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International brides: cross-border marriage migration in China and Japan through a feminist lens
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International brides: cross-border marriage migration in China and Japan through a feminist lens
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INTERNATIONAL BRIDES: CROSS-BORDER MARRIAGE MIGRATION IN CHINA AND JAPAN THROUGH A FEMINIST LENS by Jeanine Emiko Yutani A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS (EAST ASIAN AREA STUDIES) August 2007 Copyright 2007 Jeanine Emiko Yutani ii DEDICATION For Grandma Harue and Grandpa Toshimasa Yutani, whose wisdom, patience and love have inspired me and taught me so much; and whose generosity in opening their home and their lives to me made it possible for me to follow my dreams. I love you both more than words can say. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to all the people I’ve worked with at the University of Southern California who I’ve worked with over the last two years: Daniel Lynch, Min Gyo Koo, Michael Messner, Josh Goldstein, and Laurie Brand. Also, thank you to Jim Danielson, Barbara Headrick, Gina Monson and Jenny Lin from Minnesota State University, Moorhead. Thank you to Grace Ryu and Kin Hau in the East Asian Studies Center for putting up with my incessant questions and visits. Finally, a special thanks to my professors and mentors Stan Rosen, Saori Katada and Eugene Cooper. All of you have inspired, guided and challenged me since I first began at USC, and you’ve shown me the kind of professor and scholar I hope to be one day. Your commitment, enthusiasm and encouragement have been invaluable in my studies and in my career. I’m forever grateful to you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication .................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements..................................................................... iii List of Figures ............................................................................v Abstract..................................................................................... vi Introduction: Gender and Marriage Migration.................................1 Chapter 1: The Façade of Homogeneity.......................................11 Chapter 2: Marriage: Matchmaking and Bride-Buying....................26 Chapter 3: Beyond the State: Regional and International..............52 Conclusion................................................................................72 Bibliography..............................................................................79 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Japan’s Erotic Hierarchy ...............................................49 Figure 2: China’s Erotic Hierarchy ..............................................51 vi ABSTRACT While a great deal of migration research cites classic “push” and “pull” factors as those which are primarily responsible for marriage migration, International Relations feminists have turned their investigations toward the intersections of race, class, gender, and other hierarchical social structures at the global level. This thesis, through employing a multi-level feminist approach, will show how a variety of gender and culturally-biased attitudes intersect with demographic changes and state policies to influence international or cross-border marriage practices and policies in China and Japan. Empowerment which has improved the lives of many Chinese and Japanese women has not been enjoyed equally among those of various classes, educational or ethnic backgrounds, nor by migrant women, whether legal or illegal. Only through discovering more of the lived experiences of female international and cross-border marriage migrants can policies and processes be shaped to effectively address the growing challenges of ever-increasing international migration. 1 I n t r o d u c t i o n GENDER AND MARRIAGE MIGRATION The landscape of international relations in Northeast Asia is changing, and migration and other types of human flow within and between the countries of the region are becoming an important part of it. The state-centric approach to and view of international relations that prevailed in this part of the world during the Cold War can no longer describe or explain the logic and shape of emerging realities. 1 According to the editors of Women and Migration in Asia, “Migration is often perceived as being mainly a male movement, with women either being left behind or following their men folk as dependents. However, figures suggest that women have migrated in almost the same numbers as men.” 2 In fact, many scholars are now addressing what is referred to as the “feminization of migration”, recognizing that over half of the individuals who migrate throughout the world are women. Much of the current migration research continues to refer to a universalized category of “migrant”, thereby 1 Tomoko Nakamatsu, "International Marriage through Introduction Agencies: Social and Legal Realities of 'Asian' Wives of Japanese Men," Wife or Worker? Asian Women and Migration, ed. Nicola Piper and Mina Roces, Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, Inc., 2003: p1. 2 Sadhna Arya and Anupama Roy, "Series Introduction," Women and Migration in Asia: Poverty, Gender and Migration (2), ed. Sadhna Arya and Anupama Roy, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Inc., 2006:p9. 2 making the experiences of female migrants 3 largely invisible and ignoring the ways migration policies, laws and practices may affect men and women differently. Women’s activities generally tend to be devalued in most countries as female roles are relegated to the “private” sphere, while those of men are within the “public” sphere. 4 This public/private divide disadvantages women by making them less visible as citizens of the state or even less able to become citizens of the state. Beyond this, classic descriptions of female migration issues are explained as being created by the North-South global economic divide and trends in global capitalism. As discussed by Ann Tickner in her book, Gendering International Relations, “too often, Third World women have been portrayed as poor, powerless, and vulnerable, and in need of enlightenment from liberated western feminists.” 5 It is therefore essential for investigations into all types of female migration to investigate both economic and non-economic factors contributing to migration, asking questions “about 3 The universalization of the term “migrant” also limits the possibilities for investigation into migrant men, migrant women, migrant children, wives of migrants, husbands of migrants, children of migrants, etc. 4 This “public/private” divide usually refers to the divide of the “private” realm of the domestic (childcare, unpaid domestic work in one’s home, etc.) and the “public” realm of employment outside the home, politics, etc.). This is the way these terms will be used in this thesis. 5 J. Ann Tickner, Gendering World Politics: Issues and Approaches in the Post-Cold War Era, New York: Columbia UP, 2001: p135. 3 the linkages between the everyday lived experiences of women…and exercise of political and economic power at the state and global level.” 6 In addition to the economic factors which account for some of the increases in female migration, Ravinder Kaur, a professor of sociology writes: [N]ew factors such as newly developing markets for women’s work, improving levels of education and skill development, a greater desire for improving one’s own and one’s children’s lot, and the loosening of parental and societal control over women are becoming equally important. 7 And Nicola Piper, a sociologist studying gender and international labor migration, adds that international marriage is one of the fundamental motives for female migration whether unintended or deployed as a self-conscious strategy. 8 Because of the gradual opening of borders throughout East Asia, many women are seeking opportunities outside their home countries. 9 In addition to gendered patterns of migration, many policies which shape the experiences 6 J. S. Curtin, "Japanese Marriage Trends in 2002: Later Unions and More Diverse Families," Global Communications Platform from Japan, 03 Oct. 2002, Japanese Red Cross University, 12 Apr. 2007. <http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN016635.pdf>. 7 Ravinder Kaur, "Migrating for Work: Rewriting Gender Relations," Women and Migration in Asia: Poverty, Gender and Migration (2), ed. Sadhna Arya and Anupama Roy, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Inc., 2006: p195. 