Japanese Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act

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In the 1980’s, when Japan’s economy began to grow, the problem that became an issue was that there were not enough workers to keep up with the growth. People were growing older, the younger generation did not like the idea of manual labor and the birth rate had gone down (Asakura, 2008). To help the businesses get the workforce that they needed, the Japanese government amended the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. While allowing immigrants to come back to Japan they wanted to preserve the racial homogeneity and Japanese cultural heritage and because of their Japanese lineage the Japanese Brazilians were given a special residence status without job restrictions. The employers were happy with this because “they were considered culturally similar and were able to renew their visas an unlimited number of times” (Asakura, 2008).
Having a chance to better their lives with this move was a positive enhancement but the Japanese Brazilians soon began to experience high stress levels as they worked hard and were exhausted, along with living in crowded situations. Some were stressed with wondering if they should stay in Japan or should they go back to Brazil. A study showed that the longer the Japanese Brazilians stayed in Japan, it made their stress higher and depression worse (Asakura, 2008).
According to the article “Returning to the Homeland”, “Many immigrants dream of returning to the homeland of their ancestors” (Asakura, 2008). Like most people that have a dream, if they are fortunate enough to achieve it, does that mean it always works out for the best? The Japanese Brazilians found this was not as satisfying as they thought as they encountered stigma and discrimination; this in turn contributed to illn...

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... the land of the rising sun. Contemporary
Sociology, 37(6), 568-570. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/233576435?accountid=32521 Newsome, C. (n.d.) Basics of Japanese Culture. Retrieved from Introduction to PR in Japan: http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring01/Newsome/culture.html Oh, I. (n.d.) Forgiving the Culprits: Japanese Historical Revisionism in a Post-Cold War
Context. Retrieved from The International Journal of Peace Studies: http://www.gmu.edu/programs/icar/ijps/vol5_2/oh_grbi.htm Sumimoto, T. (Autumn/Winter 2000). Religious Freedom Problems in Japan: Background and
Current Prospects. The International Journal of Peace Studies, Vol. 5, Number 2.
Yamanaka, K. (2002). Multi-ethnic japan. Social Forces, 80(4), 1410-1412. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/229854272?accountid=32521

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