ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the opportunities for and challenges faced by Bangladeshi language students in Japan. Through small-scale participatory research, this chapter describes how language students are subject to economic exploitation by migration agents due to their lack of knowledge about language school admissions, visa applications and settlement in Japan. After arriving in Japan, students often have no choice but to take on multiple part-time service jobs, which are labour intensive and significantly disrupt their sleep and studies. Most students experience low social and economic mobility following graduation from language school. To attain upwards educational and social mobility and to extend their stay in Japan, they often enrol in three-year diploma schools. This chapter argues that student migration comprises a significant subset of international migration and contributes to previous debates, which have centred on the brain drain/gain in the sending and receiving countries. In the case of Bangladeshi language students in Japan, their experiences shed light on how language students take diverse pathways through study and part-time work towards their future careers.