8 Nicola Piper and Mina Roces, "Introduction: Marriage and Migration in an Age of Globalization," Wife or Worker? Asian Women and Migration, ed. Nicola Piper and Mina Roces, Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, Inc., 2003: p4. 9 Throughout this paper, the terms “home country/-ies”, “sending country/-ies” and “sending state/-s” will be used interchangeably indicating the state in which a non-Japanese or non- Chinese migrant originally resided. As such, the terms “receiving state/-s”, “host country/-ies” and “receiving country/-ies” will be used in the same manner. 4 of female migrants are also gendered, whether related to emigration or immigration. 10 Such policies affect male and female migrants differently based on differences in reasons for migration, gender roles in home and host countries, and racial, ethnic and cultural perceptions and stereotypes in home and host countries. Theoretical Framework A great deal of migration research cites classic “push” and “pull” factors as those which are primarily responsible for marriage migration. On the “push side”, issues such as increasing contact between countries and regions, improved communications and knowledge of other places throughout the world, poor economic conditions in the home country, and a desire for a more prosperous future are often cited; while on the “pull side”, the high social and economic value attached to marriage, the shortage of women and related marriage market issues, and the increased mobility of women throughout the world. 11 It is also sometimes claimed that the men seeking international wives are “socio-economic losers.” 12 The “standard” story often cited is that women 10 Nicola Piper, "Gendering the Politics of Migration," International Migration Review 40.1 (2006): p134. 11 Delia Davin, "Marriage Migration in China and East Asia," Journal of Contemporary China 15 (2007): p87. 12 Nicola Piper, "International Marriage in Japan: 'Race' and 'Gender' Perspectives," Gender, Place and Culture 4 (1997): p328. 5 and children are forced to migrate out of their native, Third-World countries under the economic pressures of globalization 13 to supply the industrialized North and West with cheap, unskilled laborers, 14 resulting in poor, undereducated women being lured into indentured servitude as sex slaves for poor, rural men in industrialized countries. International Relations feminists, on the other hand, have investigated how the intersections of race, class, and gender, and other hierarchical social structures at the global level affect, and are affected by, the experiences and lives of individuals and their relationships to the state. 15 While the increase in international marriages has coincided with immigration pressures and a rising demand for labor in female-specific market sectors, 16 a multi-level feminist approach proves more useful than classic economic-based frameworks in the study of female migration, regardless of whether migration is for the purposes of labor or marriage. International migration is both a supply and demand- driven phenomenon, so in order to more thoroughly consider the types of migration issues which affect women, it is necessary to consider policies surrounding immigration and emigration policies, as well as the gendered, 13 Sadhna Arya and Anupama Roy. "Series Introduction." Women and Migration in Asia: Poverty, Gender and Migration (2). Ed. Sadnha Arya and Anupama Roy. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Inc., 2006: p8. 14 Owed Justice: Thai Women Trafficked Into Debt Bondage in Japan, Human Rights Watch, United States of America: Human Rights Watch, 2000: p13. 15 Tickner, 2001: p132. 16 Piper, 1999: p2. 6 economic, cultural, and social factors, practices and attitudes within the context of those policies. Certainly, gendered state policies affect female mobility in both sending and receiving states, and have an effect on why women migrate for marriage. What many studies neglect, however, is that “women's economy and decision- making power are central to the causal mechanism of international female migration.” 17 In effect, many studies have ignored women’s agency in their choices to migrate, instead focusing primarily on economic factors, family pressures, and other reasons. This demonstrates how an integrative, multi- level approach considering factors from the individual to the international provides a more thorough picture of female marriage migration. 18 “Since women have been marginalized in the labor market, with adverse effect on their capacity to earn, entering into marriage may offer them a better chance of economic security than remaining single.” 19 Some women find marriage migration as a means to escape the patriarchal gender expectations of their home countries, with ideas that foreign husbands may be more modern and open-minded or that they will enjoy greater freedoms and fewer burdens in their husband’s country. In truth, however, the rights 17 Nana Oishi, Women in Motion: Globalization, State Policies, and Labor Migration in Asia, Stanford: Stanford UP, 2005: p105. 18 Oishi: p12-14. 19 Nicola Piper, "Labor Migration, Trafficking and International Marriage: Female Cross-Border Movements into Japan," Asian Journal of Women’s_Studies 5.2 (1999): p69. 7 enjoyed by wives native to the host country may be out of reach for migrant women. Foreign women may be doubly disadvantaged – first because they are foreign, second because they are women. 20 At the same time, foreign wives can and sometimes do “benefit from international marriages in a way same-nationality wives do not,” 21 whether through limited expectations of them because of stereotypes of women in their home country, because money they earn is “theirs” to do with as they please, or for other reasons. In general, true citizenship is out of reach for many female migrants, whether migrating for labor or for marriage. In most states, the “identification of citizens and the definition of citizenship is derived from the representation of the behavior of a group with particular race, gender, and class characteristics as the model of citizenship for all individuals.” 22 Representations that caricaturize migrant women as “sexually wanton and licentious” have been used as strategies by the state to control the actions and inclusion of women, both by their gender and race. 23 The nation-state 20 Carolyn S. Stevens and Setsuko Lee, "Reproducing Identity: Maternal and Child Healthcare for Foreigners in Japan," Family and Social Policy in Japan: Anthropological Approaches, ed. Roger Goodman, Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002: p92. 21 Piper and Roces, 2003: p11. 22 Kathleen B. Jones, "Citizenship in a Woman-Friendly Polity," The Citizenship Debates: a Reader, ed. Gershon Shafir, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota P, 1998: p222. NOTE: Kathleen Jones references “white, male elites”. 23 Jones: p224. 8 establishes the rules of emigration and immigration, as well as the incorporation of immigrants into a state’s society and economy. 24 Restrictive immigration policies have “gendered the way legislators and civil servants thought about the legal identities of married women,” asking women to take on her husband’s nationality upon marriage. 25 Piper and Roces state, “Being a non-citizen, either married to a citizen or not, put any migrants in a vulnerable relation to the state.” 26 And Sadhna Arya, in Poverty, Gender and Migration, adds that accepting the view of migrant women as dependents, researchers and policy-makers may end up ignoring these women’s individual contributions. This, in turn, leads to analysis based on official figures which “give an inadequate account of the actual migration flows pertaining to women.” 27 This thesis seeks to add to the current literature about marriage migration by highlighting the intersections of economic and non-economic factors surrounding cross-border marriage migration into China and Japan. In an effort to make the lives of female marriage migrants more visible, I will use 24 James F. Hollifield, "The Politics of International Migration: How Can We 'Bring the State Back in'?" Migration Theory: Talking Across Disciplines, ed. Caroline B. Brettell and James F. Hollifield, New York: Routledge, 2000: p138. Due to limitations in the scope of this paper, I have chosen to avoid considering security issues with regard to citizenship. 25 Cynthia Enloe, Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics, 2nd ed. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California P, 2000: p191. 