Japanese Expatriates Research Articles

Health-promoting lifestyles of Japanese expatriates residing in the Philippines and Thailand.

Background:The number of Japanese expatriates has increased, many of whom undertake lifestyle changes to improve their health.Purpose:We aim to clarify the health-promoting lifestyles of middle and older age Japanese expatriates.Methods:This is a cross-sectional study. Participants comprised 95 long-term Japanese expatriates residing in popular destinations: the Philippines and Thailand. Health behavior was evaluated using a Japanese version of Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II and participants were compared with a group living in Japan. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the factors that correlate with the score of physical activity, a Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II subscale.Results:The expatriates had significantly higher scores of physical activity and nutrition than the group living in Japan. Factors positively related to physical activity were communicative literacy, information on health management before leaving Japan, no history of hypertension, and sufficient English proficiency.Conclusion:The Japanese expatriates we studied were physically active and were careful about nutrition. To further increase their physical activity, better access to health information and enhancement of communicative literacy and of English proficiency are desired.

Culture Shock and the Concept of Gaman and Ganbaru Among Japanese Expatriate in Jakarta Indonesia

Culture Shock and the Concept of Gaman and Ganbaru Among Japanese Expatriate in Jakarta Indonesia

Intercultural Communication Challenges in East-East Encounters

We analyse challenges in East-East intercultural communication between Japanese expatriates and Chinese employees, adopting a mixed methods exploratory sequential design with qualitative interviews...

The role of Yin-Yang leadership and cosmopolitan followership in fostering employee commitment in China

PurposeUtilizing a paradox perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the leadership-followership dynamic in foreign firms in China, specifically, the extent to which Yin-Yang leadership behaviors of Japanese expatriates and cosmopolitanism of Chinese employees influence employee commitment.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through an online survey of Chinese employees who directly report to a Japanese supervisor in a Japanese subsidiary in China. Based on responses from 97 Chinese employees in three Japanese subsidiaries in China, the authors test if their cosmopolitan orientation and perceived Yin-Yang leadership behaviors of Japanese supervisors are related to employee commitment.FindingsYin-Yang leadership and cosmopolitan followership have a positive effect on employee commitment. Further, cosmopolitanism moderates the link between Yin-Yang leadership and employee commitment such that the follower’s cosmopolitanism compensates for lower levels of Yin-Yang leadership, especially a relative lack of Yin leadership behaviors.Research limitations/implicationsResults suggest that Yin-Yang leadership and cosmopolitan followership work together as a two-way street of cultural adaptability to build employee commitment, highlighting the interplay between leadership and followership in multinational enterprises. Future research should attempt to further refine the Yin-Yang leadership construct, and to gain a larger sample representing multiple expatriate nationalities to corroborate the relationships found in this study.Originality/valueThe study applies a context-based approach to developing culturally relevant leadership, through analyzing both the emic and etic concepts of culture in China. In doing so, the authors extend the application of paradox theories to the cross-cultural leadership literature utilizing the Yin-Yang principle, which is particularly relevant in societal contexts where rapid and dramatic change brings to the fore competing values, needs and employee preferences.

Opportunity of Service Consumption by Japanese Expatriates in Bangkok

Opportunity of Service Consumption by Japanese Expatriates in Bangkok

The Impact of Individual and Job Factors on the Expatriates’ Work Adjustment and Job Performance: A Study of Japanese Expatriates in Korea

The Impact of Individual and Job Factors on the Expatriates’ Work Adjustment and Job Performance: A Study of Japanese Expatriates in Korea

Challenges Facing Globally-Minded Leaders in a Japanese-European Joint Venture Company

Objectives This is part of a project that investigates and clarifies the qualifications needed for globally-minded Japanese leaders, funded by a grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan. This study identifies communicative problems and cultural differences that influence the performance of Japanese managers working overseas and reports the results of a focus group consisting of four Japanese expatriates working for a Japanese-European 50% joint venture company operating in a northern European country. Methods All the discussions of the focus group were transcribed and analyzed using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach. In an open-coding stage, nine concepts were obtained from the data, which were then categorized into three groups at the selective- coding stage: language and power, cultural awareness, and business and economic factors. Results In addition to the three factors presented in the selective-coding stage, the analysis indicated that there are two further obstacles facing Japanese expatriates: the occasional use of the local European language in meetings and an insufficient understanding of the local situation by the Japanese parent company. Conclusions The present study revealed important challenges facing Japanese expatriate staff working for a joint venture company in Europe. Although this is a study examining a Japanese-European joint venture, the results appear transferable to many other kinds of Asian and European companies.

