Changes in reasons for study or work in japan of vietnamese self financed students at japanese language institutes

2 world migration and immigration by focusing on the mobility between Vietnam and Japan and narrowing more down to the group of Vietnamese students at Japanese Language Institutes JLI..

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

VIETNAM JAPAN UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN THI HUYEN TRANG

CHANGES IN REASONS FOR OR-WORK IN JAPAN OF VIETNAMESE

STUDY-SELF-FINANCED STUDENTS AT

JAPANESE LANGUAGE INSTITUTES

MASTER’S THESIS

Hanoi, 2018

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

VIETNAM JAPAN UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN THI HUYEN TRANG

CHANGES IN REASONS FOR OR-WORK IN JAPAN OF VIETNAMESE

STUDY-SELF-FINANCED STUDENTS AT

JAPANESE LANGUAGE INSTITUTES

MAJOR: AREA STUDIES

RESEARCH SUPERVISORS:

PROFESSOR FURUTA MOTOO NAKATOMI HISASHI

Hanoi, 2018

i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This research paper could not have been completed without the constant and

always timely academic guidance, comments and suggestions from two supervisors:

Professor Furuta Motoo and Professor Nakatomi Hisashi I would like to express

my deepest gratitude for all of their patience and understanding throughout the

prolonged process of conducting this research

I am also immensely grateful for all the physical and psychological support

during the conduction of this study from all the professors in MAS program at

Vietnam Japan University, especially, professor Ito Mariko, professor Pham Thi

Thu Giang Special thanks are sent to the program assistant Nguyen Huyen Hao for

all their tolerance and patience

This research can never have been finished if it had not been for the

participants, who have spare their time many times to answer my questions Many

of them are just strangers but they were really kind and enthusiastic in the

interviews

Lastly, I would like to thank my sisters and family for always being the

greatest source of emotional strength and hope for me to persist in completing this

research

Student (Signature and full name)

NGUYEN THI HUYEN TRANG

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i

TABLE OF CONTENTS ii

LIST OF TABLES v

LIST OF FIGURES vi

LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS vii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale for the research 1

1.2 Research questions 5

1.3 Scope of the study 6

1.4 Significance of the study 8

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 9

2.1 International migration 10

2.1.1 Overview 10

2.1.1.1 Definitions and data availability 10

2.1.1.2 Classification of migrants 12

2.1.1.3 Theories of international migration 13

2.1.1.4 Contemporary international migrations: general trends 16

2.1.2 International migration in Asia 17

2.1.3 International migration in Japan and Vietnam 19

2.1.3.1 Japan 19

2.1.3.2 Vietnam 21

2.2 International student mobility 24

2.2.1 International student mobility: a global perspective 25

2.2.1.1 Who are international students? 25

2.2.1.2 Global student mobility: a historical view 25

2.2.1.3 International and regional trends 26

2.2.1.4 Theories and approaches in international student mobility research 28

2.2.2 International student mobility in Japan and Vietnam 29

iii

2.3 Vietnam and japan: related studies 34

2.3.1 Vietnam and Japan: international migration 34

2.3.2 Vietnam and Japan: international student mobility 35

2.3.3 Vietnamese self-financed students at Japanese language Institutes: Related studies 36

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 40

3.1 Design 40

3.2 Data collection 41

3.2.1 The participants 41

3.2.1.1 Selection of participants 41

3.2.1.2 The coding 42

3.2.2 Methods 42

3.3 Data analysis 43

3.3.1 Participants‟ profiles and accounts 43

3.3.1.1 BE01, STAY01 – Em Tài 43

3.3.1.2 BE02, STAY02 – em Trinh 45

3.3.1.3 BE03 – RETURN01 – Em Đức 48

3.3.1.4 BE04 – STAY03 – Em Hải quán ăn 50

3.3.1.5 AF01-RETURN02 – em Hồng 53

3.3.1.6 AF02 – RETURN03: Em H.H 55

3.3.1.7 AF03 – RETURN04 – Minh 56

3.3.1.8 AF04 – STAY04: Đông 59

3.3.1.9 AF05 – STAY05: Linh 60

3.3.1.10 AF06 – RETURN05: An 62

3.3.1.11 AF07 – STAY06: Quang 65

3.3.1.12 AF08 – STAY 07; AF09 – STAY08; AF10 – STAY 09, AF11 – STAY10 67

3.3.1.13 AF12 – STAY 11: Khanh Chi 67

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 70

4.1 Research question 1: 70

iv

4.2 Research question 2: 73

4.3 Research question 3: 75

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 77

5.1 Conclusions 77

5.2 Recommendations 80

5.3 Limitations of the study 83

REFERENCES 85

vi

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 2.1 Basic indicators on Vietnam, 2016 22

Figure 2.2 Vietnam‟s export workers to selected countries, 2006 23

Figure 2.3 Total number of international students in Japan (2004-2017) 30

Figure 2.4 Top 15 receiving destinations for Vietnamese workers, 2012-2016 34

Figure 2.5 Number of Vietnamese students in Japan 2004-2017 35

vii

LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS

JLI Japanese Language Institutes

MoET Ministry of Education and Training

OECD Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation VSS Vietnamese self-financed students

1

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter aims to give an overview of the whole research paper starting with the reasons for which the researcher investigates the issue of Vietnamese students studying at Japanese Language Institutes (JLI) Followed are the focal research questions, the scope, significance and limitations of the study

1.1 Rationale for the research

International migration and immigration has long been a phenomenon of critical significance in the development of nations, regions and the whole world An account of all the major mass movements in the history can help to sketch out the patterns or point out the irregularities (Segal, 1993; Skeldon, 1997; Castles & Miller, 2009) Literature on international migration proves that not only such movements of

a large population have a close causal link with development but it plays a pivotal role in generating and boosting development, especially if well managed It is the essential role migration and immigration play in development at all levels and with regards to all aspects that fixates the researcher to this challenging topic

