Article by Anthony D'Costa in "Asian Population Studies", Routledge

Asian Population Studies, Vol 4, No 3, November 2008:

Professor of Indian Studies Anthony D'Costa:

"The Barbarians are Here: How Japanese Institutional Barriers and Immigration Policies Keep Asian Talent Away"

Publisher: Routledge

This article examines why Japan is not perceived to be attractive by foreign technical talent even though there is growing demand for such professionals. It examines three sets of barriers: Japanese business practices, immigration policies and social-cultural factors. Given Japan's sluggish growth and demographic crisis, the study also suggests that countries and cities, when playing the globalisation game of attracting talent for national competitiveness, must balance domestic and expatriate needs. Based on both published data from Japanese and other sources as well as primary data collected through field surveys of Indian technical professionals in Japan and India, this study places Japan in the wider context of globalisation and mobility of international talent. Based on the patterns of Asian flows of talent, especially Chinese and Indian talent, the paper concludes that Japan must create a conducive professional and social environment to attract talent.

Asian Population Studies is the first international population journal to focus exclusively on population issues in Asia. The journal publishes original research on matters related to population in this large, complex and rapidly changing region, and welcomes substantive empirical analyses, theoretical works, applied research, and contributions to methodology. The journal is hosted by the Asia Research Institute of the National University of Singapore.