Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far
and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

The Politics of International Marriage in Japan: Online Book Launch

The UP Asian Center held—via Zoom—an online book launch of “The Politics of International Marriage in Japan,” on 2 December 2021, 1 pm – 3 pm, Philippine Standard Time (GMT + 8

Abstract-Talking Points

Dr. Viktoriya Kim of Osaka University will discuss international marriage trends in Japan; international marriage as a public and private affair; diverse groups of foreign spouses in Japan and their unique/common issues; and the future of marriage migration studies. 
In her lecture, Dr. Kim will draw on the book she co-wrote, The Politics of International Marriage in Japan,  which explores the political and institutional climate surrounding international marriages in the country. It also analyzes a variety of ways in which researchers introduce international couples using a camera lens perspective. And more importantly, there are first-hand experiences of foreign (Russian-speaking and Filipino women and Western men and women) and Japanese spouses and their mixed-heritage children that are vividly presented in the book.
The book analyzes the definition of international and cross-border marriages, the academic and historical background of international marriages, perspectives on why Japanese and foreign nationals choose each other, and how they express their love. Later chapters introduce different areas of married life – life choices and negotiation process surrounding these, the issue of raising bicultural/bilingual children, and the ways spouses deal with family conflicts and divorce. Published by Rutgers University Press, the book was written by Viktoriya Kim, Nelia G. Balgoa, and Beverly Anne Yamamoto.

About the Speaker

Viktoriya Kim, PhD is a Specially Appointed Associate Professor at the School of Human Sciences, Osaka University (Japan). She specializes in international marriage migration, multicultural policies, and integration issues of migrants in Japan. Her current projects involve comparative research on Russian-speaking female marriage migrants in South Korea and Japan, foreign residents, and multicultural community building in Japan during COVID-19, and integration of third-generation Koreans in Central Asia. View full profile.

Discussant

Jean Encinas-Franco, PhD is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines, Diliman, where she obtained her PhD in 2011. Her dissertation "explores the politics of labour out-migration in the Philippines and the discursive representation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as “modern-day heroes." She specializes on "gender and the politics of labor out-migration; legislative politics; women’s rights" and is the author of,  among others, "Filipino Women Migrant Workers and Overseas Employment Policy: An Analysis from Women’s Rights Perspective,” which was published in Asian Politics and Policy in 2016 (View source and full profile).
For inquiries, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The UP Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D.  program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. The Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website. For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here.