ABSTRACT
Japanese migration exchanges with Europe have not commonly been envisaged as involving permanent or semi-permanent emigration from Japan. Movement between Japan and Europe has developed in a recent period marked by circulatory flows on a short-term basis dictated by company employers. This therefore contrasts with more ‘traditional’ patterns of the ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ moves of earlier eras, or the pattern of relocation for the duration of a working life followed by return in retirement that has been characteristic of the post-war period. Japanese movement to and from Europe has therefore been seen as a ‘transitory’ stream of migrants staying away for a few years and then moving on, or most commonly moving back to Japan. As such it has been described as a feature of globalisation and used as an example of the ways in which economic and migration processes are interlinked (Castles and Miller, 1993; Cohen, 1997). This chapter considers some of the implications of this conception of Japanese migration to Europe as transitory, focusing on movement to London. It examines how a transitory migrant stream with a significant rate of population turnover nevertheless creates certain aspects of ‘community’ within a destination location. But it also goes on to challenge some of the assumptions about the transitory nature of Japanese movement, by providing evidence that Japanese migration is now (at least in London) starting to ‘mature’. Japanese settlement in London is starting to become ‘normalised’, such that a permanent emigrant community is beginning to develop. In part this results from certain changes in the structures of employment and employment relations within which movement has taken place in the recent past. The specific context of London as a global city (Sassen, 1991) is of considerable significance. Like the other cities of Japanese settlement discussed in this book, London provides a business environment of major significance to Japanese companies expanding their overseas interests. But its size, position in global networks and significance in educational, cultural, media and other spheres create a highly diversified set of broader attractions for potential in-migrants as well as opportunities for its residents.