26 Piper and Roces, 2003: p15. 27 Arya and Roy: p10. 9 a multi-level feminist analysis to show how issues of gender, race and class intersect with policies, thereby shaping female international or cross-border marriage migration in China and Japan. Although the situations of migrants in Japan and China might appear to be very different at first glance, I will use a feminist perspective to show how a variety of gender and culturally-biased attitudes intersect with demographic changes to influence international marriage practices and policies in China and Japan. Japan’s policies have typically been designed to either “stem flows” of migrants, as in regulations which strictly limit the potential for long-term settlement of foreigners, or to “solicit flows,” 28 such as government efforts to bring in women as low-skilled laborers, entertainers or trainees while limiting their potentials for settlement as “wives”. The situation is much more complicated, however, as increasing numbers of foreign women are entering Japan’s workforce, and many Japanese women who do choose to marry and have children are doing so at later ages. These trends are driving Japan’s international marriage market with a dramatic 400% rise in the number of “international marriages” over the last 20 years. 29 In China, the situation is equally complicated. Research indicates that increasing numbers of foreign women are entering the country as illegal 28 Arya and Roy: p5. 29 Arya and Roy: p5. 10 “brides” for Chinese husbands. Traditional patriarchal beliefs surrounding marriage and family are being compounded by a growing gender imbalance resulting from the One Child Policy. Complex and contradictory processes of repatriation and deportation further demonstrate the challenges faced as China’s borders open – both to goods and to people. 30 30 As an American studying migration issues in North East Asia, I must acknowledge that my insights and investigation will be affected by experiences and cultural perceptions that come with a position of being a Westerner studying marriage migration from a First World perspective, however, throughout this thesis I’ve attempted to highlight a perspective with specific consideration to gender, race, class, state and ethnicity issues related to marriage migration in China and Japan. 11 C h a p t e r 1 THE FAÇADE OF HOMOGENEITY The current immigration policies of both China and Japan reflect the countries’ long-standing attempts at maintaining a façade of homogeneity. While Japan has long been a country built on immigration, particularly when considering the Chinese origins of Japanese civilization, it still “has one of the most highly restrictive immigration policies among advanced countries,” hinging, in part, on the continuing belief that all foreigners should only be allowed to settle in Japan on a temporary basis. China also has a myth of a homogeneous Chinese identity although it does not fit cleanly into any polarized view of migration flows, having now become a source, destination, and transit point for (female) migrants. 1 According to Delia Davin: The various terms denoting ‘the Chinese’ – ‘Children of the Yellow Emperor’, ‘Children of the Dragon’, ‘the Chinese people’, the ‘great Chinese people’ (‘Zhonghua Minzu’ or ‘Weidadi Zhongguo Renmin’) – have different political and historical resonances, but are all employed to promote a sense of community and commonality. The Chinese creation of ‘imagined community’, to use Anderson’s (1991) terminology, has been enormously successful. 2 1 Nana Oishi, Women in Motion: Globalization, State Policies, and Labor Migration in Asia, Stanford: Stanford UP, 2005: p5. 2 Delia Davin, Internal Migration in Contemporary China, New York: St. Martin P, Inc., 1999: p154. 12 In The Journal of Asian Studies, Dru Gladney, then a professor of Asian Studies and Anthropology at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 3 discusses China’s essentialization and representation of the Han as “normal” and “un- exotic” while simultaneously categorizing minorities as “exotic” and “erotic,” as critical to China’s identity. 4 These identities are often reflected in media portrayals of migrants as “at best a social problem and often as a major threat to order and progress,” 5 and through official restrictions placed on China’s non-citizen migrants. Women as Symbolic Property of the Nation It is often claimed that women are the “symbolic property of the nation” 6 and that state policies inject the preferred views and values into a society. In the case of Japan’s marriage migration issues, women remain the symbolic property of the sending state with Japan being a place where “women migrants are prohibited from ever becoming part of the Japanese household and lest they become naturalized citizens, a lengthy and difficult 3 Dru Gladney is currently President of the Pacific Basin Institute and Professor of Anthropology at Pomona College. 4 Dru C. Gladney, "Representing Nationality in China: Refiguring Majority/Minority Identities," The Journal of Asian Studies 53.1 (1994): p93-95. 5 Gladney: p154. 6 Oishi: p100-101. 13 process that hardly ever happens.” 7 In Japan’s “imagined community” (Anderson) of a homogeneous nation, immigration policy seems to stress “the importance of making newcomers ‘blend in’ and adapt to ‘Japanese culture;’” 8 however, the growing numbers of immigrants entering Japan for various reasons and the growing ethnic communities throughout Japan seem to be making the possibility of newcomers “adapting” to Japanese culture seem more remote. 9 Under Mao’s policies, equal rights for Chinese women were encouraged, but the historical favoritism for males remained – not only in birth preference, but also in social equality. Today, because of the continued patriarchal nature of Chinese society, many rural Chinese women are intrigued by possibilities of a new life away from the village where they were born and raised. They may be encouraged by their families to seek better jobs elsewhere, which, in turn, would provide their families with an escape from poverty. 10 As rural Chinese women migrate away from their home villages and the gender imbalance increases, the rural men left behind are forced to 7 Nicola Piper and Mina Roces, "Introduction: Marriage and Migration in an Age of Globalization," Wife or Worker? Asian Women and Migration, ed. Nicola Piper and Mina Roces, Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, Inc., 2003: p17. 8 Chris Burgess, Maintaining Identities: Discourses of Homogeneity in a Rapidly Globalizing Japan, Japanese and Australian Studies, Tsuda College, 2004. 9 Takeyuki Tsuda and Wayne A. Cornelius, "Japan: Government Policy, Immigrant Reality," Controlling Immigration: a Global Perspective, ed. Wayne A. Cornelius, Takeyuki Tsuda, Philip L. Martin and James F. Hollifield, Stanford: Stanford UP, 2004: p449. 10 "Calls to Curb Cross-Border Human Trafficking," China Daily 16 Dec. 2003, 10 Oct. 2005 <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-12/16/content_290868.htm>. 14 seek brides from other areas of China and from other countries such as Vietnam, North Korea, Burma and Thailand. Immigration and Marriage Policy in Japan The Immigration Control Act of 1952 was initially instituted to monitor foreigners returning to Japan, especially ethnic Japanese returning from China (often with their Chinese families) after World War II. In 1989, reform of the Immigration Control Law was implemented “in response to growing cross- border population movements and a sharp rise in the number of visa over- stayers,” 11 many of whom were women. In more recent years, public perception framed migrants as contributing to Japan’s rising crime rate, pressing for limitations on visa categories most often used by women, such as “entertainer” or “trainee”. 12 Without question, “a rather substantial gap has already emerged between Japanese immigration policy and its outcomes,” 13 and these gaps have had significant consequences, particularly for female marriage migrants entering Japan. 11 Chikako Kashiwazaki and Tsuneo Akaha, "Japanese Immigration Policy Responding to Conflicting Pressures," Migration Information Source, Nov. 2006, Keio University, Monterrey Institute of International Studies, 14 Apr. 2007 <http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/print.cfm?ID=487>. 12 Kashiwazaki and Akaha. 13 Tsuda and Cornelius: p440. 15 In 1996, a government panel acknowledged that Japan must let in more immigrants overall, while simultaneously recommending that the percentage of foreign nationals not be allowed to exceed 3% of the total population, roughly double the current percentage of 1.6%. 