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Abstract

This study investigates the varied circumstances of Filipino temporary labor migrants in Japan under the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) and the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) visa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among Filipino communities in Japan since April 2022, this article analyzes developments during the state of emergency, such as travel bans and the abrupt implementation of the SSW visa. Utilizing the approach of the “mobility paradigm” pioneered by Sheller and Urry (2006), this study proposes a framework to analyze the interplay of (im)mobility patterns with respect to positionality, temporality and perceptionality. By exploring how travel bans affected the socioeconomic and geophysical standing of labor migrants vis-à-vis the timing of their entry to Japan and how they viewed their lives during the pandemic, this article introduces five (im)mobility patterns: Oblivious, upward, suspended, revamped and rebooted. This typology of (im)mobility patterns enhances understanding of the experiences of Filipino temporary labor migrants in Japan and the effects of sudden (im)mobility disruptions.

Keywords

Technical Intern Training Program (TITP)Specified Skilled Worker (SSW)COVID-19 pandemic (im)mobilities Japan

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Filipino technical interns and specified skilled workers in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic: A typology of (im)mobility patterns

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