Student Journal of International Liberal Arts Akita International University
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2 Student Journal of International Liberal Arts Akita International University 2020 July Volume 6 Message from the journal staff The Journal of International Liberal Arts, is published by the undergraduate students of Akita International University (AIU): The editors, designers, authors, and artists are all AIU undergraduates/graduates. Since 2010, this journal has sought to provide an opportunity for AIU scholars to exchange academic, opinion, and creative writings amongst their peers and to the broader community, promoting dialogue in the International Liberal Arts. This journal Volume 6 shares AIU scholars’ academic, literature, and opinion papers on a variety of topics, from politics, history, and education to the environment, economics, sociology and more. In addition, this is our first attempt to incorporate a new design, such as including student photography for the section dividers. We are ambitious in continuing our publications, and we cannot work without your support. The AIU journal team invites editors, designers, and AIU scholars to submit their paper for publication and to join our staff. It is our pleasure to share the works of our AIU scholars and artists. We hope you will enjoy the journal. Best regards, Student Editors: Luis Daruiz and Mako Kato Student Designer: Ayaka Kasai Faculty Advisor: Dr. Lee Friederich 3 4 Academic Essays PC: Mako Kato 5 ________________________________________________________________ Title: Discrimination towards Kikokushijo at Japanese Schools Masaki Miyamura ________________________________________________________________ kikokushijo perceive the issue of Introduction “Even though I am Japanese, they discrimination towards them in Japanese don’t see me as Japanese” (Participant A, environments, particularly at Japanese personal communication, July 5, 2018). schools. The quote above was extracted from an interview with a Japanese student who Literature review Kikokushijo, or Japanese returnees in lived in the United States from seven to nine years of age, discussing his concerns of other words, are “students who return to being a kikokushijo. The Japanese term Japan after a prolonged sojourn abroad” kikokushijo refers to Japanese students who (Kanno, 2000). They are often the children lived overseas for several years, primarily of Japanese businessmen, primarily workers due to their parent’s occupation. After of small and medium-sized enterprises, and sojourning to their host country, the country government personnels who are stationed they resided in abroad, most of them return abroad (Perez, 2016; Kanno, 2000). Prior to to Japan as their parents have completed examining how Japanese returnees perceive their overseas assignment. As kikokushijo the issue regarding why they are treated have lived in one or more countries other unfairly at Japanese schools, it is significant than Japan, they are excelled at viewing to identify several causes of the issue, including the school, peers, and kikokushijo current issues from different philosophical and political perspectives, and being tolerant themselves. to cultures outside of Japan (Pollock and Kikokushijo are likely to be Reken, 2011). On the other hand, such discriminated against at Japanese schools, as students struggle in Japanese environments, the institutions do not provide sufficient especially at Japanese schools. Participant A levels of support to the students. As is one of the kikokushijo who have been kikokushijo return from an extended period discriminated against by several Japanese of sojourn overseas, they are more familiar non-returnee students, by being ignored, for with their previously-resided-in- culture example. Although the number of Japanese compared to Japanese culture (Oosterbeek students living abroad increased from and Webbink, 2011). Thus, Japanese approximately 60,000 to 83,000 over the schools, as a place that provides education to students, are expected to assist kikokushijo past decade (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2018), and over 10,000 students have in order for them to adapt or readjust to returned to Japan for over 30 consecutive Japanese culture. Many Japanese schools, years (E-Stat, 2018), the issue remains however, do not fully provide sufficient prevalent across Japan. This paper, support to develop the student’s weak points therefore, attempts to investigate how such as Japanese writing skills. In fact, the 6 school “systematically emphasizes to Japan. The principal reasons behind their kikokushijo’s ‘deficiencies’” (Kanno, 2000). sojourns are due to their parents’ job The same author raises the English as a transfers (Kanno, 2000), not to the student. Second Language program (ESL) as one of This may augment the stress level for the the factors distinguishing Japanese returnees students, as they have to cope with the unfavorably from Japanese non-returnee cultural and linguistic gaps against their own students. ESL programs are implemented to will. The involuntary relocation particularly develop the English skills of Japanese affects the readjustment of those kikokushijo students significantly to make such language who are obliged to re-enter Japan chiefly the second dominant language after due to the completion of their parents’ Japanese. According to Kanno (2000), overseas job assignment. As some however, the label “ESL student” implies kikokushijo would have experienced a the student’s deficiency in their English longer period of time living in the host proficiency. When kikokushijo enter such country, they would feel dissatisfied for environments, particularly those who moving back to their home culture in Japan previously have lived in an (Kanno, 2000). Oosterbeek and Webbink English-speaking environment, they would (2011) stated the longer the students live come across a gap between their English abroad, the probability they will eternally abilities and the ESL program. Kikokushijo settle at the host country will increase. would be demotivated in studying for Students are also unable to transmit their ESL,as they possess immensely higher intercultural sojourn to students who do not English fluency, ultimately holding a sense share similar experiences (Kartoshkina, of isolation from their peers (Perez, 2016). 2015). Such concerns towards returning to The lack of learning support and cultural the home country demotivates the support (Saito, Hara, and Himeno, 2015) has kikokushijo, causing them to isolate created physical and psychological barriers themselves from Japanese communities between kikokushijo and Japanese where group harmony is valued (Saito, Hara, non-returnees. and Himeno, 2015). Treated dissimilarly to Japanese non-returnees may Japanese non-returnees, kikokushijo may be discriminate against kikokushijo at Japanese reluctant to participate in the society they schools because they psychologically are returning to. recognize them as a different type of person to them. According to Yoshida et al. (2003), Research method In order to examine how kikokushijo Japanese non-returnees perceive their differences with kikokushijo as a are discriminated against by non-returnees at disadvantage. For instance, kikokushijo are Japanese schools, the researcher collected “racially” Japanese but some are not able to and evaluated responses from six speak Japanese like a native speaker. kikokushijo (three male and three female According to Takamori (2015), this students) at Akita International University produces a “cognitive dissonance” among (AIU) who graduated from Japanese high students. Along with their directness, schools. The guiding question to this study was: What perspectives do a group of kikokushijo are consequently stereotyped as a “returnee” at Japanese schools (Yoshida et kikokushijo from Japanese high schools al., 2009). have on an issue of discrimination towards Discrimination towards kikokushijo kikokushijo? The research was based on an at Japanese schools also derives from interview, comprising of twelve questions kikokushijo themselves, as they are and lasting for an average of 20 minutes. involuntarily relocated from the host country The interview focused essentially on encouraging the participant to reflect his or 7 her experiences of being treated unfairly was between three and twelve years of age. against Japanese non-returnees (see Out of five participants who lived in the Appendix A). After asking for their gender, United States, three had attended a hoshuko, research participants were requested to a weekend Japanese supplementary school indicate the places and ages they lived in the host country (Langager, 2002). overseas. The question considers Perez’s Several participants mentioned high levels statement (2016) that those who lived of English fluency and being capable of abroad during their teenage years accepting cultural, racial, and social experienced a greater degree of issues when diversities as the advantages of being a returning back home in comparison to those kikokushijo. For the question seeking for the who lived abroad at a younger age. The participant’s view towards the issue of following question engaged the respondents discrimination, two agreed, three disagreed, to list several positive aspects of being a and one both agreed and disagreed. The kikokushijo in Japanese environments. As degree of discrimination towards students the research is focused towards the negative who attended integrated junior and senior features of being a kikokushijo, this question high schools decreased as they