ABSTRACT
As the first chapter of Part II, which depicts the realities of Japanese self-searching migrants in Canada and Australia based on fieldwork, this chapter presents the migrants’ views of Vancouver and Sydney as self-searching destinations. It argues that these two cities in the Pacific West are especially similar as places that accommodate, and economically benefit from, young sojourners from around the world for (mostly English language) study and temporary work; and that the sojourners’ reasons for choosing the destinations is close to those of tourists. Next, the overall tendencies of the Japanese participants in the two cities are introduced in regard to gender, age, educational background, and work experience, along with how these factors are affected in times of economic recession. The chapter also examines three major motivations for their migration, that is, to experience life overseas, to learn English, and to work overseas, in comparison to sojourners from other countries. Overall, the chapter argues that English-centrism, neoliberalism, and gender inequality have led less privileged young Japanese people, especially women, to the two cities to ambiguously fulfill these three desires, although the real struggles of self-searching start after they arrive there.
