{"title":"Filipino technical interns and specified skilled workers in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic: A typology of (im)mobility patterns","authors":"Romeo Jumao-as Toring","doi":"10.1177/01171968251348036","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates the varied circumstances of Filipino temporary labor migrants in Japan under the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) and the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) visa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among Filipino communities in Japan since April 2022, this article analyzes developments during the state of emergency, such as travel bans and the abrupt implementation of the SSW visa. Utilizing the approach of the “mobility paradigm” pioneered by Sheller and Urry (2006), this study proposes a framework to analyze the interplay of (im)mobility patterns with respect to positionality, temporality and perceptionality. By exploring how travel bans affected the socioeconomic and geophysical standing of labor migrants vis-à-vis the timing of their entry to Japan and how they viewed their lives during the pandemic, this article introduces five (im)mobility patterns: Oblivious, upward, suspended, revamped and rebooted. This typology of (im)mobility patterns enhances understanding of the experiences of Filipino temporary labor migrants in Japan and the effects of sudden (im)mobility disruptions.","PeriodicalId":46248,"journal":{"name":"Asian and Pacific Migration Journal","volume":"34 2","pages":"336-357"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Asian and Pacific Migration Journal","FirstCategoryId":"0","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01171968251348036","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"DEMOGRAPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
This study investigates the varied circumstances of Filipino temporary labor migrants in Japan under the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) and the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) visa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among Filipino communities in Japan since April 2022, this article analyzes developments during the state of emergency, such as travel bans and the abrupt implementation of the SSW visa. Utilizing the approach of the “mobility paradigm” pioneered by Sheller and Urry (2006), this study proposes a framework to analyze the interplay of (im)mobility patterns with respect to positionality, temporality and perceptionality. By exploring how travel bans affected the socioeconomic and geophysical standing of labor migrants vis-à-vis the timing of their entry to Japan and how they viewed their lives during the pandemic, this article introduces five (im)mobility patterns: Oblivious, upward, suspended, revamped and rebooted. This typology of (im)mobility patterns enhances understanding of the experiences of Filipino temporary labor migrants in Japan and the effects of sudden (im)mobility disruptions.
期刊介绍:
The Asian and Pacific Migration Journal (APMJ) was launched in 1992, borne out of the conviction of the need to have a migration journal originating from the region that would provide a regional perspective of migration. Users will be able to read any article published from 1992 to 2006, to search all the articles by words or keywords and to copy or print partially or fully any article.