14 This policy, while aimed primarily at foreign workers in general, has also directly affected the situation of female marriage migrants coming into Japan. Japan’s official immigration policy bars many means of entry for women as unskilled or skilled migrants, sometimes relegating them to the category of “entertainer” (often indicating employment as a prostitute or sex worker) in order to gain initial entry into Japan. Instead of being portrayed as ordinary wives, female marriage migrants tend to be characterized through negative representations as sex workers.” 15 While some female marriage migrants have, in fact, “married” out of the entertainment industry, many have migrated specifically for the purpose of marriage or into a “legitimate” sector of the economy as a strategy to improve economic or legal security. Marriage migration is not counted in Japan’s official labor migration statistics, however, thereby ignoring many women, in their reasons and 14 Christian Caryl and Akiko Kashiwagi, "This is the New Japan: Immigrants are Transforming a Once Insular Society, and More of Them are on Their Way," Newsweek 11 Sept. 2006, Proquest, University of Southern California, 28 Apr. 2007 <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1122452741&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=4676&RQT=30 9&VName=PQD>. 15 Nicola Piper, "International Marriage in Japan: 'Race' and 'Gender' Perspectives," Gender, Place and Culture 4 (1997): p322. 16 methods for initially migrating to Japan, and in their economic contributions after marriage, 16 as well as in the lower-than-actual numbers counted for international marriage statistics. 17 These limited statistics on international marriages lead policy makers to stereotype the kinds of unions taking place between Japanese men and foreign women, often assuming that all foreign brides enter the country as “entertainers” or through the “sex trade”. Because of this, in 2005, Japanese diplomats announced a crackdown and investigation into the marriages between Filipina women and Japanese men, declaring that marriages only meant to gain entry to Japan would be nullified.” 18 This situation threatened, and continues to threaten, the marriages of a significant majority of Japanese/foreign couples. In order to marry at all, foreigners seeking a Japanese spouse in Japan must be sponsored by a Japanese citizen, and need to have their spouses’ signature on all visa applications and renewal forms for a minimum of the first five years of residency in Japan. 19 Considering that most foreign spouses are 16 Oishi: p36. 17 Makoto Sato, From Foreign Workers to Minority Residents: Diversification of International Migration in Japan, Centre for the Study of Globalization and Regionalization, Coventry, UK: University of Warwick, 2007, 4 Apr. 2007: p27. 18 "Japan Tightens Rule," Filipino Reporter 3 Feb. 2005, Vol 32, Iss 7 ed.: 10, Proquest, University of Southern California, 4 Apr. 2007 <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=805520431&Fmt=3&clientId69393&RQT=309&VNam e=PQD>. 19 Nicola Piper, "Labor Migration, Trafficking and International Marriage: Female Cross-Border Movements into Japan," Asian Journal of Women’s Studies 5.2 (1999): p91. 17 the wives of Japanese men, this puts these women in a significantly subordinated position to their husbands. Immigration and China’s Marriage Law In 2001, revisions to China’s Marriage Law were formally proposed for the first time since the 1980 Marriage Law’s implementation. 20 These amendments were designed to focus on the problem of balancing interests of the State with those of individuals within the institution of marriage. The revised marriage law reiterated issues about gender equality, “stressing the equal status of husband and wife and their equal rights and responsibilities in marriage and the family” 21 while they also “added language prohibiting domestic violence, created a system of compensation for losses due to divorce, and strengthened and improved the joint marital property system. The new revision also established a system for voiding marriage.” 22 20 Several sources note that discussions and debates surrounding proposed changes to the Marriage Law began as early as the mid 1990s. 21 "White Paper: Gender Equality in China." China Aids Survey. 2005. China HIV/AIDS Information Network (CHAIN). 5 June 2007 <http://www.casy.org/Chindoc/gender_whitepaper_05.htm#VII._Women,_Marriage_and_the _Family_>. The full text of the 2005 White Paper was published in August 2005 and discussed China’s progress in the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights in China since the mid 1990s. 22 Mingxia Chen. “The Marriage Law and the Rights of Chinese Women in Marriage and the Family”. Eds. Tao Jie, Zheng Bijun, Shirley L. Mow. Holding Up Half the Sky: Chinese Women Past, Present, and Future. (2004) Feminist Press at the City University of New York. New York, NY: p.159 18 Several scholars describe women in China today facing the classic double- burden problem: (A)s Chinese women have gained equality with men under the law, and economic pressures have limited the quality of life, more women are working outside the home. In the meantime, society has not changed its expectations of women in terms of their traditional position in the family but has actually placed even more expectations on women. Society now demands that women be not only good housewives but also good workers. 23 Even though women were considered “equal” under PRC law, many scholars point to the persistence of attitudes of male superiority and the subservience of women, 24 but in official policy, women had more freedom in saying "no" to unhappy marriages, and to both forming and dissolving them. 25 Simply bringing a foreign bride into China is not illegal. What is illegal, however, is the practice of “buying” a bride, although it is often interpreted by the Chinese men and their families as a modern twist on the use of matchmakers, a common practice throughout China’s history. Complex laws and regulations regarding marriage between Chinese citizens and foreigners increase the likelihood that marriages between Chinese husbands and foreign wives will lead to the undocumented status of a foreign bride. For example, the Provisions for the Registration of Marriage between Chinese Citizens and 23 Chen: p.165. 24 Chen: p.165. 25 “Marriage and the ‘me’ generation.” People’s Daily Online. 25 Nov 2004. 10 Oct 2005. <http://english.people.com.cn/200411/25/eng20041125_165180.html> 19 Foreigners, enacted in 1983, require that foreign spouses submit identifying documents, a residence permit, and a marital status certification to the Chinese government, 26 criteria that may be far out of reach for many foreign migrant women in China. While female migrants in China can often lead more “hidden lives” than can their male counterparts, largely because their lives are primarily within the private sphere, 27 this also leads to stereotyping as the exoticized and eroticized “other” as prostitutes, sex workers and victims of human trafficking. This process then additionally burdens female cross-border marriage migrants by subjugating them as not only women, already perceived to be second class citizens in Chinese society, but also as a minority “other”. While some argue that migration promotes female autonomy, Delia Davin points out that “no individual can have complete autonomy within the family-based society of rural China” 28 and cautions against exaggeration of the potential autonomy achieved by female migrants. She writes, “Without doubt, migration creates challenges to traditional gender roles and the family 26 Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, Provisions for the Registration of Marriage between Chinese Citizens and Foreigners, 2006, 1 June 2007 <http://www.gov.cn/english/2005-07/29/content_18377.htm>. 27 Norma Kang Muico, An Absence of Choice: the Sexual Exploitation of North Korean Women in China, Anti-Slavery International, 2005, 10 June 2007: p2. <http://www.antislavery.org/homepage/resources/PDF/Full%20Korea%20report%202005.pdf >. 28 Davin, 1999: p127. 20 hierarchy. Like all social change it also causes new social tensions and greater stresses in individual relationships.” 29 At present, like most nations, China’s state policy leans toward addressing migration and trafficking concerns in terms of the illegal movement of persons across borders. Feminist scholars argue for the modification of these policies, showing how “[a] number of discriminatory rules apart from social practices, manifested in restrictive racially discriminatory immigration laws, or patriarchal practices of the sending and receiving countries, push women into conditions that augment their vulnerability.” 