This handbook explores Japan’s relationship with migration by reconceptualizing the country from transnational perspectives.

Through a critical reassessment of the traditional notion that Japan lacks an immigration policy, this volume reveals the ways in which the Japanese state and society have, in practice, engaged with immigration issues. It explores incremental policy adaptations, intricate social realities, and scrutinizes the implications of policy failures. Through this analysis, it provides a nuanced understanding of immigration governance and the dynamics of coexistence with migrants in contemporary Japan. By offering a foundation for understanding the current landscape of immigration and refugee experiences in Japan, this book presents an environment of coexistence grounded in the principle of multiple realities.

Providing a comprehensive understanding of Japan’s relationship with migration and structured to allow readers to grasp this relationship both historically and thematically, this handbook will be a valuable resource to students and scholars of Japanese society and migration studies.