It is widely agreed in scholarship about international migration that this is primarily an economically driven phenomenon (Skeldon, 1997; Castles & Miller, 2009) and the most commonly known aspect to the general public is that of labour migration Despite the complexity and diversity in nature of international migration and immigration, the most researched issue in modern time has been labour migration However, the propensity has been moving away from a simplified economic-only approach to one that recognises the diverse nature of migration and immigration Research on a large scale aiming at an eagle view of the matter has revealed the outstanding sending and receiving points on the world map However,

it takes scrutiny of each linkage or route between two ends of the movement to truly understand how varied the experiences migrants and immigrants might have The present study hopes to contribute one more small hue in the colorful picture of

2

world migration and immigration by focusing on the mobility between Vietnam and Japan and narrowing more down to the group of Vietnamese students at Japanese Language Institutes (JLI)

The phrase “study in Japan” has been a buzz phrase in Vietnam in recent years Hardly is there a person who does not have a friend or a family member or know someone who has gone to Japan to study or having the intention of studying in Japan However, the phrase actually evokes a quite negative connotation in comparison with the highly admired idea of studying abroad on scholarship Firstly, lay people as well as scholars understand the phrase only serves a nominal purpose because the students come to Japan not to study but to work (vnexpress.net; Lui-Farrer, 2011) This has become an assertion when the coverage of the harsh life of Vietnamese students in Japan on the national television captured the public‟s attention (VTV1) And that is only a light touch on a more complicated issue Anyone with interest can easily find a large number of articles on e-magazines or newspapers and websites and blogs concerning studying and working in Japan Notably, the articles exposing the adversity of study and work life in Japan for these students are so prevalent on the media, and social networks, both formal and informal Secondly, this form of studying abroad is mainly self-financed, that is the students and their family pay to go to Japan and learn That is in complete opposition with the case of students of excellence or high achievements getting scholarships and study in a foreign country for free To make matter worse, it is almost universal comprehension that this is actually a disguised form of cheap labour export or migration (vnexpress.net) The common story taken for granted when talking about Vietnamese self-financed students (VSS) studying in JLI has been some young people from poor or low-income families who cannot get into universities or secure employment in Vietnam invest in a brokerage company to attain a “student visa” in Japan and work part-time to earn money

Nevertheless, the researcher‟s personal experiences with and observations on VSS revealed some intriguing points as followed First and foremost, the

3

prospective students the researchers happened to know are children of families, far from poor or low-income but middle-income and even really rich families Moreover, stories of students who continue their pursuit of higher education after completing Japanese language education made the researcher question the simplification of the assumed purpose of working Most noticeably is the sharp rise

in the number of Vietnamese students to Japan in 2014 after the official coverage of the difficulties in life trying to study and work at the same time on VTV1 in 2013 The dramatical upsurge of Vietnamese self-financed students in Japan from around 6,000 in 2013 to 26,439 the next year (JASSO) after the media‟s efforts to shed light on the dark sides of the fantasy of going to Japan to enjoy life and earn a lot of money triggered the researcher‟s curiosity in the issue

International student mobility has been an emerging issue of interest within the literature of migration, which should not be unusual considering migration in a broad term as “a shift in place of residence from one area to another” (Skeldon, 1997: 7) However, studying abroad or international students has been under scrutiny separately in the educational domain, with the main concerns are about the reasons why and how to attract overseas students (Mazzarol and Soutar, 2001; Phang, 2013; Brooks and Waters, 2011; Bhandari and Blumenthal, 2011) Additionally, the overseas students in the majority of research papers are ones who

go out and pursuit higher education, most commonly at tertiary level Scholarship of contemporary international migration has incorporated international students more frequently Fielding (2011) even categorised international students as one major type of international migrants OECD report (2014) officially recognised the significant roles of international students in various aspects of both sending and receiving nations Comparing the prominent books on migration and immigration, chronologically, it is easy to realise how international students emerged into a crucial position in human and international mobility towards the end of the twentieth century and well into the twenty-first century Segal (1993: 24, 32) lists the most outstanding movements in human history and students made their

4

appearance in some countries as minor and of no representative value However, in the book Migration and development: a global perspective (1997) the international students got more serious recognition as one eminent group of the “new core” in human mobility

Interestingly, the group of international students at Japanese language Institute

in this present research, strictly speaking, does not really fit in either the labour frontier of human mobility or the academia of international students aiming for tertiary education and higher in its pure meaning This group can be incorporated in international migration because legitimately they are the foreigner who are temporarily taking residence in another country different from their birthplace This group can be well accounted for as a part of labour migration because they do join the labour force and have been taking an essential role in the labour frontier in their receiving countries (Lui-Farrer, 2011) They can certainly be qualified for being a research subject group in international student studies because they are supposedly

in a foreign country “to study” – to achieve knowledge or skills through education and training in educational and vocational institutions However, each of the abovementioned way of oversimplification when mentioning the group of international students at JLI can only represent one aspect of their nature Apparently, to be able to fully understand this particular group a more holistic approach is a necessity

Despite their growing prominence in Japan‟s population, demographic structure, labour force and society, there is unparalleled research on the international students at JLI Lui-Farrer‟s study (2011) is the only official and separate one dedicated to portray the life and situation of Chinese students in Japan

as both students and labourers in Japan However, because the aim of the book is presenting a comprehensive depiction of Chinese student group in Japan, all kinds

of students are included in the study That is to say, the students who study in JLI are just one piece of the puzzle The same research status is applied to Vietnamese

size of the group led the researcher on her path to conduct this study on “Changes in

reasons for study-or-work in Japan of Vietnamese self-financed students at Japanese language institutes.”