30 Because of issues surrounding the illegal status of the person trafficked into the receiving country, female migrants are constrained and left vulnerable to exploitation in the form of physical or sexual abuse, or to work conditions similar to bonded labor and indentured servitude. Another complication is that both in China and throughout the world, a large number of female migrants are “concentrated in the sex-related entertainment industry that has grown alongside global restructuring of capitalist production and investment.” 31 Cultural and policy bias against sex workers demonstrated through laws prohibiting or regulating prostitution and migration, also contributes to the oppressive nature of migrant women’s lives. 29 Davin, 1999: p129. 30 Arya and Roy: p41. 31 Arya and Roy: p33. 21 Particularly in the case of sex workers, a heightened degree of “vulnerability (comes) from the fact that the profession continues to be seen as degrading and disruptive both by the law and by society.” 32 Demographic Changes Many scholars point to changing demographics as key reasons why so many women are migrating to China and Japan and marrying Japanese or Chinese husbands. Factors in both countries include low fertility rates, ageing populations, and a greater participation of women in the work force. In Japan, among the common issues cited are the shrinking and ageing of Japan’s population, Japan’s highly-educated citizenry, and what Tsuda and Cornelius refer to as the “depletion of previously underutilized sources of labor power.” 33 The most visible depletion in one of these “underutilized” sources is the number of Japanese wives available (whether willing or not) to participate in Japan’s labor force. According to Sumiko Shimizu, a former Japanese legislator and advocate for gender equality, “Younger women want to work and enjoy their independent lifestyles. Marriage in Japan carries heavy social responsibilities 32 Arya and Roy: p23. 33 Tsuda and Cornelius: p444. 22 for women, which is why they delay tying the knot.” 34 Surveys show that Japanese women today view the institution of marriage much more negatively than do Japanese men. 35 They tend to take issue with Japan’s traditional sexual division of labor claiming that the old view of the salaryman, who cannot be fully devoted to the company without the support of a homemaker wife, is outdated in its insinuations that the Japanese economy depends on the exclusion of women from the workforce so they may take on the traditional roles of wife and mother. 36 Many young Japanese women are now seeking educational and career opportunities outside the home, leading to what some refer to as a demographic “crisis”. 37 As quoted from an article in Asiaweek, “The best and brightest (Japanese women) are snubbing men, marriage and baby-making for work, fun and adventure.” 38 Kelsey, in Women on the Verge, writes that this assertion of a ”new self” is based on a shift as Japanese women shun the “insular and outdated Japanese values to what 34 Suvendrini Kakuchi, "Population: Japan Tries to Make Motherhood More Attractive," 11 Jan. 2006, Global Information Network, Proquest, University of Southern California, 19 Apr. 2007 <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did+965786111&Fmt=3&clientId=69396&RQT=309&VNa me=PQD>. 35 Gavin W. Jones, "Not 'When to Marry' But 'Whether to Marry': the Changing Context of Marriage Decisions in East and Southeast Asia," (Un)Tying the Knot: Ideal and Reality in Asian Marriage, ed. Gavin W. Jones and Kamalini Ramdas, Singapore: Asia Research Institute, 2004: p18. 36 Karen Kelsky, Women on the Verge: Japanese Women, Western Dreams, Durham and London: Duke UP, 2001: p91. 37 Carolyn S. Stevens and Setsuko Lee, "Reproducing Identity: Maternal and Child Healthcare for Foreigners in Japan," Family and Social Policy in Japan: Anthropological Approaches, ed. Roger Goodman, Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002: p96. 38 Gavin Jones: p19. 23 they characterize as an expansive, a liberating international space of free and unfettered self-expression, personal discovery, and romantic freedom.” 39 Japanese men, however, still seem to be seeking traditional wives, but as the expectations for equality grow among Japanese women – both in the ability to have a career and for the sharing of responsibilities inside the home – so do their expectations of marriage and husbands. These heightened expectations are not only leading to a decline in Japan’s marriage rate, but also to a continuing rise in the country’s divorce rate. 40 While the Japanese state needs immigrant workers and also needs to increase the overall fertility rate, it would require hundreds of thousands of mixed-race children be born to Japanese and immigrant families. At the same time, Japan continues to be “worried” by immigrants having babies, although birth rates tend to be higher among foreign wives than they are among Japanese women. 41 China’s strict family-planning measures, known as the “One Child Policy,” 42 along with cultural favoritism for male children and increasingly 39 Kelsky: p87. 40 Dennis Altman, Global Sex, Chicago and London: University of Chicago P, 2001: p3. 41 Roger Goodman, "Anthropology, Policy and the Study of Japan," Family and Social Policy in Japan: Anthropological Approaches, ed. Roger Goodman, Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002: p16. 42 Because of China’s large and rapidly-growing population, family planning has become “a fundamental State policy”. According to the law, often referred to as the One-Child Policy, “Citizens have the right to reproduction a well as the obligation to practice family planning according to law.” Measures advocate having no more than one child per couple, unless under specific circumstances; and encourage family planning through contraception, reduction or prevention of unwanted pregnancies, and rewards for couples who have only one child, or 24 dramatic economic disparities are leading to a growing gender imbalance approaching 140 men for every 100 women in some regions, and projections estimate that by 2020, nearly 40 million Chinese men will be unable to find a wife. 43 Not only is the gender disparity being exacerbated by traditional male preference and China’s one-child population control policy, but also by internal migration of rural women to urban areas, and by a large number of well- educated, independent Chinese women who are becoming more selective about who they marry. Because of the shortage of marriageable women in China’s rural areas, more and more poor rural families are turning to women from other countries as brides. While the gender imbalance increases, however, traditional expectations remain. To properly fulfill their filial duties, Chinese men are expected to marry. This expectation, along with the much-publicized gender imbalance, is leading to a growing issue of human trafficking in foreign brides among China’s rural populations. While exorbitant dowries and betrothal gifts were the way of the past, newer trends include the illegal buying and selling who marry late or delay childbearing. Article 22 of the law prohibits abuse against women who give birth to baby girls, and prohibits discrimination against, maltreatment or abandonment of female infants. Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, Population and Family Planning Law of the People’s Republic of China (Order of the President No. 63), 29 Dec 2001, 14 June 2007 <http://english.gov.cn/laws/2005-10/11/content_75954.htm> 43 Eric Baculinao, "China Grapples with Legacy of Its 'Missing Girls': Disturbing Demographic Imbalance Spurs Drive to Change Age-Old Demographic," NBC News, 14 Sept. 2004, 12 Oct. 2005 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5953508>. 25 of infant girls, children and young women – both from within and outside of China’s borders 44 – to serve as the future brides of the increasingly disproportional male population. And while Chinese women find the divorce process relatively easy, many trafficked women are forced to remain in illegal marriage situations because of the high price their “husband” or his family paid for them. Through restrictive immigration policies and marriage regulations, the idea of a homogeneous nation in either Japan or China is nothing more than an “imagined community”. Demographic changes within the countries, as well as culturally-influenced and gender-biased attitudes clearly intersect with the needs of the state and its citizens. In terms of population, international marriage migrants may be a partial answer to the demographic crisis resulting from low fertility rates, ageing populations and increasing numbers of women choosing to marry at later ages or not at all. But how and why are men choosing brides from outside China and Japan in the first place? And why are the women involved in cross-border marriages choosing Japanese and Chinese husbands, particularly with the policy barriers in place for marriage and citizenship? 