Fiji Islander rugby union players in Japan: Corporate particularities and migration routes

Abstract

Following the professionalization of rugby union football in the 1990s, an increasing number of Fijians have been leaving the South Pacific Island state to play rugby abroad. Attracted by the lucrative contracts offered by Japanese corporations and the educational opportunities provided by those Japanese universities which actively recruit foreigners to strengthen their rugby clubs, Fijians have become a familiar sight in Japanese rugby since 1991. While in the early period the majority of the players were recruited in Fiji, nowadays a significant percentage of athletes make their way to corporate rugby through student scholarships or contracts in Australia, New Zealand and Europe. This paper investigates the backgrounds and migration routes of Fijian players in Japan in relation to the particularities of Japanese university and corporate rugby and discusses Japanese management rationales for contracting Fiji Islanders. The discussion is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Japan with current and ...