When compared with other advanced industrialized countries, Japan has very few foreign residents. Why?

About the book

“…Help (Not) Wanted is a well-written book that addresses an important and timely issue. Strausz’s original argument and research make it an interesting read to scholars from political science, Japanese studies and migration studies. The accessibility of this book also makes it fantastic for use in an undergraduate course in Japanese society or politics” (Paul Capobianco, Hokkaido University).

My book, Help (Not) Wanted: Immigration Politics in Japan, is available at the SUNY Press website, and at Amazon.

Here is a video of my presentation on this book at the University of Michigan in November 2019, and here is a transcript and recording of the podcast Michigan Talks Japan where anthropologist Allison Alexy interviewed me about the book.

I have spoken about this book and recent developments in Japanese immigration policy at locations including Southern Methodist University (Dallas), the University of California (Berkeley), Princeton University, Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University. If you are interested in bringing me to your campus or your town, or in setting up an online presentation, please contact me!

This book offers an original and provocative answer to a question that has long perplexed observers of Japan: Why has Japan’s immigration policy remained so restrictive, especially in light of economic, demographic, and international political forces that are pushing Japan to admit more immigrants? Drawing upon insights developed during nearly two years of intensive field research in Japan, I argue that Japan’s immigration policy has remained restrictive for two reasons. First, Japan’s labor-intensive businesses have failed to defeat anti-immigration forces within the Japanese state, particularly those in the Ministry of Justice and the Japanese Diet. Second, no influential strain of elite thought in postwar Japan exists to support the idea that significant numbers of foreign nationals have a legitimate claim to residency and citizenship. This book is particularly timely at a moment shaped by Brexit, the election of Trump, and the rise of anti-immigrant political parties and nativist rhetoric across the globe.