Presentation Schedule
Unwrapping Migration Decisions: The Case of Non-Retiree, Non-Expatriate Japanese Migrants in Thailand (106383)
Session Chair: Pui Kwan Man
Monday, 11 May 2026 17:25
Session: Session 5
Room: Room G410 (4F)
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
As of 2024, Thailand is home to over 70,000 Japanese people (MOFA, 2024). Long-term residents, including both dispatched expatriates and voluntary migrants, make up the majority of this population. Despite their diversity, existing scholarship has largely focused on retirees or long-stay tourists, making the existing knowledge of Japanese communities in Thailand predominantly drawn from narratives of later-life migrants. Addressing this gap, this research explores relatively young Japanese people who voluntarily chose to migrate to Thailand and became locally hired staff or established their own enterprises, with a particularly focus on factors influencing their migrating decisions and experiences upon migration. Drawing from narratives of 11 non-retiree Japanese migrants in Bangkok, this research finds that while their migration trajectories might be perceived as downward or disadvantageous, these migrants hold certain forms of capital that, only through migration, grant them certain privileges over the course of migration, making their positions in the host community more favorable than they might otherwise appear. These capitals are not limited to economic aspects but also encompass social, cultural, and symbolic forms, such as ‘surface-level’ ties with Japanese and Thai communities, limited Thai language skills, and being ‘Japanese’. Nevertheless, most migrants remain largely unaware of their privileged status, and instead form their own versions of reality in Thailand based on their lived experiences. These realities, in turn, inform their understanding of Thai society and contribute to the construction of social imaginaries that ultimately shape not only their decision to move, but particularly the decision to stay.
Authors:
Pornphan Wajjwalku, Waseda University, Japan
Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/pornphan-wajjwalku-3bb50b2b2/
See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule
Conference Comments & Feedback
Place a comment using your LinkedIn profileShare this Presentation
Comments
Powered by WP LinkPress