2026
Japan’s Immigration Policies at a Crossroads
February 20, 2026 | Japan is at a historic crossroads with its immigration policies. By the end of 2024, the number of foreign workers and residents in the country had surpassed 3.75 million, accounting for approximately 3 percent of the population. This represents an increase of over 10 percent from the previous year, continuing a steady growth trend since the 1980s. The increase in foreign workers reflects successive policy changes in the late 2010s, with the amendment of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act in 2016. The Act introduced a visa category for mid-skilled foreign care workers. Until then, the country officially admitted only skilled migrants for employment, while in practice, it allowed unskilled foreigners to work on various temporary programs. However, labor shortages in key industries such as construction, manufacturing, and services reached a new high as Japan’s labor force and population aged and decreased.
In response to the steep demand for labor, the Japanese government introduced the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW, Tokutei Ginō) program, comprising a two-phase model, SSW (i) and SSW (ii), in 2019. The policy aims to streamline the admission and employment of foreign workers based on their skill development and, eventually, to grant select workers the right to permanent residency and family reunification. In line with the scheme, the government announced in 2024 that it would abolish the Technical Intern and Training Program (TITP, Ginō Jisshū Seido), which has faced numerous operational problems. It will be replaced with the Employment with Skill Development (ESD, Ikusei Shūrō) program in 2027. The policy change from temporary workers to long-term residents requires national policies that incorporate immigrants into the country’s social and political institutions beyond just labor markets.
The proposed CJS Immigration Symposium will address the processes and effects of these significant changes in state policies since the late 2010s. These changes and their implementations over the past several years prompt the following questions, some of which the symposium speakers will try to answer based on their recent research.
- How has the SSW scheme, which is based on foreign workers’ skill development, been received and implemented in such labor-short industries as construction, manufacturing, and care work?
- What are the outcomes from the implementation of the SSW in these labor-short industries?
- How is the skill development of foreign workers evaluated, and how is it linked to their integration into the Japanese corporate system with potential for long-term residency?
- What are the national policies for integrating long-term residents and their families into Japanese social institutions, including education, housing, and social welfare?
- Following the July 2025 national election for the House of Councilors, the Sanseitō, a relatively new political party, gained seats by proposing anti-foreign policies. What are the implications of such policies for Japan’s immigration policies when its economy requires more immigrant workers?
2025
Tradition and Innovation Reflected in Japanese Material Culture: 日本の物質文化からみた伝統と革新
February 28, 2025 | This symposium will host interdisciplinary discussions on the traditions and innovations of Japanese material culture, with a focus on mingu (traditional everyday tools), porcelain, and lacquerware. In recent years, studies of material culture in North American anthropology and archaeology have actively explored the technological and aesthetic traditions of material culture, as well as the processes of change and innovation in relation to the discussion of traditional ecological knowledge and historical/cultural landscapes. Meanwhile, folklore studies in Japan have accumulated detailed analyses of the functions and forms of mingu as a key method for understanding the characteristics of regional cultures. These two approaches are complementary and offer opportunities for mutual enrichment. Furthermore, research on Japanese porcelain and lacquerware, which has traditionally focused on aesthetics and art history, is increasingly incorporating approaches from archaeology and history.
This symposium seeks to evaluate the strengths of these interdisciplinary approaches and explore future directions for the study of Japanese material culture. Additionally, it will examine the significance of the collection of Japanese mingu, porcelain, and lacquerware at the Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley.
このシンポジウムでは、日本の近世から近代の民具や磁器、漆器を中心とする物質文化の伝統と革新について、学際的な議論を行う。北米人類学と考古学における近年の物質文化研究では、物質文化の技術的・美的な伝統を理解し、その変化・革新の過程を在来知や歴史的・文化的景観との関連で検討する動きが盛んである。一方、日本の民俗学では、地域文化の特徴を理解する重要な手法として、民具の機能や形態の詳細な分析が積み重ねられてきた。これら二つの研究動向は相互補完的であり、お互いに得るところが多い。さらに、従来は美学美術史における研究が中心だった日本の磁器や漆器について、近年では考古学や歴史学との学際的な研究が盛んであることも注目される。
今回のシンポジウムでは、これらの学際的な議論を通じて、日本の物質文化研究の長所と今後の展望について考えると共に、カリフォルニア大学バークレー校ハースト人類学博物館における、日本の民具・磁器・漆器コレクションの重要性についても検討する。