© Cornelia Reiher
(In)visible newcomers in Japan’s Transnational Countryside
Cornelia Reiher (Freie Universität Berlin)
Rural Japan has long faced population decline, aging, and persistent labor shortages. In response, Japan’s central and local governments increasingly seek to attract newcomers, including international migrants. Yet while the number of foreign residents in rural areas is growing, their presence and contributions often remain (in)visible. This paper explores how different temporalities of migration shape migrants’ (in)visibility and their experiences of living, belonging, and contributing to rural Japan. Drawing on ethnographic research in rural Kyūshū, the paper compares migrants whose stays range from several months to several decades, including foreign workers, exchange and artist-in-residence participants, marriage migrants, and entrepreneurs from Europe, North America, and Australia. It examines how the duration and conditions of their stay affect their (in)visibility, relationships with local communities, and their ability to imagine a future in Japan’s countryside. I argue that migrants’ (in)visibility are shaped by their temporal positions, migration regimes, local institutions, and unequal access to resources. While some newcomers remain largely invisible within local imaginaries of rural revitalization, others become increasingly embedded in rural communities. A temporal perspective thus reveals how (in)visibility, belonging, and contributions to rural futures are interrelated and negotiated over time.
Cornelia Reiher is professor of Japanese Studies at Freie Universität Berlin. Her research focuses on rural Japan, migration, digitalization, culinary globalization and food politics. Her recent publications in journals like Food, Culture and Society, Mobilities, and Rural Studies analyze Japanese migrants in Berlin, as well as lifestyle migrants and migrant workers in rural Japan. Cornelia recently edited the volume Lived experiences of crisis in rural Japan: An anthology on the transformation of communities and migration during the COVID-19 pandemic (2024). She is also the editor of two blogs, one on Japanese cuisine in Berlin and one on urban-rural migration in Japan.
The lecture will take place in presence. Location: Japan Center of the LMU, Seminar Building at the English Garden, Oettingenstr. 67, 80538 Munich, Room 151.