海外就職の経験と日本人としてのアイデンティティ―シンガポールで働く現地採用日本人女性を対象に―

International migration is one of the major areas of research in human geography; however, the topic tends to be approached quantitatively. The increase in international migration has been recognized as a mere index of increasing globalisation. Recently, a considerable number of qualitative studies on international migration have emerged. We would like to contribute to this new trend by focusing on a group of international migrants: Japanese women working in Singapore. Since the 1990s, thousands of Japanese women, mostly unmarried, have been emigrating from Japan to work overseas. Singapore is a popular destination for Japanese women who wish to work abroad. They usually obtain jobs in Japanese subsidiaries and work as locally hired office employees.<br>In this paper, we investigate the experiences of Japanese women working in Singapore and attempt to uncover the social structure that underlies their experience. The study is based on intensive interviews of Japanese women, consultants of recruitment agencies, and other important informants in Singapore.<br>When asked about the reasons for their migrating to Singapore, most of the Japanese women interviewed answered that they simply hoped to live in foreign countries. This hope is closely linked with the desire to make communication in English. Many interviewees pointed that they came to Singapore because it was easier to obtain an employment visa there than in other English-speaking countries.<br>If a person's migration overseas is triggered by factors such as disliking the Japanese way of thinking or feeling discomfort in Japanese society, these factors can be called “spiritual push factors.” Various gender disparities in the Japanese workplace can be a spiritual push factor of the migration of the Japanese women. However, Japanese women in Singapore are usually employed by Japanese companies and work as clerks, sales staffs, or secretaries, which are also typical posts for women in Japan. Interviewees said that it was necessary to show much concern for others in Japanese society, and this made them feel discomfort. However, they prized Japanese companies for their quality of personal service. They even shown much concern for customers, guests, and coworkers in the workplace and contributed to the “Japanese” way of service. On the one hand, the Japanese cultural norm about marriage can also be a spiritual push factor, as previous studies pointed out; on the other hand, we can perceive that the interviewees might accept, or at least be under the influence of the norm, when we review their narratives. Japanese women working in Singapore did not refuse the Japanese sociocultural norms but disliked feeling obliged to obey them. They seemed to regard the source of compelling power as the physical territory of Japan and chose to migrate and work overseas as a means to liberate themselves psychologically from this feeling.<br>The Japanese way of living and friendship were not refused from the first. They kept on living the Japanese way of life and formed good relationships with Japanese friends, rather than Singaporean.