Mindset and Social Entrepreneurship: Japanese Self-initiated Expatriate Entrepreneurs in Cambodia

This research is based on an extended study of Japanese self-initiated expatriate entrepreneurs (SIEEs) in Asia. Since 2015 the authors have explored various factors that influence SIEEs when setting up enterprises overseas, including the ability to take initiative; support and encouragement from family, a well-defined career anchor and exposure to overseas in the exploration stage of one’s career. An emerging trend is the desire to engage in social development activities, which has seen increasing numbers of Japanese leave well-paid companies at home to work in NGOs in developing countries. An extension of this can be seen in Japanese who choose to become self-initiated expatriate social entrepreneurs. This article focuses specifically on cases collected in Cambodia and attempts to explain how and why Japanese decide to become self-initiated expatriate social entrepreneurs in Cambodia using the concept of mindsets; entrepreneurial, social, sustainable and global. Initial research shows that some of these individuals exemplify the definition of sustainable entrepreneurship as they are creative and question the status quo in order to seek new opportunities for societal improvement ( Bornstein, 2007 ) and have multiple mindsets behind their actions. This research paper shares the context, characteristics, and outcomes of Japanese self-initiated expatriate social entrepreneurs in Cambodia and concludes by suggesting how knowledge of these SIEEs can be used in higher education contexts in Japan to improve entrepreneurship education.

Camera Men: Techno-orientalism in Two Acts

During the years of Japan's “bubble” economy, writers and artists in the United States became increasingly susceptible to “Japan-bashing,” a discourse that objectified Japanese for their trade practices, overseas purchases, and tourist presence. In the following article, I draw upon a range of cultural texts, from Truman Capote's novellaBreakfast at Tiffany'sto Michael Crichton's novelRising Sun, in order to investigate how the trope of the camera-toting Japanese expatriate encapsulated the fears of the era. I then move to explore the ways in which Japanese Americans negotiated these tropes in their writings, paying particular attention to Ruth Ozeki's novelMy Year of Meats. I hypothesize that Japanese Americans remained aware of the phenomenon of “Japan-bashing” throughout the era, yet did not confront it in a sustained fashion. Instead, tropes were either dismissed out of hand or, as in Ozeki's case, incorporated into a narrative before undergoing a process of gradual dismantlement.

Predicting Job Performance of Japanese Expatriate Managers in ASEAN Countries : The Relative Importance of Factors Perceived to Contribute to Success

Predicting Job Performance of Japanese Expatriate Managers in ASEAN Countries : The Relative Importance of Factors Perceived to Contribute to Success

Psychological Contract Fulfillment and Repatriation Success of Japanese Expatriates and MNCs

Psychological Contract Fulfillment and Repatriation Success of Japanese Expatriates and MNCs

The Modern City from Imperial and Colonial Eyes: Focusing on Yokomitsu Riichi’s Shanghai (1932) and Kim Kirim’s The Weather Map (1936)

Yokomitsu Riichi’s Shanghai (Shanhai; 1932) and Kim Kirim’s The Weather Map (Kisangdo; 1936) share commensurable points of comparison within East Asian literary modernism despite the geopolitical incommensurability between imperial Japan and colonial Korea and the genre differences between fiction and poetry. Both texts provide historical background to the turmoil of 1920s and 1930s Shanghai, where the conflict between disparate cultural hegemonies led to the May Thirtieth Movement of 1925 and the Shanghai Incident of 1932, respectively. In addition to their two authors’ experimental writing styles, both texts address the hegemonic struggles between East and West and between Japan and China. These two works will be compared and contrasted to demonstrate how hegemonies competed within the transition period when the initiative in East Asia was shifting from the legacy of premodern China to the emerging power of Japan and the West. This article seeks to explore how both Yokomitsu and Kim, through their own senses of history, positioned the Japanese expatriates in Shanghai and Seoul citizens portrayed in their literary creations at the nexus of the legacy of Chinese civilization, expanding Japan, and the Western powers.

Sino-Japanese negotiations over the Nikolayevsk Incident

ABSTRACTIn the later stages of World War I, the Allied Powers dispatched an expeditionary force to Siberia, with Japan and the United States sending the most troops. The Allied forces were not immediately withdrawn after World War I ended, and in the meantime, Russia sank into a chaotic civil war. On March 5, 1920, several hundred Japanese soldiers and expatriates residing in the town of Nikolayevsk-on-Amur clashed with the Russian Red Army in the “Nikolayevsk Incident.” Four Chinese naval warships happened to be detained in Nikolayevsk during the hostilities between Russia and Japan. In May 1920, after Nikolayevsk was recaptured by Japanese reinforcements, Japan accused the Chinese forces of aiding in the Russian attack, arrested several Chinese sailors, and insisted that both sides send officials to conduct an investigation. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Navy were forced to send officials to negotiate with the Japanese. China was not able to withdraw its warships, troops, and expatriates until, after several rounds of negotiations, it finally agreed to Japan’s demands for an apology, payment of an indemnity, and punishment of the involved personnel.

A retrospective survey of dengue fever among Japanese individuals staying in Manila, Philippines.

