Migration, Whiteness, and Cosmopolitanism: Europeans in Japan by Miloš Debnár (review)

European migration to Japan began in earnest only some 160 years ago. One might argue that it started with the few hundreds of Jesuits who lived in Japan during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, or with the small handful of employees residing in the Dutch factory in Dejima during the subsequent two centuries. But in essence, both of those groups were short-term sojourners; they came for religious or trade purposes rather than for the sake of migration as such. The true age of migration began only with the forced opening of Japanese ports in the 1850s, which was followed by the country’s rapid modernization. Despite periodic swelling and shrinking in numbers, the flow of Europeans to Japan has continued ever since. Admittedly, the influx has always been small; despite the recent growth in the population of Europeans in Japan to around 60,000 (as of 2014), this number represents a mere 0.05 percent of Japan’s total population, less than 0.01 percent of Europe’s population, and as little as 2.7 percent of the foreigners living in the country. Given these minuscule percentages, it is natural to ask why this group deserves exhaustive study in the form of an academic book such as the one under review, written by Doshisha University sociologist Miloš Debnár.

The answer to this question lies in this group’s importance, both real and symbolic, and in what it reveals about the host country. Europe and Europeans have undoubtedly played an important role in Japanese modernization and are still ascribed significance and respect out of proportion to the relative size of their representation in Japan or to Europe’s current impact on Japan’s economy and politics. Debnár’s specific reasons for focusing on this group are described in the book’s introduction, where he states that he is interested in the migration of “individuals from the Global North, West, or of people of white race” and “aims to contribute to . . . recent attempts [at] deconstructing the image of highly privileged migrants” (pp. 2–3). Deconstructing assumptions pertaining to countries of origin, type of migration, white privilege, and cosmopolitanism, he argues, “shows the complex character of social relations that migrants create and sustain in receiving societies” (p. 3). Japan was chosen as a representative of highly developed, non-Western countries, with the goal of providing new insights into the increasing diversity exhibited in present-day migration and the outcomes of this trend.

Despite its seemingly explicit sociological objectives, Migration, Whiteness, and Cosmopolitanism is more than just a case study on global migration in the twenty-first century. The book’s seven chapters offer an up-to-date look at fascinating aspects of Japanese society as well as the country’s intercultural relations and its unending love-hate relationship with the West. Following an informative introduction, chapter 2 provides an overview of the modern history of European migration to Japan and its current demographic structure. The next chapter focuses on three major types of migration: that involving high-skilled laborers or professionals, that related to international marriage, and that involving students. Debnár then takes up the “white privilege” enjoyed by Europeans living in Japan and the manner in which they transform this into various forms of capital. This is followed by one chapter investigating the limits and meanings of whiteness in the migrants’ everyday experience and another exploring the issue of cosmopolitanism as associated with Europeans. Chapter 7 ends the book by summing up its main findings and discussing their larger implications.

Methodologically speaking, the book draws primarily on interviews with fifty-seven Europeans conducted between 2008 and 2012. Representing twenty-two countries as well as various ages and occupations, most of Debnár’s interviewees had resided in Japan for five to ten years.

Although the book could have been enriched by the further use of primary sources, some of the interviews provide thought-provoking insights into...