1.2 Research questions

The key questions the present study aims to answer upon completion are: (1) Are there any changes in reasons for study-or-work of Vietnamese self-financed students before and after 2013?

(2) Are there any changes in reasons for study-or-work of the students before and after coming to Japan for some time?

(3) Are there any changes in reasons for the decision of staying in Japan or not after finishing studying at JLI?

The year 2013 is the critical signpost in the study for two reasons First, that is the year when the issue of “study in Japan” presumably got official attention through the widespread coverage on social media in Vietnam That is not to say before 2013 nothing was known about the fact that students are paying to have the

6

status of students in Japan to be able to work and earn money or their sufferings and obstacles in Japan were hidden in any way It is just the nudge for more public attention even who had not had any interest in, knowledge about or connection to the phenomenon because there is such an open availability of articles, sharing and videos on the struggles or difficulties or simply the reality of life of such students in Japan The second and more deciding reason for choosing this year 2013 is because

of the sharp rise in the number of Vietnamese students going to Japan in the next year 2014 The assumption would be a plunge in the number of Vietnamese students to Japan to study at JLI in 2014, which was actually the stark contradiction

to the statistics The first question comes from the hypothesis that there must be some special reasons for these Vietnamese students choosing to go to Japan other than to go there to work for money because the “work for money” plan has been proved to be a really challenging one

The second and the third question stem from the prevailing assumption for this group of students among general public and academic community That is these students decide to go to Japan because their purpose is to work and earn money Employment seeking and economic opportunities are simply considered as their ultimate purposes of taking the Japanese language courses in Japan The researcher hypothesizes that it is true that the primary intention of these students may be economically driven; however, they change their mind over the course of their life and experiences in Japan Consequently, the questions focus on finding out if there are any of such changes of heart and plans regarding the “study – or – work” purpose and if there are, what can be the triggers or reasons

1.3 Scope of the study

As suggested by the title of the research paper “Changes in reasons for

study-or-work in Japan of Vietnamese self-financed students at Japanese language institutes”, the present study is only a small scale investigation into a relatively

under-researched group of Vietnamese self-financed students who choose to study Japanese at Japanese language institutes

“Japanese language institutes” as defined in the official guide book for international students published by the Japanese Embassy include all educational institutions which provide Japanese language courses for international students The term constitutes both public and private educational institutions, and both educational establishments providing only Japanese language courses and ones providing pre-college courses for students who intend to pursue further education (Study in Japan, 2016)

Moreover, the paramount concern for the present research is the changes in they the student subjects decide to go to Japan to study or to work Because of the prejudice taken for granted towards this group of students, which is disguising under “student visa” to seek employment and earn money, the researcher would like

to testify her main hypothesis of possible changes in the students‟ reasons for or-work

study-8

Overall, the current research centres to find out if there are any other reasons for Vietnamese nationals who decided or are thinking of studying at Japanese Language Institutes in Japan, and what are these possible reasons rather than working for money These changes are supposed to happen at various temporal points as indicated in research questions – before and after 2013, after staying in Japan for some time; and after finishing Japanese language courses

1.4 Significance of the study

Although the present study is just a personal effort to investigate the possible shifts in why Vietnamese young people choose to go to study at Japanese Language establishments, it is expected to have some contribution theoretically and practically

as well

To start with, because of the hybrid nature of the targeted subjects of this study, there is a lacuna in literature of international student mobility and international migration and immigration On the one hand, Research of Vietnamese international students in general is still an under-investigated topic (Nguyen Hong Chi, 2013), not to mention, one particular group of Vietnamese students at one certain type of educational establishment as JLT The migration reports of Vietnam (2012, 2016) even purposefully leave out this group because of the lack of information and official census data On the other hand, this group also constitutes

an increasingly important source of labour in Japan‟s labour market and society; therefore, they have been incorporated in the aggregate population of labour migrants basing on the fact that they do take part in the labour situation in Japan (Lui-Farrer, 2011) However, as a community of around 26,000 (JASSO, 2017) labelling these students as only labour migrants is blatantly insufficient to portray their varied features and influences on Japanese economic, cultural and political contexts

There has not been a formal study in which the group of Vietnamese students

at JLI is regarded as a singular community with its own traits and impacts on the

In practicality, this study is ambitious to of assistance to various agents involved in the process of mobility of this group, namely the students themselves, the Japanese and Vietnamese governments, Japanese and Vietnamese planning for education and labour First, for the students, this will be the among first formal research in which they are the central subjects and have the opportunity to express their opinions and thoughts concerning their decisions to study or work in Japan and their life in Japan For those prospective students and interested parties like families and relatives, this can be another reliable source of information for them to consider before making their mind on going to Japan to study and/or work The researcher has some conclusions and recommendations for both Japanese and Vietnamese governments and policies for more effective and better – managed immigration and educational development

Either academically or practically, however small the contribution may be, the researcher hopes her effort and dedication through this study is just the beginning of more studies and research on a neglected group of more and more significance

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter attempts to review the literature to provide a fundamental scaffolding for an eagle‟s view of the topic of international migration and

10

international student mobility from a global perspective and narrowed down to a regional perspective In each discussion of each issue, a basic layout of the overall situation in Japan and Vietnam will be undoubtedly necessary for the research of the current specific topic of Vietnamese self-financed students at JLI in Japan That means the first two parts of this chapter dealing with 1, international migration and immigration, and 2, international student mobility on a global scale, regional scale and then, zooming particularly in Japan and in Vietnam This is to set the foundation and context for the related studies on the Vietnamese self-financed students at Japanese Language Institutes in the third part of the chapter

