ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the factors that cause migrant poverty in Japan in terms mainly of their correlation with government policy. The white-collar worker rate is lower for the “mixed type” cluster, but still over 20 percent. The Chinese, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Mongolians belonging to this group include a relatively high rate of students but also white-collar workers to a certain extent. Being the largest migrant group, though, Chinese are also divergent like Koreans and another group at a high risk of poverty. The unique contribution that scholars of migration are capable of, in terms of poverty studies, is the analysis of such combined factors. The overwhelming majority of the newcomers came to Japan after the nationality clause of the national pension system was abolished and are obliged to enrol in either the national or employee pension scheme. The situation for the elderly is not only evident in the welfare recipient numbers but also in the workforce and unemployment.