44 Previous research I’ve conducted lists “prices” for illegally trafficked women within China around $1,250 (USD) while women brought in from North Korea and Vietnam “cost” between $250 and $800. 26 C h a p t e r 2 MARRIAGE: MATCHMAKING AND BRIDE BUYING Japan’s International and Cross-Border Marriages Marriages between Japanese men and foreign women (from the countries discussed within this paper), commonly referred to as “international marriages,” began steadily increasing after the 1980s. 1 Since 1996, “the majority of registered foreigners in Japan have been women,” 2 mirroring trends that most cross-national marriage migrants tend to be women. In 2004, international marriages made up 5.5% of the total marriages taking place in Japan. 3 Of all foreign wives married to Japanese men in 2001, official statistics by the World Bank found that 44% of foreign brides were Chinese, 22% were Filipinas, 19% were Korean, 6% were Thai, and 1% was made up of US and 1 Nicole Constable, "Introduction: Cross-Border Marriages, Gendered Mobility, and Global Hypergamy," Cross-Border Marriages: Gender and Mobility in Transnational Asia, ed. Nicole Constable, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania P, 2005: p5. 2 Oishi, Nana. Women in Motion: Globalization, State Policies, and Labor Migration in Asia. Stanford: Stanford UP, 2005: p34. 3 Caryl, Christian, and Akiko Kashiwagi. "This is the New Japan: Immigrants are Transforming a Once Insular Society, and More of Them are on Their Way." Newsweek 11 Sept. 2006. Proquest. University of Southern California. 28 Apr. 2007 http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1122452741&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=4676&RQT=309 &VName=PQD>. 27 Peruvian brides. 4 This is not surprising since “East and Southeast Asian countries that send the largest number of immigrants to Japan (Korea, China, the Philippines, and Thailand) are the ones that receive the most Japanese foreign direct investment and trade,” 5 and because of the extensive transnational networks facilitating labor and smuggling from these principal source countries. 6 The types of foreign brides preferred by Japanese men are characterized by a variety of stereotypes which highlight the perceived cultural, racial, and economic similarities and differences between Japan and other Asian nations. This underscores the tendencies of gender bias and racism in Japanese society, ranging from fear of the exotic “other,” fueled by general trends of increasing migration within the global economy, 7 to the belief that the institution of marriage is taken more seriously by women from more “traditional” backgrounds. 8 Certain desirable characteristics such as gentleness, humbleness and patience –once glorified as traits of Japanese women – have now been shifted 4 Delia Davin, "Marriage Migration in China and East Asia," Journal of Contemporary China 15 (2007): p93. 5 Tsuda, Takeyuki, and Wayne A. Cornelius. "Japan: Government Policy, Immigrant Reality." Controlling Immigration: a Global Perspective. Ed. Wayne A. Cornelius, Takeyuki Tsuda, Philip L. Martin, and James F. Hollifield. Stanford: Stanford UP, 2004: p.447. 6 Tsuda and Cornelius: p.448. 7 Altman, Dennis. Global Sex. Chicago and London: University of Chicago P, 2001: p142. 8 Constable: p.9. 28 toward other Asian women as Japanese women are more commonly characterized as being too Western. Religious and language differences are typically minimized or made to seem a positive characteristic, allowing for the characterization of some women, such as Filipinas, as being “just like” (or “better than”) a Japanese wife. Poverty is another stereotype which enables Japanese men to believe that foreign wives would be more dependent on them, thereby reinforcing male superiority and the patriarchal structure of Japan. Toko Nakamatsu, an Asian Studies expert at the University of Western Australia writes, “Regardless of her race, a foreign bride was constructed to pose no threat to a Japanese man's preeminence in marriage.” 9 Not only should a foreign bride not threaten her husband’s preeminence in marriage, but as a woman, a foreign bride should also not threaten her husband’s preeminence and status as a male in Japanese society. 10 9 Toko Nakamatsu. “Faces of ‘Asian Brides’: Gender, Race, and Class in the Representations of Immigrant Women in Japan.” Women’s Studies International, Vol.28, Iss.5 (Sep/Oct 2005): p.405. Proquest. USC, Los Angeles. 7 Apr 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1011067061&Fmt=2&clientId=69396&RQT=309& VName=PQD 10 In this section, this paper has attempted to include background information for the largest groups of women becoming foreign brides in Japan, however, there are large variations in the amount of materials available to do so. A great deal of literature exists for Filipina and nikkejin brides, while much less can be found for women from other countries. 29 When asked why Japanese men are marrying immigrant women instead of Japanese brides, Yoshimura Fujiharu, the president of an international dating and marriage service, answered: My opinion is that international marriage is a circle of the weak. The weak of the world always look for women outside their country…weaker women. So, weak white men marry Japanese women, who are of lower status. Then, weak Japanese men marry Thais or Filipinas. Chinese women try to marry Japanese men. Middle-aged, divorced Japanese women pick up Middle Eastern men in Japan. The Middle Eastern guys want young, sexy Japanese women, but can’t have them. The middle aged Japanese women want Japanese men but can't have them. 11 Many of the stereotypes and representations of Asian and Latin American women are based on Japan’s colonial past, perceived ethnic or racial similarities, and the status of the immigrant’s country of origin. 12 Ethnic Japanese, referred to as nikkeijin, are usually 3 rd and 4 th generation descendants of former Japanese emigrants who left Japan for Brazil and Latin America. Stereotypes based on Japan’s colonial past are reflected in the sizeable ethnic Chinese and Korean communities throughout Japan. Vast amounts of negative media attention given to “sex tourism” have also stereotyped women from countries such as the Philippines and Thailand. 11 Kelsky, Karen. Women on the Verge: Japanese Women, Western Dreams. Durham and London: Duke UP, 2001: p.133. 12 Oishi: p.55. 30 The Japanese government has justified the desirable return of nikkeijin by admitting as permanent residents only those who can prove their ancestry. Additionally, the government has “assumed that the nikkeijin would be culturally similar to the Japanese and would assimilate smoothly into Japanese society, in contrast to other foreigners.” 13 A statement by Japan’s most powerful political party, the Liberal Democratic Party, said: If we accept Asians in large numbers… it would destroy the ethnic composition of Japan which is close to an ethnically homogeneous nation-state. However, if it is our nikkeijin brethren, even if they can't speak Japanese adequately, we are not as concerned. 14 Even though nearly 80% of nikkeijin are Catholic and bound to the traditions of Brazilian culture and the Portuguese language, 15 many Japanese men who marry immigrant wives prefer ethnic Japanese brides from Brazil so their children look more “Japanese.” These nikkeijin wives may physically appear Japanese; however, they are still considered foreigners with many of the same restrictions applied to other groups. 13 Tsuda and Cornelius: p455. 14 Dietrich Thranhardt. “Tainted Blood: the Ambivalence of Ethnic Migration in Israel, Japan, Korea, Germany and the United States.” German Policy Studies. (Fall 2003): p280. Expanded Academic ASAP. USC, Los Angeles. 7 Apr 2007. <http://find.galegroup.com/itx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC- Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=EAIM&docId=A144352705&source=gal e&srcprod=EAIM&userGroupName=usocal_main&version=1.0>. 