2.1 International migration

The discussion on international migration starts with an overview which equips readers with a quick sketch of what international migration has been and is currently like globally, and then the situation is examined on a regional scale This part ends with the cases of Japan and Vietnam

2.1.1 Overview

2.1.1.1 Definitions and data availability

There are a few terminologies essential to better understand matter of migration, and especially understand the complexity of migration and hurdles research in migration have to get over

To start with, as defined in Oxford, migration means “the movement of large numbers of people, birds or animals from one place or another” The dictionary definition put more stress on the size of the moving population which makes it not completely suitably applied to human migration Migration in research and in this study refers to human migration or, in its broadest sense, “a shift in place of residence from one area to another” (Skeldon, 1997: 1) This describes the dynamics of change and movement of “migration” However, to date, the shift in place of residence has developed in various forms of short-term, long-term, circular,

or transit, etc which the researcher agrees with Skeldon (1997) on the use of

11

“mobility” to better capture the variety and complex forms of migration However,

to avoid making matter unnecessarily complicated, the two terms are used interchangeably

So, who are migrants? In the simplest way, a migrant is a person who migrate

or change their place of residence from one place to another According to the definition given by the United Nations, “an international migrant is a person who is living in a country other than his or her country of birth” (UN International migration report, 2017: 3) This definition facilitates the data collection of the

“stock” – the estimate of international migrant being present at a country at a given time (Castles and Miller, 2009: xviii, UN International migration report, 2017: 3)

To know the “flow” of migrants, the number of foreign people entering a country or

otherwise called inflow, entries or immigration and the number of foreign people exiting the same country at the same period of time (or outflow, departures or

emigration) (Castles and Miller, 2009: xviii) While flows are indicators of the

mobility trends over different periods of time, stock helps to understand the status and situation in the long run

Concerning the term “migrant”, there are a few other terms used in reports and research with slightly differences in meaning in accordance with various countries and their immigration control policies That is “foreign-born” or “overseas-born” are often used in one of the “classic immigration countries”, namely some as the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand However, in European countries, the terms include “a foreign national” or “a foreign resident” or “a foreigner” or “an alien” (Castles and Miller, 2009: xviii, Stalker, 2001: 14-18) Each of these terms has its own denotation depending on the regulations in the immigration control laws

of each nation The term can either include or exclude the people who have taken on the nationality of the destination country – in other words, have been “naturalised”

It also concerns the inclusion or exclusion of the first generation and the second generation of naturalised migrants (OECD, 2006, Statistical Annexe)

12

Above most fundamental terms explained should be sufficient to reveal how complex it is when it comes to have a globally unified data set for research Thus, statistics are often collected by some international organisations or agencies in the field Additionally, not all countries collect the data on migration or immigration or publish their data, which makes it difficult to know for certain how many migrants are there exactly in the world (Castles & Miller, 2009: 5; UN International Migration Report, 2017: 3) It is also difficult task to identify the stock of migrants even in one country because of the different types of immigrants, especially the forced and undocumented (or illegal) immigrants

2.1.1.2 Classification of migrants

The categorisation of migrants encounters the same obstacles due to the inconsistencies in the criteria each nation employs to classify the population of foreigners in their country For a global perspective, Segal (1997) simply divided international migration into two groups of voluntary and involuntary migration, which serves well to show the mobility flows all over the world and create the maps

of international migration However, in order to gain more in-depth understanding, more intricate and deliberate classifications are of certain significance Stalker (2001: 10-13) suggested a rough grouping of five categories of settlers, contract workers, professionals, undocumented workers, refugees and asylum seekers Even with this Stalker emphasized the complexity and overlapping of these groups of migrants However, Stalker did not separate international students from other groups like Fielding (2016) who managed to cover comprehensively all forms of migration including labour migration, student migration, marriage migration, displacement and human trafficking Overall, all groupings or classifications are just efforts to point out the most clearly seen or emerged patterns on the surface of the all overlapping and intertwined forms of migration especially internationally and regionally

That is to say from a global or regional perspective, categorisation of migrants helps present the most predominant forms of migration, normally basing on the size

13

of the groups Thus, the growing forms or groups may not be noticed or recognised

at certain epochs Therefore, it is important to look at international migration with a global and regional mindset; whereas, it is equally crucial to take close looks and investigate into the small links between two destinations to spot out arising trends

or forms of migration which fall in between big categories

2.1.1.3 Theories of international migration

Accompanied with the long history of human migration and the magnitude of its influence on human‟s life at every possible level, the ways we view migration has seen substantial changes Theories of and approaches once were espoused may

be criticised and lose its popularity in literature later (Skeldon, 1997: 17) This part tries to take a subjective review of the most prominent theories of international migration in order to have the most general idea of the issue However, it should be made clear that no single theory or approach can be used or claimed as the ultimate one to understand or contribute to the scholarship of migration

Different scholars have different ways to present their depiction of the theories and approaches to international migration Stalker (2001: 20-39) had his way to explain all the major theories by simplifying into two main approaches: “the individual” and “the structural” and the “world system theory” For the purpose of providing a fast and efficient introduction general readers to such a multifaceted matter as international migration, Stalker‟s presentation of theories of migration is highly appreciated

However, for a detailed “narrative” and elucidation of the history and content

of the theories, the book “Migration and development: a global development” by Skeldon (1997) should be the best to serve that purpose The antecedents to models

of migration tracing back to “laws of migration” postulated by Ravenstein (1885, 1889) help to put all subsequent theories and approaches into perspective More importantly, presenting theories of migration from the initiative foundation chronologically automatically reveal the continuities, shiftings and development of

14

the theories during the course of migration expansion process In an era of globalisation and internationalisation, the linkages between internal and international or regional migration actually become much obvious and closer That proves the seminal values of these first models and theories are still applied to today‟s migration

