Despite being a relatively recent research topic, studies on transnational later-life retirement have noted the diversity of the phenomenon. This study of Japanese women in later-life moving to live in Western Australia and Thailand adds to the diversity by examining the gendered dimension of the phenomenon. Through an analysis of the dominant narrative of “seeking for freedom” in their motivation to leave Japan, the paper examines what are the expressions of freedom as perceived by the women and the challenges confronting them in later-life migration. Their subjective experiences reflect migration in later-life as a dynamic process, and later-life migration as more complex than mere classification of their motivations into amenity-seeking or otherwise.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BaldassarLoretta2008“Missing Kin and Longing to be Together: Emotions and the Construction of Copresence in Transnational Relationships,”Journal of Intercultural Studies, 29(3):247–266.
2.
Chiangmai Longstay Life (CLL) Club2009Chiangmai Living Guide, Third edition. Chiangmai: CLL club.
3.
DixonD.MurrayJ.GelattJ.2006America's Emigrants: US Retirement Migration to Mexico and Panama. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute and New Global Initiatives.
4.
DuncombeW.RobbinsM.WolfD.A.2003“Place Characteristics and Residential Location Choice among the Retirement-age Population,”Journal of Gerontology, 58B(4):S244–S252.
5.
FujitaY.2008bunka yimin: Ekkyôsuru nihonnowakamono to media (Cultural Migrants: Young Japanese and Transnational Media). Tokyo: Shinyosha.
6.
HongsranagonP.2006“Japanese Senior Tourists – An Untapped Potential in Thailand's Tourism Industry,”The Journal of Behavioral Science, 1(1):95–101.
7.
HowardRobert D.2008“Western Retirees in Thailand: Motives, Experiences, Wellbeing, Assimilation and Future Needs,”Aging and Society, 28(2):145–163.
8.
International Longevity Center, Japan (ILC-Japan)2010A Profile of Older Japanese 2012. Japan: International Longevity Center, Japan. Also available at http://www.ilcjapan.org/agingE/POJ12.html.
9.
KawaharaM.2009“Challenges and Coping Methods of Japanese Long-stayers in Chiangmai, Thailand.” Paper presented at the 11th research meeting of the Japan-Thailand Association, Kyoto University, 5 July.
10.
KelskyK.2001Women on the Verge: Japanese Women, Western Dreams. Durham: Duke University Press.
LonginoC. F.Jr.PerzynskiA.T.StollerE.P.2002“Pandora's Briefcase: Unpacking the Retirement Migration Decision,”Research on Aging, 24(1):29–49.
13.
MasseyD.S.1993“Theories of International Migration: A Review and Appraisal,”Population and Development Review, 19(2):431–466.
14.
MasseyD.S.1987Return to Aztlan: The Social Processes of International Migration from Western Mexico. L.A.: University of California Press.
15.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs2010Annual Report of Statistics on Japanese Nationals Overseas. Tokyo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan.
16.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs2007Annual Report of Statistics on Japanese Nationals Overseas. Tokyo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan.
17.
MiyazakiK.2008“An Aging Society and Migration to Asia and Oceania,”Senri Ethnological Reports, 77:139–149.
18.
MizukamiT.2007The Sojourner Community: Japanese Migration and Residency in Australia. Leiden, Boston: Brill.
19.
NakazawaT.2008“Experience of International Migration and Japanese Identity: A Study of Locally Hired Japanese Women in Singapore,”Geographical Review of Japan, 81(3):95–120.
20.
NojiriS.2010r ôgônanmin – 50 dai fufu no ikinokorijitsu (The Survival Skills for Later Life Refugees from the 1950s). Tokyo: Kodansha.
21.
SatoM.1993shin. kaigaiteijyûjidai- O-sutoria no nihonjin (The New Era of Migration – The Japanese in Australia). Tokyo: Shinchosha.
22.
ShimizuH.2009“Paradise in Dream or in Reality? Japanese Retirees Migrating to the Philippines.” Paper presented at the Transnational Mobilities for Care: State, Market and Family Dynamics in Asia, 10–11 September 2009, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore.
23.
SoneS.BlackD., eds. 2009An Enduring Friendship: Western Australia and Japan – Past, Present and Future. Perth: UWA.
Statistical Research and Training Institute (SRTI), ed. 2012“Population and Households, Table 2–27: Trends of Life Expectancy by Age, Japan Statistics Yearbook 2012.” Available at http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/nenkan/index.htm, accessed on 21 June 2012.
26.
SunilT.S.2007“‘United States’ International Retirement Migration: The Reasons for Retiring to the Environs of Lake Chapala, Mexico,”Ageing and Society, 27(4):489–510.
27.
ThangL.L.MaclachlanE.GodaM.2006“Negotiating Work and Self: Experiences of Japanese Working Women in Singapore,” In Japanese Diasporas: Unsung Pasts, Conflicting Presents, and Uncertain Futures. Edited by NobukoAdachi. New York: Routledge.
28.
ThangL.L.SoneS.2011“(Re) engagements for a New Life: Mature Japanese Women Living in Western Australia,”Journal for Japanese Studies, 1(1):45–66.
29.
ToyotaM.2009“Japanese Women in Southeast Asia: Alternative Career and Self?” Paper presented at the Think Asia!, International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) 6, Daejeon, Korea, 6–9 August.
30.
ToyotaM.2006“Ageing and Transnational Householding: Japanese Retirees in Southeast Asia,”International Development Planning Review, 28(4):515–532.
31.
WarnesT.2009“International Retirement Migration.” In International Handbook of Population Aging. Edited by UhlenbergP., New York:Springer.
32.
WilliamsA. M.2000“Tourism and International Retirement Migration: New Forms of an Old Relationship in Southern Europe,”Tourism Geographies, 2(1):28–49.
33.
YamashitaS.2008“Transnational Migration in East Asia: Japan in a Comparative Focus,”Senri Ethnological Reports, 77:3–13.
34.
YasudaN., ed. 2007“nagatabi jidai-rongutsûrizumu no jittai to tenbô” (The Era of Long Tourism: Its Reality and Prospects). Tokyo: Kyoiku Hyoran Sha.
