Migration, Whiteness, and Cosmopolitanism Europeans in Japan

This book analyzes the increase in contemporary European migration to Japan, its causes and the lives of Europeans in Japan. Desconstructing the picture of highly skilled, privileged, cosmopolitan elites that has been frequently associated with white or Western migrants, it focuses on the case of Europeans rather than Westerners migrating to a highly developed, non-Western country as Japan, this book offers new insights on increasing diversity in migration and its outcomes for integration of migrants. The book is based on interviews with 57 subjects from various parts of Europe occupying various positions within Japanese society. What are the motivations for choosing Japan, how do white migrants enjoy the ‘privilege’ based on their race, what are its limits, and to what extent are the social worlds of such migrants characterized by cosmopolitanism rather than ethnicity? These are the main questions this book attempts to answer.

Introduction.- Part I Migration.- European Migration to Japan: Historical Roots and Recent Development.- Between Entertainers and High-skilled Elites: Skills, Study and Marriage.- Part II Integration and Privilege.- Race and Privilege in Integration: Occupations, White privilege and Gender.- White Privilege Revised: White Man's 'Burden' in Japan.- Part III: Cosmopolitanism.- Integration and Social Relations: Between Ethnicity and Cosmopolitanism.- Conclusions.

Miloš Debnár is Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, Doshisha University, in Kyoto, Japan. He lectures on sociology and migration-related issues. Besides his interest in migration and whiteness, he has also published articles on global cities and on the contemporary family.