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Between Entertainers and High-Skilled Elites: Skills, Study, and Marriage

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Migration, Whiteness, and Cosmopolitanism

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Abstract

Debnár attempts to explain the growth of European migration to Japan, especially in terms of the ‘gray zone’ delineated by the apexes of high-skilled and female entertainer migrations. Detailed analysis of three cases in different periods illustrates the changing character of migration and the main factors discussed in the chapter. Through a discussion of different forms of (highly) skilled migration, international marriages, and student migration, the chapter identifies a complex interplay of changing structural factors and social changes that affect the increasing number of Europeans migrating to Japan. Individualization of societies and the influence of Japanese culture are identified as the main factors in attempting to understand the meaning of migrants’ narratives explaining the choice of Japan despite a relative lack of opportunities, many constraints, and questionable outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

    Miloš Debnár

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  1. Miloš Debnár
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Debnár, M. (2016). Between Entertainers and High-Skilled Elites: Skills, Study, and Marriage. In: Migration, Whiteness, and Cosmopolitanism. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56149-7_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56149-7_3

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