Moving toward diverse cultural communities : lost in translation, when the sakura cherry blossom meets the pohutukawa : what are the opportunities and challenges facing Japanese migrants in Aotearoa/New Zealand?

Abstract

This thesis looks into Japanese migrants’ settlement experiences in New Zealand. The aim was to gain an understanding of the migration process purely from their perspective instead of seeing it as a marginalized idea of Asian migration. Using a qualitative research method, 14 Japanese migrants were interviewed during 2012. All participants shared their positive and negative experiences through their migration process. Many Japanese chose to come to New Zealand for quality of life, family decisions and international marriage. There was a strong sense of being Japanese after many years of their settlement and how this sense of identity shaped their migration experiences. There were some differences in the experiences between the younger generation who have arrived in New Zealand in their teens and others who have arrived in their adulthood. However, generally Japanese migrants were pleased with their new life and keen to integrate into New Zealand society. Although many of them have chosen to come to New Zealand for a better life style, there is still some uncertainty of the level of their commitment to living in New Zealand.