Staying Till the End?: Japanese Later-Life Migrants and Belonging in Western Australia

ABSTRACT

International Retirement Migration (IRM) began in Europe and North America in the 1960s and the concept first entered Japan in the 1980s. Since the 1990s, it has become increasingly referred to as long stays/lifestyle migration. As sojourners seeking a better life overseas, Japanese later-life migrants tend to be perceived as temporary stayers and there has been little question about their sense of belonging. This study, based on a decade of observation and follow up interviews with a small sample of Japanese retiree migrants in Western Australia, examines how migrants’ decisions to stay or leave the host country are affected by the presence of their children, juxtaposed with their sense of belonging, particularly to their homeland. We identify four types of later-life migrants based on their eventual decision to leave or to stay: ‘the returnee’, the ‘on-going migrant’, ‘the potential settler’ and ‘the new citizen’. We argue that for later-life migrants who are constantly debating whether or not to remain in the host country until the end of their lives, the process of decision making is dynamic and often negotiated through a sustained sense of belonging to their homeland.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the funding support from Sumitomo Foundation and greatly appreciate the participation of the respondents in the study.

Notes

¹ As defined by Walsh and Nare (2015: 5), IRM can be a relatively permanent form of migration, or can vary in length as long-stay and long-term tourism that may develop into long-term migration, or a pendulum style of migrating back and forth depending on the season.

² Yamashita (2009) is a pioneer studying Japanese later-life migrants to Southeast Asia through the framework of long-term tourism. Ono (2008, 2018) is known for the study of Japanese retiree migrants to Malaysia, with more recent works by Shakuto (2017, 2018). Others include Toyota and Xiang (2012) who introduced the concept of ‘transnational “retirement industry” in Southeast Asia’, as well as identity negotiation of Japanese retirees in Southeast Asia (Toyota & Thang, 2017), and retirement migration and transnational householding (Toyota, 2006).

³ The NPO World Stay Club, established in 1995, for example, has conducted hundreds of world tours for seniors; it also organises Japanese language assistant programs for members to stay overseas short term as volunteers to teach Japanese language, combining volunteer activities with short-stay overseas travel and leisure. (World Stay Club, 2019).

⁴ See Long Stay Foundation, 2019.

⁵ Nojiri (2010: 16) and Ono (2008: 159) have given the term ‘later-life refugees’ (rōgo nanmin) and ‘displaced pensioners’ respectively.

⁶ See for example, Botterill (2016) on British retirees in Thailand, and Green (2014, 2016) on British retirees in Malaysia and Westerner retirees in Bali.

⁷ For example, this is argued by Botterill (2016) in her study of British retirees moving permanently to Thailand.

⁸ Changes in immigration policy in 2005 have affected Japanese retirees. Many retirees who immigrated under the old regulations left Australia before they became older or frail. With fewer newcomers entering under the new Investor Retirement Visa, there has been a decline in this distinct age group. According to the Consulate General of Japan in Perth, an accurate number of retirement visa holders is not available because residence records are no longer compiled according to visa categories (email communication, November 27, 2014).

⁹ Both 2007 and 2014 statistics from the Japanese Consulate-General in Perth reveal that the number of females is double that of males for both the LR and PR groups (email communication, August 15, 2015).

¹⁰ Since the 1960s when Australian exports of iron ore to Japan began, the Japanese business community in Perth has grown immensely and as a consequence the Consulate-General of Japan was opened in 1967 and a JETRO office operated from 1961 until 1999. The Japanese Association of WA established in 1970 for businesspeople had a membership of more than 250 by 2005. The Japan Club of WA for PRs was founded in 1991, with 40 families joining (over 100 individuals). In 2007, 80 families joined, out of which 60 families were those who were married in Australia (Sone, 2009: 276–7).

¹¹ Japan does not have RHCAs (Reciprocal Health Care Agreement) with Australia. Under the new migration policy, the temporary retirement visa holders have to provide adequate health insurance, renewed every four years, along with a minimum net annual income stream of AUD$50,000 (in a regional area) or AUD$65,000 (in a metropolitan area) and state sponsorship where a minimum investment of AUD$250,000 (regional area) or AUD$500,000 (metropolitan area) is made by the applicant.

¹² From August 2017, the Japanese pension law changed to allow one to receive an old age pension with a minimal contribution period of 10 years (instead of 25 years) if one has coverage periods of a country with which Japan has Social Security Agreement (Japanese Pension Service, 2018).

¹³ Although Mr and Mrs Hama suspended their national health insurance when they left Japan, they could easily reinstate it when they returned to Japan and gained the certificate of residence.

¹⁴ Recent research on filial piety of Japanese migrants in their 40s and 50s (five men and five women who have been in Queensland for over a decade) reveals that filial piety remains part of the discourse of the Japanese family, and stresses the need for more consideration of the issue of gender (Denman, 2015).

¹⁵ The term karōshi (work to death) refers to a fatal condition resulting from excessive fatigue due to long work hours. The term first appeared in Japan in the early 1980s. Although a cause of death in Japan due to long work hours is common, it was only recognised in 1995 by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as a cause of death in which workers’ accident compensation could be claimed (Kanai, 2009: 209).

¹⁶ As noted in Sampaio (2018), new geographical and emotional settings hold potential for lifestyle migrants in their desire for freedom and to start afresh.

¹⁷ See for example the cases of UK retiree migrants to Spain, in Ahmed and Hall (2016) and Oliver (2008).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Sumitomo Foundation.