Profile

In July 2008, The Japan Foundation hosted a study tour to Japan entitled ‘Migration in Asia and Oceania: Towards a Win-Win and WIN Scheme for the Origin-Destination Countries and for the Migrants themselves’. The project was organised as part of the JENESYS (Japan–East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths) Program with activities taking place in Tokyo, Nagoya and Toyota.

Peter Daley
Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC)

I still feel a tremendous sense of gratitude for the opportunity I had to visit Japan on the JENESYS program and learn more about migration issues. In particular, I cherish the fact that I got to experience this program with a wonderful and diverse group of interesting young people from Asia and Oceania.

The Japan Foundation did a wonderful job in assembling a group of young people who all had different backgrounds and perspectives. There were people from universities (both students and academics), the media, non-government organisations, unions, industry bodies and even government officials (such as myself). I was also pleased to see that there were so many young women participating. Gender is an important aspect of migration- women comprise around half the world’s migrant population – and I feel it was important that in their own small way the Japan Foundation helped their voices be heard.

While participating in the program afforded me the chance to learn a lot more about migration issues in Japan, I found the opportunity to talk with my fellow participants just as rewarding. Not only could we share and compare interpretations of what we had seen in Japan, but we could also share our experiences on issues in our own countries - migration, settlement, refugees, trafficking and human rights, just to name a few.

Our ability to improve our understanding of immigration issues in Japan was aided through a well-designed program that gave us a good breadth of understanding in a relatively short time. It was very interesting to hear the differing perspectives on what role migrants should play in Japanese society. As became clearer in the course of the program, this is a question that must be tackled holistically. While the ageing of the population and the need for workers – both highly skilled and labour in general – seemed widely accepted in Japan as economic rationale for immigration, the social and cultural benefits of diversity seemed to be newer and more unfamiliar terrain for many of the people we met. It was heartening, however, that we spoke to people with progressive views on these important matters- such as Mr Iemoto of Clara Online and Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Nakayama.

I see myself working in the fields of immigration and international relations for some time yet. So, how then has participating in the JENESYS program influenced my work? I believe it has influenced it in two ways. The many places we visited, discussions we had with hosts and with one another, and finally viewing the experience of the three groups in developing their presentations, highlighted for me the importance of appreciating and accommodating diversity. This is something I try to remember every day interacting with colleagues as I go about my work. The second thing was improved depth of knowledge. Having taken some subjects on European studies and studied German at university, as well as having visited that continent three times, I freely admit that my understanding of Europe was more developed than my understanding of Asia. I am pleased to now write that my understanding of Asia, and in particular the migration issues of the Asian region, has been deepened through the JENESYS program. Furthermore, it was wonderful to see the bright lights and big cities of modern Japan, and to contemplate that this nation, like Germany, has rebuilt itself from near total destruction at the end of the Second World War.

To conclude, I’d like to share some thoughts on how the nations of Asia and Oceania can best harness the potential of migration so that it benefits countries of origin, destination and migrants themselves. I firmly believe that the solutions must be holistic. They must involve a wide range of actors who can bring diverse but complementary perspectives and skills: governments at all levels (national and local), businesses, unions, NGOs, host communities and migrants themselves, to name some of the key groups.

I believe that a particularly key element is for people to be able to understand and support migration. This is something in which all the players mentioned above can be involved. Migration must not only be good for a country, it must be seen to be good for a country. If there is not public support for immigration, there will be social discontent. This risks creating a vicious cycle where migrants are not respected, and so have difficulties in successfully settling and contributing to their full potential. Society as a whole suffers, and so the process becomes more difficult for future migrants. We must strive for a region where migration is orderly, the human rights of migrants are respected and they are welcomed as an important part of society. This maximises the potential for migrants to succeed and contribute to the economic and social development of their new home. Recognising that in a global world people have connections across borders, this approach also ensures that migrants are in the best possible position to also contribute to their country of origin- for example through remittances. In this way migration can benefit countries of origin, destination and migrants themselves.