表題番号:2011B-304 日付:2012/03/30
研究課題日本は移民国家か?日本とオーストラリアにおける移住者の市民意識と帰属感の比較研究
研究者所属(当時) 資格 氏名
(代表者) 国際学術院 准教授(任期付) FARRER GRACIA
研究成果概要
Research Goal:
The purpose of this special research grant is to partially conduct the proposed Kaken Kiban-B project that failed to obtain a grant during the FY 2011-2 and prepare for the Kaken application due in October 2011. The original research goal for the proposed Kaken Project is to investigate the citizenship consciousness and sense of belonging among different immigrant groups in Japan, and compare them with those who have migrated into Australia, a more classic immigrant country. Due to the limited funding, the researcher was only able to investigate the Chinese immigrants in Japan, and taking advantage of a conference trip to the U.S., compare them with Chinese immigrants who have settled in the U.S.--another classic immigrant country.
Research activities:
The main research activities during this period is fieldwork. This project employed 4 Waseda University MA students to conduct interviews and transcribing these interviews. During the course between June, 2011 when the funding started and mid-November, 2011 when the funding ended (because my Kaken Kiban-B project was finally approved), with the help of these research assistants, we were able to interview 44 Chinese immigrants in Japan, including both 1st generation immigrants who have been in Japan for over 5 years and 1.5 generation immigrants who arrived in Japan before the age of 12. These interviews yielded valuable insights into the Chinese community in Japan.
In order to understand the Chinese in Japan better, the researcher also conducted fieldwork among settled Chinese immigrants in the U.S. because the research needed to go to a conference there in any case. In the Southeast of US, the researchers met with an ethnic Chinese anthropology professor, Guo Zibin, from the University of Tennessee, in order to better understand the Chinese community there. The researcher also interviewed settled Chinese professionals in North Carolina. This overseas fieldwork provides wider perspectives for understanding the Chinese in Japan.
Self-evaluation of the research progress and outcomes:
This was a particular productive research year, thanks to the help of the 4 capable and diligent RAs. This research grant allowed me to collect a lot of data efficiently and established solid empirical and theoretical foundation for the kaken kiban-B project that is on-going now.