15 Thranhardt: p283. 31 In recent years, Latin America has been another source of nikkeijin as significant numbers of returnees have settled in urban areas throughout Japan. Although Latin American nikkeijin come from countries as diverse as Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Columbia, over 80% of the immigrants continue to successfully claim Japanese ancestry. 16 A large proportion of these migrants are women, and while intending to migrate to Japan only temporarily, because of the limited options for entry into Japan, many obtain their initial visas through marriage. In the 1990s, a backlog of official requests for passports and marriage certificates left large numbers of Peruvian, Columbian and Argentinean wives of Japanese husbands undocumented and facing deportation. 17 In the Philippines, the “family” is a direct reflection of the “nation,” a moral stance widely held, which, in turn, encourages strong marriages and strong families. 18 Former Filipino President Fidel Ramos was quoted in a speech saying, “It would be morally acceptable only for single and childless women to migrate,” because of the duty Filipino women have within their families. The widely-held view in the Philippines is that women may 16 Rafael Reyes-Ruiz. “Creating Latino Communities in the Tokyo-Yokohama Metropolitan Area.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. Vol.31, Iss.1 (2005): p.151. Questia. Los Angeles. 14 Apr 2007. <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5009316597>. 17 Reyez-Ruiz: p155-156. 18 Rhacel Salazar Parrenas. Children of Global Migration: Transnational Families and Gendered Woes. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2005: p35. 32 participate in the labor force so long as their participation does not dislodge the ideal of separate “public” and “private” spheres, meaning that “women can work (outside the home), but not to the extent that doing so would displace the breadwinning status of men” 19 or their responsibilities to their husbands, children and families. Filipinas in contemporary Japan have been primarily discussed in light of the influx of Japayuki or “Japan-bound” entertainers working in night entertainment businesses in urban centers and of hanayome or brides married to rural men. 20 Hanayome are often considered “victims” because they are brought into Japan with money paid by their husbands-to-be, many of whom had been unsuccessful in finding Japanese brides. These women are assumed to be compelled to marry their Japanese husbands and fulfill their role as dutiful daughter for their new in-laws, as well as for their families and the Philippines. While this may be true in some cases, such a generalization makes those women who enter into such marriages by an active choice much more difficult to “see”. The issue of continued relationships with families in the home country is not only a concern in terms of citizenship within the Japanese state, but also 19 Salezar Parrenas: p59. 20 Nobue Suzuki. “Filipina Modern: ‘Bad’ Filipino Women in Japan.” Bad Girls of Japan. Ed. Laura Miller and Jan Bardsley. Hampshire, England: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005: p161. 33 for husbands whose wives maintain strong ties and financial commitments to the families they left behind. For example, when interviewed by researchers, some Japanese husbands and in-laws expressed frustration with remittances the Filipino wives wanted to send home to their extended families, in part because Filipinas are usually assumed to be of lower economic status than their Japanese husbands, but also because of the expectation that a new wife will better join her husband’s family by reducing her relationship with family in the Philippines. Toko Nakamatsu in the article “Faces of ‘Asian Brides’: Gender, Race and Class in the Representations of Immigrant Women in Japan” explains how this taboo could be seen as surprising “as brides were not supposed to have such needs despite the promotion of Asian family values which would make remittance a logical responsibility for these women”. 21 In effect, while traditional “Asian family values” are among the key reasons Japanese men preferred Filipino wives, that same feature made them more likely to send sizeable remittances back to their extended families in the Philippines after marriage to a Japanese husband. A common misperception in Japan is that Filipina women are prostitutes who, even if they migrated for the purposes of marriage, are simply in search of a visa. The social stigma associated with the sex trade 21 Toko Nakamatsu: p411. 34 that “Filipina women would do anything for money” is then attached to Filipina women’s marriages. 22 In dealing with these stereotypes from Japanese people and from within their own families, some Filipina women expressed deep shame regarding the perception that they would marry a Japanese man simply to obtain a visa because of their Catholic beliefs in the “sacrament of marriage.” 23 The most notable difference between Korean wives participating in international marriages and other groups is that the Korean community and various networks in Japan were established long ago, due to Japan’s colonization of Korea prior to World War II. These networks then facilitate easier access for relatives and acquaintances to enter Japan, whether for labor or marriage. 24 Among older ethnic Koreans in Japan, there is a tendency “to choose their marriage partners from within their own ethnic community,” 25 while younger Japanese Koreans tend to marry Japanese citizens. Some Japanese men also seek ethnic Korean women from rural China, according to one marriage broker, for the simple (and clearly stereotypical) reason that 22 Lieba Faier. “Filipina Migrants in Rural Japan and Their Professions of Love.” American Ethnologist. Vol.34, No.1. (2007): p154-155. 23 Faier: p155-156. 24 Piper, 2003: p6-7. 25 Mika Mervio. “Koreans in Japan and Shimane.” Crossing National Borders: Human Migration Issues in Northeast Asia. Ed. Tsuneo Akaha and Anna Vassilieva. Tokyo, Japan: United Nations University Press: 2005: p154. 35 Korean women have similar food preferences and understand Japanese traditions of filial piety. 26 The prevalence of Chinese women among foreign brides of Japanese men is considered surprising because of the hostile historical relationship between China and Japan, but may also be a reflection of closer relations developing between the two countries. In the past, Chinese immigrants aroused prejudice and suspicion, but now China is the “country of choice” for many foreign spouses. 27 Some men refer to the desirable physical resemblance between Chinese and Japanese, or to a greater ease the new couples would have to communicate through their languages’ shared written characters. 28 Tokyo’s governor, however, like many Japanese who resist the inclusion of Chinese among foreign brides, calls Chinese immigration a source 26 Sonni Efron. “Trousseau of Change for Japan: Marriages with Foreign Women – typically young Asians wedding older rural men – have risen sharply. The trend is forcing a new look at laws and attitudes – even in tradition-bound villages.” Los Angeles Times. 18 Feb 1997, Home ed., sec. A: 1. Proquest. USC, Los Angeles. 19 Apr 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=11116728&Fmt=3&clientId=69402&RQT=309&VN ame=PQD 27 French, Howard W. “For More Japanese, Love is a Multiethnic Thing”. The New York Times. East Coast, Late ed., sec.A:3. Proquest. USC, Los Angeles. 17 Apr 2007. <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=143907601&Fmt=3&clientId=69401&RQT=309& VName=PQD>. 28 The Japanese kanji system of writing, while not including as many characters as Chinese writing and having different pronunciations, was originally borrowed from China. Even with modifications that have happened over time, many Chinese people understand Japanese kanji, and many Japanese understand (even modernized) Chinese written characters. 36 of “genetic pollution.” 29 Because of such hostilities, many Chinese parents married to Japanese nationals keep their identity secret in order to protect their children. In some stories, Chinese wives use Japanese names and refuse to acknowledge their heritage. Thai women are also popular wives for rural Japanese men, although not as preferable as nikkeijin, Chinese, Korean or Filipino women. One 51- year-old shopkeeper in rural Japan acknowledged this hierarchy by saying, “I realized that if I didn't get a bride from Thailand, I would spend the rest of my life alone.” 