However, this present study borrows the interpretation of the theories of migration essentially from the review works of Massey et al., (1993, 1994, 1994) and Castles and Miller (2009) because of their elaborate explanation The theories and approaches were discussed according to two fundamental bodies of research of migration which are: “the determinants, processes and patterns of migration” and

“the ways in which migration brings about change in both sending and receiving societies.” (Castles and Miller, 2009: 20) Basically, this paper focuses on the reasons why Vietnamese students choose to go to Japan, therefore, the theories as followed are narrowed down to ones relating to the initiation of migration or utilised

in research to explain the process of human mobility

To start with, one of the primary and predominant model in economics is

Neoclassical theory which has its antecedents in the Ravenstein‟s laws of migration

(1885, 1889) These first generalisations are better known as „push-pull‟ theories perceiving that it takes a matching pairs of „pull‟ factors – attracting people to the destinations and „push‟ factors – driving people out of their origin areas Personally, the researcher agrees with Skeldon (1997:19) that the „push-pull‟ theories are the most applicable and feasible when investigating the movement between two places

or areas Nevertheless, the neoclassical theory is more prevalently used in

economics, sociology, demography and geography Fundamentally, this theory bases on the differentials between two actors involved On a macro scale, the differences in supply and demand for labour between two countries together with connected issues namely endowment of labour, market wage, capital availability are the main causes On a micro scale, the theory is a model of individual choice and decision after considering all the costs and benefits of their mobility Each migrant

15

is regarded as an “individual rational actor” who tries to maximize utility by searching for the destination that can maximize their use of “human capital” (Massey et al., 1993: 434; Borjas, 1989: 461)

Criticism for neoclassical migration theories include its inability to explain many major migration waves and predict future ones; and the oversimplification of assuming migrants as “individual market-players who have full information on their options and freedom to make rational choices” (Castles and Miller, 2009: 23)

The second approach complementary to the first one is the new economics of

labour migration arising in the 1980s Its main argument is that the decision of

moving is not made by individuals alone, but the whole families or households or even the communities (Massey et al., 1993: 436; Castles and Miller, 2009: 24) Both of these are concerned with the supply side or the sending countries and the „push‟ factors, which gave rise to the next theory called „the segmented labour market theory‟ (Castles and Miller, 2009: 25) or „dual labour market theory‟ (Massey et al., 1993: 440) Piore (1979) would argue that international migration results from the in-built labour demands of modern industrialised countries Four intrinsic traits mentioned are: 1/ structural inflation – “wages must be increased proportionately throughout the job hierarchy in order to keep them in line with social expectations”; 2/ motivational problems – migrants simply view bottom-level jobs as an end means of gaining income, and do not care for status or prestige, at least at the first stage; 3/ economic dualism – the typical character of „bifurcated labour markets‟ with distinction betweent capital-intensive primary sector and labour-intensive secondary sector or in simpler terms, high-skilled versus low-skilled employees, and 4/ the demography of labour supply – the shrinking sources

of labour as of teenagers and women in industrialised societies (Massey et al., 1993: 441-443)

16

Although this segmented labour market theory does not exclusively oppose to the previous micro-level decision theories, it implies and corollaries quite distinct things from those suggested by the latters (Massey et al., 1993: 444)

Other theories are world system theory and the perpetuation of international movement such as the network theory, institutional theory, cumulative causation, and migration systems theory Massey and his colleagues did provide very thorough descriptions of all these theories and closely evaluated each theory and model by clarifying its underlying postulations The conclusion, however, is that all the causal mechanisms for international migration actually operate at various levels of research and analysis Moreover, it is up to the social scientist and his/her purpose

to choose the appropriate model or theory

Skeldon (1997: 18) made a point to argue that there are different reasons for giving preference to different theories and approaches when doing research in migration The complex and dynamic nature of international migration with its marks of impact found in all dimension of human existence requires it being examined from all perspectives possible It has been a commonplace and unanimous knowledge that research on migration is “intrinsically interdisciplinary” (Bretell and Hollified, 2007; Castles and Miller, 2009: 21) Skeldon (1997) also meant this to emphasize on “the latest ideological wave” – “postmodernism” The present study reviews the major theories to be able to see the big picture and to find the reasoning for its selected theories and approach

2.1.1.4 Contemporary international migrations: general trends

Following are the most prominent tendencies of international mobility recent years postulated by Castles and Miller in their book about “the age of migration” (2009: 10-12) which also correspond with the general trends of international migration in Asia and Southeast Asia (Lian, Rahman and Alas, 2016)

First, human mobility will affect more and more nations in the world both as senders and receivers Migration will experience globalisation on its own, which

in terms of control policies

Third, each country should expect to welcome a variety of migratory movement forms simultaneously Even in the case of deliberate efforts to control or stop the flows, migrants will differentiate in a range of types to continue growing and building chains

Fourth, feminization of migration has been an obvious trend since 1960s when women took a significant role in labour migration The shift has been from female migrating under the category of dependent family members to females from all regions moving as the main agents of all types of mobility

Fifth, international migration has become the main drive for more involvement and advancement in national politics, bilateral and regional relationships Awareness of the impacts international migration has on all parties involved at all levels of governance has increasingly changed the cooperation between the original, transit and destination countries

Last, the line between migration countries or immigration ones or transit ones has been blurred and will be cleared out in the long run when the transition from one to another can be as more and more prevalent and well facilitated

2.1.2 International migration in Asia

Asia has experienced a long history of international mobility but recently the discussion has gained unprecedented attention because of the scale, diversity and importance of migration to Asia itself and the world as well (Hugo, 2005: 1)

First of all, Asia, as the most populated continent, provide an exponential share of emigrants all around the world In 2013, there were 77 million emigrants

