ABSTRACT
“Global Education” is commonly conceived with the aim of producing Japanese students who are “global human resources” and can work effectively with diverse individuals. However, often neglected in such discourses is the importance of fostering acceptance of people as members of society who were born outside of Japan and might not be ethnically Japanese. Therefore, the goals of this study were to analyze: (1) What do undergraduate Japanese students expect from immigrants if they are to accept them as members of Japanese society? (2) How can Global Education's efficacy be improved to create more inclusive attitudes toward immigrants? Such questions were pursued through the lens of social markers of acceptance, i.e., socially constructed benchmarks that host nationals use in deciding whether a migrant is a part of their community. In order to identify markers valued by Japanese undergraduates, 149 student essays about their attitudes towards immigrants were subjected to thematic analysis. Findings revealed that Japanese nationality was constructed and the ingroup boundary managed primarily around six markers, including Japanese language proficiency, lineage and appearance, and subjective identity. Recommendations were made for reconceiving Global Education's goals and methods to create a more inclusive society in Japan.