Dengue fever is a serious concern for Japanese people staying in Southeast Asia. In order to implement necessary prophylactic measures for dengue fever in this population, we investigated the characteristics of dengue fever among Japanese nationals living in Manila, Philippines. From 2012 to 2015, 175 Japanese expatriates were diagnosed with dengue fever at the medical clinic of the Japanese Association Manila, Inc. Most of the patients were employees of Japanese companies and their families and were long-term residents of Manila. Most patients were either <10 years or in their 30s to 40s. Two patients (1.1 %) were diagnosed with dengue hemorrhagic fever. No deaths due to dengue fever were reported. The reported number of patients with dengue fever has shown a decreasing trend: from 55 cases in 2012 to 53 in 2013, 31 in 2014, and 36 in 2015. The results of this survey could be useful for the development of effective dengue fever preventive measures such as health education and provision of information among not only Japanese but also other foreigners residing in endemic areas.

Daihatsu Shifts and aligns its Strategies: A Case Study of the Appointment of an Indonesian as the CEO of Astra Daihatsu Motor

Japanese multinational companies are known for the employment of Japanese expatriates to manage their overseas subsidiaries. Daihatsu Motor Company made history in 2011 by choosing a local Indonesian manager as the president director of Astra Daihatsu Motor – the Indonesian subsidiary of the Daihatsu Motor Company. This study explores reasons behind this appointment. The paper argues that Daihatsu, through this appointment aligned its corporate, procurement and human resource strategies, took account of the fact that the local manager has contributed to the turnaround of the subsidiary and that he has work values quite similar to those of his Japanese counterparts.

Language Life of Japanese Expatriates in Non-English Speaking Countries: The Cases of Barcelona and Madrid

Starting from the question of whether expatriates can survive a temporary stay in the host society without any knowledge of the local language, this study explores the language life of Japanese expatriates in Barcelona and Madrid. The relationship between language competence, language needs, and the degree of communicative satisfaction and satisfaction with life in general was analyzed. The result suggests that use of the local language in a Non-English-speaking country is very important and can be one of the factors determining the degree of communicative satisfaction, but not necessary satisfaction with life in general.

Determinants of Japanese expatriation to Brazilian subsidiaries at the beginning of the 21st century

Expatriate staff members are important in the implementation of strategies for multinational corporations. This study investigates the determinant factors of assigning Japanese expatriates to manage their subsidiaries in Brazil at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Understanding the determinants of the international designation of people for managing foreign subsidiaries collaborates with debate and discussion on expatriation strategies, which are not well established in literature. The research utilized a quantitative study to which we applied a multiple regression analysis based on database of Japanese subsidiaries in Brazil. The results show that the main determinant factor of the international assignment is related to the subsidiary size. Moreover, it was identified that equity ownership, experience in the host country, and industry type did not impact the Japanese expatriation to Brazil.

Empirical Evidences in Linking Guanxi, Renqing and Justice Theory: Doing Business in the Great China Area

This paper utilizes two conceptual frameworks, on the foundation of Hwang’s (1987) model and the Justice Theory. It is suggested that businessperson may search for or reinforce Guanxi (tie) by three types of social ties, instrumental, mixed, and expressive. Therefore, resource allocators in Chinese society may deal out their powers to others with varied social ties. This study examines the relationships among the three types of social ties and Renqing giving and returning. Data collected form questionnaires completed by 190 Japanese expatriates in Taiwan. The findings are as follows: (1) businessperson with instrumental Guanxi will apply the equity rule, which excludes Renqing giving and returning; (2) businessperson with mixed Guanxi will use the equality rule, which will request moderate Renqing giving and returning; (3) businessperson with expressive Guanxi will apply the need rule, which will request strong Renqing giving and returning. Managerial implications are discussed in the final section.

Do Japanese MNCs use expatriates to contain risk in Asian host countries?

We investigate the impact of host-country risk on the expatriation strategies of multinational firms, using data on Japanese subsidiary firms in manufacturing industries in 13 host countries in Asia. We find that country risk is negatively correlated with the degree of expatriation and that, rather than host-country risk, firm-specific factors (particularly capital intensity, ownership share of parent firms in subsidiaries and the age of the venture) explain most of the variation in the degree to which subsidiaries rely on Japanese expatriates. Contrary to previous studies, the capital intensity of production is a key explanatory firm-specific variable that correlates positively with the degree of expatriation. Japanese multinational companies do not rely on expatria127=tes to off-set host-country risk, but to mitigate risk to parent investment in subsidiaries.

Do Japanese MNCs Use Expatriates to Contain Risk in Asian Host Countries?

We investigate the impact of host country risk on the expatriation strategies of multinational firms, using data on Japanese subsidiary firms in manufacturing industry in 13 host countries in Asia. We find that country risk is negatively correlated with the degree of expatriation and that, rather than host country risk, firm-specific factors (particularly capital intensity, ownership share of parent firms in subsidiaries and the age of the venture) explain most of the variation in the degree to which subsidiaries rely on Japanese expatriates. Contrary to previous studies, the capital intensity of production is a key explanatory firm-specific variable that correlates positively with the degree of expatriation. Japanese MNCs do not rely on expatriates to off-set host country risk, but to mitigate risk to parent investment in subsidiaries.