18

originating from Asia out of the stock of international migrants of 232 million across the globe (UNDESA 2013) This figure is almost double that of 2000, which shows the exceptional increase in scale of migration in Asia Asia itself is also a major receiving region, which hosts around 12.5 % of the world‟s migratory population Statistically, only 1% of its population are migrants; however, being aware of the enormous demographic magnitude it holds, and the large geographic expansion it owns will put this percentage into better perspective

Second, migration in Asia has come in numerous forms with migrants can be found in all categories of types and destinations There are labour migrants to OECD, non-OECD countries or to classic immigration countries like Australia, the United States, or European countries (Labour migration in Asia, 2016) There are students, professionals, short-term migrants for business or tourism, and even forms

of forced migrants (Hugo, 2005: 11-17)

Because of the exponential increase in number and diversity of the migrant population from Asia, almost all nations in the region are affected by the movements and mobility of its citizens Some countries are the typical senders while others are mainly receivers However, the trend is moving towards sending-receiving countries but normally with one aspect more dominant than the other

Characteristics of international migration in Asia

There are some distinctive characteristics of migration in Asia which either follow the general trends of international migration or set Asia out of that mainstream

First, it is noticeable increase in the participation of women in migration and particularly labour migration Lian, Rahman, and Alas (2016: 3) remarked clearly of how intraregional migration in East and Southeast Asia is gendered with male and female migrants take different kinds of jobs in distinctive sectors in the labour market

19

Second, one emerging and quite well settled-in group of migrants from and within the region is international students It is not only the substantial rise in the size of the group but it is the shifts in the roles students take Originally they were expected to complete their education in the destination countries and then return to contribute to the development of their countries The trend has been they are targeted to be educated and to be recruited as highly-skilled labour migrants at the end of their education in the receiving countries (Lian, Rahman, and Alas, 2016: 3) One particular characteristic of migration in Asia which distinguishes it from that of Europe or other classic immigration countries is the contradiction in the treatment of Asian governments and scholars Most governments in Asia consider migration as a contemporary phenomenon while scholars have reached consent that migration is meant to maintain for the receiving countries‟ dependence on labour migration (Lian, Rahman, and Alas, 2016: 3)

The last point is of great significance in research and investigation into the issue of labour migration in Asia Different immigration control policies and attitudes towards immigrants definitely create a specific context and environment for migration and immigration to formulate and develop

2.1.3 International migration in Japan and Vietnam

This part briefly depicts the history and current situation of international migration in Japan and in Vietnam

2.1.3.1 Japan

Historically, Japan has experienced both migration and immigration and made

it appearance in all major human movements in history (Segal, 1993) In this present study, however, Japan is the receiving country, which means the following part will be focused on the immigration side of Japan

First and foremost, Japan has always been known as a “closed society” and to explicitly employ all conceivable methods to maintain or even tighten its

2/ very limited and cautious immigration control policy changes to open its

door to accept certain groups of immigrants such as the Nikkeijin and the trainees

(law amendments in 1990)

3/ and the strategy of turn a blind eye to the undocumented or illegal workers

in Japan, through the lack of government‟s commitment to reinforce the implementation of their laws This strategy has received a lot of criticism from the international community

Japan has been an interesting case of migration and immigration in a way that all contradictory features converge at one nation-state which cause its own dilemma First, because of its advancement and fast economic development, it has attracted a proliferation of migrants, especially intraregional (Stalker, 2001: 6) Second, Japan

with its shrinking population and workforce, which is typical of industrialised

nations, but at a more alarming speed than other countries This creates gaps in the labour market which increase demands for both high-skilled and low-skilled labour However, Japan has been “skeptical” of the positive contribution of immigration to the growth and prosperity of the receiving countries and has been exerting a lot of effort to guard the nation‟s cultural uniqueness and identity against the negative influence of immigrant movements

Either inspecting Japan and its reactions towards immigration trends into the nation or putting Japan in the context of regional and international migration scene, the common conclusion will be the inflow of immigrants will continue to be one of the vital pillars to the development of the country (Stalker, 2001: 63) With its pronounced demographic predicament and labour challenges, Japan is forced to find

21

a way to strike a balance between being flexible and accepting the diversity of its society and being rigid and curbing at its best the booming of immigration in all dimensions of its national life

2.1.3.2 Vietnam

In the present study, Vietnam is on the other end of the route with Japan, being the sending country Thus, this quick depiction will centres only on the migration side of Vietnam

Migration in the case of Vietnam is more commonly known as “labour export”, which stems from the fact that the Vietnamese government has place serious emphasis on promoting this kind of mobility and that migration in the form of labour migration has been of growing significance in the country‟s economy through remittances (Dang Nguyen Anh, 2007: 2) Hence, the next discussion will

be about the general situation of international migration in Vietnam with a slightly more stress on labour migration and international students

Despite being one of the most labour-surplus countries in the region, Vietnam

is a “late starter” in labour migration both regionally and internationally (Lian, Rahman, and Alas, 2016: 7) Historically, Vietnam has been known to the international migration academia through some mobility movements in the past such as involuntary boat-people in mass exodus in 1979 after the end of the Vietnam war or migration due to political and economic suppression (Segal, 1993: 58) Due to late opening to the world until the “Doi moi” in 1986, Vietnam had it late start in labour migration as a means to support and promote the country‟s economic development However, right since the 1980s until present day, Vietnamese government has been consistent and persistent in making sure migration and international migration an integral part of the nation‟s reform and development (Dang Nguyen Anh, 2007: 7)

22

First, it is apparent that the socio-economic situation of Vietnam makes the country a greatly potential migration country, especially with very high proportion

of population belonging to the labour age range

Figure 2.1 Basic indicators on Vietnam, 2016

Source: General Statistical office (GSO), Socio-economic dynamics and status

of Vietnam in five years from 2011 to 2015 (Statistics Publishing House, Hanoi, 2016)

