Japanese Diaspora and the Narratives of Migrants：The Case of Australia and Diasporic Literature

Abstract

The overseas emigration of Japanese citizens has been on the rise in the last three decades, reaching at the level of 1.34 million in 2021 (MOFA 2022). While the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in its downturn, the number of Japanese citizens who obtained permanent residence overseas continued to increase, hitting a record high of 537,662 in 2021 (MOFA 2022). This article examines the factors behind this growing overseas emigration of Japanese citizens, particularly looking at its flows to Australia, which is now the second most popular destination for Japanese permanent residents. Based on the narratives of 62 research participants, this article will present the basic ideal types of Japanese emigrants and examine the themes that appeared prominently in their emigration decision-making, including the acquisition of global experience, work-life balance, gender inequality, aversion of disaster/environmental and long-term economic risks, and political concerns. It will also discuss the ways in which Japanese emigration and the diversifying experiences of Japanese citizens have impacted Japanese literature so far and how the growing presence of ‘global nomads’ moving across multiple borders is likely to enrich the Japanese literature in the future by challenging the existing understanding of “Japaneseness” and the meaning of migration.