Date ：2:00 – 4:00 pm on Thursday, 12 July 2012

Venue ：Conference room 303 (3rd floor), Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo

Title ：Migrants’ acculturation and welfare state

Speaker ：Hyun Sun Lee (Associate Professor, IASA)

Charperson：SUGA, Yutaka (Professor, IASA)

Language ： English, Japanese

Abstract :
Using an ethnographic methodology, I demonstrate that the /zainichi /non-profit welfare organization argued for the importance of and the need for special care services designed specifically for the /zainichi/ elderly. Nonetheless, some practicalities in providing care emphasising Korean cultural elements were lacking; and rather the normative idea of maintaining Korean ethnicity and the longstanding ethnic tensions between the Japanese and /Chongryun/ communities provided the initial impetus. The transition occurred due to the interaction of three different components: Japanese state policies, the ethnic /Chongryrun /elite, and the rank and file within the /Chongryun/ community. The Japanese state’s response to ageing demographics and the increasing demands for a robust civil society changed public policies, the unintended consequence of which was enhanced ethnic resilience and integration into Japanese society. The accumulated grievances of ethnic inequality, and the fear of ethnic assimilation combined with the perception of the /Chongryun/ organisation lagging in its adaptation to the changing /zainichi /public, mobilised the ethnic elite to embrace the newly-styled ethnic movement. The findings show that the /zainichi/ organisation (or the /Chongryun/ community as a whole) is in its transitional stage from its long-standing separation acculturation strategy of /Chongryun/ community to integration with Japanese society.