The Inflow of Southeast Asian Healthcare Worker Candidates in Japan:Japanese Reactions to the Possibility of Cultural and Ethnic Diversity

Abstract

This paper examines the social and cultural meanings of the incorporation of Southeast Asian healthcare migrant workers in Japan, focusing in particular on Japanese attitudes and perspectives. I argue that several issues and concerns are related to the way the Japanese see Japan as a homogeneous society, and that these issues and concerns intertwine with Japan's historical experience of the inflow of non-Japanese migrants. The arrival of Southeast Asian healthcare workers has been met with concern in Japanese society, but because of its rapidly aging and shrinking population, Japan's healthcare industry needs to internationalize. The article is based on research data that includes information on events, debates and arguments in official and unofficial documents, newspaper articles and transcripts of interviews in the press in both Japanese and English. It aims to provide a better understanding of how Japan is tapping into the international labour market to bolster its health industry. The situation of Southeast Asian healthcare migrant workers in Japan is also examined in its historical, social and cultural contexts.