When “global talents” struggle to become local workers: The new face of skilled migration to corporate Japan

Abstract

Although more Japanese companies are recruiting foreign employees, few studies have paid attention to foreign workers’ struggles in the workplace and their perceptions of their career over the long term. This study qualitatively explores the experiences of Asian and European locally hired white-collar employees in Japanese firms. It finds that although their numbers are rising, foreigners struggle with Japanese firms’ expectations for foreigners to assimilate regardless of nationality or ethnicity. Overall, firms focus on the assimilation of foreign employees. Thus, while the migrants are hired as “global talents,” Japanese firms expect them to act like local workers.