ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the second of three characteristics that are necessary for understanding Japanese self-searching migrants: self-work identification. Like self-searching, self-work identification is both a ubiquitous and socioculturally specific act. This chapter first considers the definition of work and labor before probing the ubiquitous nature of self-work identification, tracing the historical roots of capitalism in the West and arguing that the perception of work as self-fulfillment is prevalent in postindustrial societies, while finding and securing such work is difficult for most people. Next, the chapter discusses the sociocultural and historical specificity of self-work identification with reference to postwar Japan, where such identification was taught through the workplace, turning young employees from youth to shakaijin, or full-fledged members of society. Then it examines how younger generations in Japan have been seeking self-work identification since the employment crisis from the early 1990s, the aftereffects of which have continued even into the 2020s, with special attention to unstable work styles and gendered disparities. The chapter concludes that the further marginalization of women in the labor market leads women, who are often unstably employed and less bound to the workplace, to seek self-work identification outside Japan, while men are even more bound to the domestic workplace to defend their masculinity.
