Sociology of Immigration: A New Research Field for the New Immigration Country Japan

Abstract

Japan is a new country of immigration. While earlier migration research mentioned it, if at all, only as a non-immigration country and a prime example of a negative case, Japan has seen new and significant immigration flows since the late 1980s. Since the major immigration reform of 2018, this new immigration has gained additional momentum, and in the most recent national elections since 2024, immigration has also become a central issue on Japan's political agenda. This transformation into an immigration country and its politicization represent one of the most important aspects of social change in contemporary Japan and will shape the society in its future development as well. As could be expected, parallel to this transformation, immigration research on Japan has emerged as a new field of study in sociology and is gaining increasing momentum. This article discusses several important lines of development and challenges in this new field of research and examines the current state of scholarship. In addition, it proposes new possible approaches and topics for future research that have not yet been sufficiently explored.