaces, nikkeijin encounter various cultures and ethnicities whose social positions and images are shaped by perceptions and expectations of the wider Japanese society. This article explores the formation and modification of ethnic boundaries, accompanied by the fragmentation of identities, during the experience of migration. The dynamics of 'identity bordering', based on regionalistic affiliations, are not only ignited by cultural stereotyping or ethnic attribution, they are also underpinned by the mechanism of power politics within the workplace. This study utilized the life history interviews of 60 third generation (sansei) and fourth generation (yonsei) Filipino nikkeijin, who are currently working in manufacturing plants and factories in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.