Emigration by Japanese citizens has increased considerably in recent decades. The number of Japanese nationals living overseas exceeded 1.3 million in 2015, and the number of those holding permanent residency in other countries hit a record high of 557,034 in 2022, despite COVID-related mobility restrictions.  

In this seminar, Dr Nana Oishi will discuss the multi-dimensional factors that drive Japanese young people and mid-career professionals to move overseas. Based on quantitative surveys and in-depth interview data, she will elucidate the complexity of the contemporary Japanese diaspora. She will also advocate for the establishment of policies to facilitate ‘brain circulation’ and ‘human resources circulation’ more broadly. 

About the contributors

Dr Nana Oishi

Dr Nana Oishi is Associate Professor in Japanese Studies at the University of Melbourne. She received a PhD in Sociology from Harvard University as a Fulbright Scholar. Prior to her current position, she worked as a Policy Analyst at the International Labour Organization in Geneva, and was Professor of Sociology at Sophia University in Tokyo. Dr Oishi has served on multiple national policy advisory boards on migration in Japan and assisted the UN in various capacities. She is the recipient of several awards, including the ISS-OUP Prize for Modern Japanese Studies (awarded by Oxford University Press and University of Tokyo) in 2019.  

Her recent publications include: “Structural Economic Nationalism and Migration in Japan” with A. Igarashi in A. Pickel ed. Handbook of Economic Nationalism (2022, Edward Elgar), “Voluntary Underclass?: Globalism, Temporality, and the Life Choices of Japanese Working Holiday Makers in Australia” (2022, Youth and Globalization), “Country Risks and Brain Drain: the Emigration Potential of Japanese Skilled Workers” with Y. Horiuchi (2022, Social Science Japan Journal), and “Skilled or Unskilled?: the Reconfiguration of Migration Policies in Japan” (2021, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies). 

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