(Vietnam Migration Profile, 2016: 8)

Labour migration in Vietnam has been explicitly and extensively supported by the government (Dang Nguyen Anh, 2007: 2-4) This can be seen clearly in all three chief labour migration waves to date through “labour cooperation” agreements, licensing enterprises to recruit and dispatch workers Right from the first days, the government has made it a labour export programme with evident priority because of its essential role for national socio-economic development

23

The mobility trend from Vietnam has been widely diversified and extensively broadened with impressive outflow data in all field as indicated in the following table:

Figure 2.2 Vietnam‟s export workers to selected countries, 2006

24

Source: MOLISA, 2006 – Dang Nguyen Anh, 2007: 6

Although Vietnam has been sending at least 70,000 overseas to work each year and in 2008, around 400,000 Vietnamese labourers were working in over 40 countries worldwide, the trend has been more regional than international with countries like Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, United Arab Emirates are the chief labour importers of Vietnam

Ferminisation of labour migration is also observed in Vietnam with increasing number of women traveling to seek employment in coutries like Taiwan, Thailand

or Malaysia The trend is made more obvious with other forms of migration emerging and gaining significance such as migration for marriage or study (Dang,

2007, 2008; Vietnam Migration Profile, 2016)

The aforementioned characteristics of international migration in Vietnam are only the most basic ones, which are enough to present how fast and greatly international migration of Vietnam with specific emphasis on labour migration Additionally, it is crucial to highlight the government‟s and policy makers‟ eagerness and commitment to support and encourage even more labour migration in Vietnam

Overall, this part of international migration is far from a detailed review of the literature in international migration on a global and regional scale as well as in Japan and Vietnam However, as stated right at the beginning this discussion is all but the most fundamental depiction of the general picture and more importantly only outstanding features that closely related to the topic of the present study are presented This spirit will be maintained for the ensuing part, where an overview of international student mobility will be accounted

2.2 International student mobility

In this part, the researcher, again, only makes an effort to provide the background knowledge to have a rough context to understand better the issue in

25

question A global perspective will precede a regional one, which set the basis for presentation of international student status in Japan and in Vietnam

2.2.1 International student mobility: a global perspective

2.2.1.1 Who are international students?

There have been some changes in the definition of international students in regards to the students‟ citizenship (Kell and Vogl, 2012: 25) Previously, international students are defined as “non-citizens of the country in which they study” (OECD, 2006: 285) Because there are a growing number of students who migrate to a foreign country and become permanent residents there, where they also commence their studying, the OECD postulated a relatively vague definition of people who „crossed borders expressly with the intention of study‟ The most recently developed reference to an international student is that a person that is not a permanent resident of the country where they study or a person who received their prior education in another country with the emphasis that citizenship does not matter (OECD, 2010: 301)

These changes may sound unnecessarily overcomplicated but they reflect the best revolutions and transformations of educational mobility in the context of globalisation and internationalisation of migration For the best global perspective

of international student mobility, this meticulous examination of what constitutes international students is crucial However, in this present study, the scale is actually between the two ends of Vietnam to Japan; hence, a general and simple definition will suffice Therefore, any students who „undertake study outside their home country‟ are considered as international students (Hatakenata, 2004, cited in Kell and Vogl, 2012: 26)

2.2.1.2 Global student mobility: a historical view

This part aims at a schema of how global student mobility has developed from past forms to today‟s taken from the overview of Kell and Vogl (2012: 6-10)

26

To start with the global movements of students was under employment as a scheme to provide support and aid for improvement of capacity and expertise in African and Asian developing countries This educational support arrangement also functions as a diplomatic strategy to strengthen political and economic linkages between nations Such prominent programs as the American Fulbright, or the British Colombo Plan are referred to as foreign aid and poverty-alleviating programs This „aid and donor‟ approach serves a few purposes simultaneously including: 1/ a factor to help facilitate industrialization, advancement and economic development in underdeveloped countries by obliging students to return to apply the professional expertise and skills they attained in their homeland; and 2/ building and securing loyalty of the aided students

The second epoch of global student mobility originates from the newly gained wealth and prosperity in the developing world, typically Asian nations like China, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong The growth of the new middle class is an ideal formula for international student mobility with their new affluence combined with their high appreciation for education They have the needed conditions and the willingness to gain access to prestigious education overseas The domestic educational system‟s incapability or insufficient capacity also added to the equation for a booming trend of studying abroad

Towards the end of the twentieth century, the growth of corporate universities was well apace with the tendency of regarding international students as lucrative commodity Higher education started to set itself far from to altruistic and donor mentality and leaned towards the idea of a global education market

2.2.1.3 International and regional trends

Contemporary higher education has observed a dramatic upsurge in the number of students moving to other countries for education In 1975, there were 600,000 international students, which rose up to 1.2 million in 1990 That number more than doubled to 2.9 million in 2006 (Douglas and Edelstein, 2009; Ruby, 2009

27

as cited in Kell and Vogl, 2012: 1) Global student mobility has become a

„burgeoning phenomenon‟ literally and figuratively as well when it comes to its prominence as a lucrative service export sector (Bhandari and Blumenthal, 2011: 1) Billions of dollars are contributed to the US economy each year from higher education international students

Research in international student migration is indispensable with its exponential surge and magnitude of significance However, data collection procedures vary extensively among countries due to the inconsistency and variations of education systems, lack of obligations to collect and publish data, especially from private institutions

Here are some key trends that have been observed in recent years:

1/ there are certain dominant destination countries which attract the largest proportions of international students Kell and Vogl (2012: 1) named the „Big Five‟

of Australia, the USA, the UK, France, and Germany, all of which host 52% of the total international students (OECD, 2007: 304) The data from the Project Atlas (2010), UNESCO (2009) added China to the list of biggest host countries

2/ there are new emerging destinations such as China Some Asian countries have been trying to prioritize the internationalisation of higher education and shifting from traditional origin countries to new destination countries

3/ students from East Asia and the Pacific, accounting for 29% constitute the largest group of internationally migrant students

4/ the outbound ratio of international students vary wildly from the lowest of North America outbound and Sub-Saharan Africa owning the highest outbound (Bhandari and Blumenthal, 2011: 9-10)

28

2.2.1.4 Theories and approaches in international student mobility research

There has been exerted effort in cooperation for more dependable and consistent data on international student mobility (Bhandari and Blumenthal, 2011: 1) which statistically can show the current situation and predict the trends on a large scale Such collaboration is also found in the book edited by Kell and Vogl (2012) However, the two authors (2012: 4) stressed on the tendency to omit the pivotal role

of the students themselves as „agents of their own destiny‟ They are undoubtedly woven into the networks and linkages between institutions, nations and regions, but they are not passive agents without any impact on the receiving countries or their home country International and transnational education has placed international students in the position of agents causing anxiety and posing threats and risks to the destination nation-state This is why more research into students‟ experiences and life as individuals should be encouraged and conducted

Why international students are on the move?

There have been a range of studies of all scales focusing on the reasons why a student chooses to become an international student (Kell and Vogl, 2012: 27-30; Bhandari and Blumenthal, 2011; Neubauer and Kuroda, 2012) Kell and Vogl (2012: 27) best summarized it as „the factors driving international and transnational education are seen by the OECD in instrumental and economic terms with individuals making decisions based on use value‟

There are the students‟ needs that can be satisfied or the reasons for choice of country and destination (Hatakenaka, 2004) Financial supports of various kinds can provide an advantage

Other factors related to the destination can all have an influence on the decision to study abroad namely „the reputation of institutions, the reputation of institutions, the flexibility of programs, the language of tuition, the limitations and restrictions of opportunities in higher education in their home country, geographic location, trade and cultural ties between countries, future job opportunities and

29

possible migration options‟ (Kell and Vogl, 2012: 28) Immigration control laws and the country‟s attitude to foreigners are crucial in students‟ decision-making process as well

Marginson (2004) added the assumption about how safe and stable the hosting countries are concerning civil rights, social security, racism or abuse and the like (cited in Kell and Vogl, 2012: 29) Ranking of the universities can also be one influential element together with recruiting schemes and campaigns (Bhandari and Blumenthal, 2011: 10-11)

To sum up, there are a wide range of reasons leading to the choice of school or university, the selection of the host country or the course In order to maintain the most comprehensive list of factors, it should be better to classify them into two categories of „push factors‟ and „pull factors‟

2.2.2 International student mobility in Japan and Vietnam

Although Japan is also among the major sending country which provides a

large number of international students to traditional receiving countries like the US, the UK, Canada, Germany or Australia and New Zealand (Kell and Vogl, 2012: 40),

in this study Japan plays the role of receiving country Hence, the focus is on the inbound movement of international students in Japan

Firstly, the population of international students in Japan has experienced substantial escalation in recent years Japan has emerged as one of the new contenders Kell and Vogl (2012: 39) or new players (Bhandari and Blumenthal, 2011: 10-12) Japan attracted 2% of the total number of international students around the globe in 2000 In 2004, that ratio rose to 5% (OECD, 2006) However, this is only the data in regards to higher education sector

Japanese Student Services Organisation (JASSO) is the government body taking charge of providing and publishing data on international students The definition of an international student in JASSO reports is “a student from a foreign

30

country who is granted the status of residence as „college student‟ (Student Visa), who is receiving education at Japanese university, graduate school, junior college, college of technology, professional training college, educational institution provides university preparatory course and Japanese language institutes This means researchers must take cautions because the definition of „international student‟ in JASSO reports may be much broader than that of research or studies on higher education Since 2011, the international students who take the Japanese language courses in JLI have been accounted in the reports as well The possible gaps or misconceptions in terms of data make the case of Japan special and interesting on its own

Considering „international students‟ as defined as in JASSO reports, it is evident that Japan has been very popular destination for the last few years

Figure 2.3 Total number of international students in Japan (2004-2017)

Source: JASSO reports The statistics of international students by the types of institution show a generally upward trend with the leading figures belonging to higher education

Vietnam has been quite a familiar name in the global scene of student

mobility with great dynamics for the past years, but more as a sending country In

2013, 125,000 Vietnamese students studied in foreign countries, which is an increase of 15% in comparison with data in 2012 (Ministry of Education and Training - MoET) Most importantly, about 90% of all Vietnamese students studying abroad are self-funded (Bui Thi Nhu Huyen, 2015: 92) According to MoET‟s data, in 2016, out of 130,000 Vietnamese nationals studying overseas, only 5,500 were state-funded or financially supported by the state (source:

nhung-nuoc-nao-3493240.html) That means 96% of all the students seeking education out of Vietnam are paying by themselves

https://vnexpress.net/infographics/giao-duc/du-hoc-sinh-viet-nam-dang-hoc-tap-tai-Here reveals a problem in data collection of Vietnamese students as international students in the world The data on Vietnamese students abroad in Vietnam migration report 2016 mainly discuss the state-sponsored students and at

higher education level The term used is „migration for study’: consists of overseas

pupils, students, those attending higher education (master’s or PhD courses) or colleges Migration for study also includes trainees and interns who are international migrants for the purpose of vocational training and internships, respectively (Vietnam Migration profile, 2016: 12) This definition is