30 In his retelling, he was turned down for marriage by the first Thai woman introduced to him by a marriage broker, so out of desperation, he picked out a different 20-year-old Thai bride from a group of 30 women brought to him by the marriage broker. As a tool to slow the rate of decline among rural populations, some “local authorities have been helping unmarried middle-aged farmers find foreign wives.” 31 For these policymakers, encouraging international marriages and having children born from such unions, thus preventing the depopulation of their towns and villages, helps ensure their political authority and power base. This brings the issues of marriage and infertility directly to the forefront 29 "Japan, Korea," Migration News 9 (2002), 15 June 2007. <http://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/more.php?id=3057_0_3_0>. 30 Efron. 31 Oishi: p36. 37 of the political sphere. 32 Because of what is considered the “bride famine”, many administrators have begun looking beyond Japan’s borders to recruit brides for rural Japanese husbands. In many instances, specific categories of immigration are designed for the women who come from overseas as marriage partners for rural Japanese men. 33 A small city in Tokushima Prefecture, for example, brought six Filipino brides into Japan as a result of a bilateral agreement with the city of Santiago in the Philippines. 34 Hideyuki Kobayashi, a legal advisor who has arranged many international marriages, cites such agreements as a means of helping to “internationalize” rural Japan, saying “the times do change for the better, (the villages) internationalize at least a little… people who never bought a dictionary buy a Chinese conversation book. In these little villages, 70 and 80 and 90 year old grannies are saying ‘Ni hao’ (hello in Chinese).” 35 China: Bride Buying and Human Trafficking Like most countries, the process of selecting a spouse in China involves consideration of an individual’s characteristics, ranging from age and 32 Toko Nakamatsu. 33 Vera Mackie. "Embodiment, Citizenship and Social Policy in Contemporary Japan." Family and Social Policy in Japan: Anthropological Approaches. Ed. Roger Goodman. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002: p218. 34 Nobue Suzuki. “Transgressing ‘Victims’: Reading Narratives of ‘Filipina Brides’ in Japan.” Critical Asian Studies. Vol.35:1 (2003): p404. 35 Efron. 38 education level to physical characteristics, class and personality. 36 Unlike other nations, however, the hukou system 37 has led to unique challenges in China’s marriage market. Under the current hukou system, rural residents were restricted from registering a new residence upon moving to an urban city, restricting migrants’ access to many public services “such as education, medical care, housing and employment.” 38 Recent reports claim forthcoming gradual changes in the hukou system will address the divides between rural and urban residents, but nationwide reform of the household registration system will take years to plan and implement. UNICEF studies have indicated that women have typically come from the poor, rural southwest and northwest provinces of China and migrate, legally or illegally, into more developed provinces or nations. 39 With its rapid economic development and increased buying power, however, China has now 36 Cindy C. Fan, "Marriage and Migration in Transitional China: a Field Study of Gauzhou, Western Guangdong," Environment and Planning 34 (2002): p622-633. 37 Chuanjiao Xie, "Hukou System Set for Change," China Daily 24 May 2007, 2 June 2007 <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-05/24/content_879187.htm>. While supposedly changing in 2007, the hukou system, originally established in 1958 to control population migration from rural to urban areas, limits the opportunities for rural Chinese to officially change their registration, no matter how long they have lived or worked in an urban area. Because of their “unofficial” status, “the estimated 120 million plus rural residents working in the cities suffer many restrictions regarding access to public services such as education, medical care, housing and employment.” 38 Xie. 39 George Wehrfritz, "Kidnapped Sons for Sale," Newsweek 7 Sept. 1998, Proquest, University of Southern California, 2 Oct. 2005 <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=95239796&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=4676&RQT= 309&VName=PQD>. 39 become a destination for female marriage migrants, as well as a source for exportable and exploitable labor within China and around the world, demonstrating the relationships between policy, poverty and migration. 40 The U.S. State Department acknowledges that information on human trafficking in China is “hard to come by because of a lack of openness by the government. But…evidence exists that China faces a significant amount of sex exploitation, forced servitude and forced marriages.” 41 Unfortunately, reliable statistics on foreign brides in China are difficult to find, largely due to the “illegal” and clandestine nature of human trafficking. The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) notes that while it was once a “pre-revolutionary custom,” the buying and selling of women for marriage has become increasingly more common in rural China. With the cost of traditional betrothal gifts, or “bride price,” as much as $4,000 (USD), purchasing brides through illegal channels has become more reasonable to many rural families. 42 Even though the prices of illegally purchased Chinese 40 Sadhna Arya and Anupama Roy, “When Poor Women Migrate: Unraveling Issues and Concerns,” Women and Migration in Asia: Poverty, Gender and Migration (2), ed. Sadnha Arya and Anupama Roy, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Inc., 2006: p27. 41 Foster Klug, "Lawmakers Urge China to Fight Human Trafficking More Vigorously," Financial Times and the America's Intelligence Wire 7 Mar. 2006, Access My Library, USC, 5 Apr. 2006. <http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-13800086_ITM>. 42 Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Harsh Chinese Reality Feeds a Black Market in Women," The New York Times 25 June 2001, 17 Oct. 2005 <http://www.vachss.com/help_text/styles/archive-print.php>. 40 brides seem more reasonable, ranging between $1,250 and $2,500, 43 for some poor families even this price is too much. 44 In recent years, increasing numbers of women have been trafficked from countries bordering China to become the wives of Chinese men. Rural men in search of a bride are often too poor to pay for an expensive Chinese bride, so they turn to countries like Vietnam, Burma, Thailand and North Korea instead. In the words of one villager, “It costs dearly to get a Chinese girl for a wife. People would look down upon you if you don’t have money or a wife. Having a Vietnamese bride is cheaper but will nevertheless earn you respect. At least you have a family.” 45 In the Autonomous Korean Prefecture of Yanbian in Jilin province bordering North Korea, for example, the “going rate” for an illegal North Korean bride is about $600, 46 while Vietnamese women 43 Samantha Marshall, "Vietnamese Women are Kidnapped and Later Sold in China as Brides," Wall Street Journal 3 Aug. 1999, 7 Oct. 2005 <http://www.wright.edu/%7Etdung/bride_vn.htm>. 44 Davin, Delia. Internal Migration in Contemporary China. New York: St. Martin_P, Inc., 1999: p148-149. Interestingly, Delia Davin was the only author I found who mentioned another side to the marriage migration issue – that of women using their potential husbands. In Internal Migration in Contemporary China, she discusses stories where women work with brokers to extract bride prices from ageing bachelors. 45 Guihua Ma, "Trade in Vietnamese Brides a Boon for Chinese," Asia Times 14 Nov. 2002, 8 Oct. 2005 <http://www.atimes.com/atimes/printN.html>. 46 "Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation: China and Hong Kong: Trafficking," Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, 8 Oct. 2005 <http://www.catwinternational.org/factbook/China%20and%20Hong%20Kong.php>. 41 near Yunnan, a southern province which shares a border with Vietnam, usually draw between $250 and $800, 47 although sometimes much less. Flows of illegal migrants from North Korea into northeastern China have been going on for centuries; however, the massive famine between 1995 and 1998, which cost the lives of millions of North Koreans, coupled with China’s growing gender imbalance, have trigged massive illegal migration flows into China. 48 North Korea retains strict controls on emigration as a means to maintain its self-imposed isolation. At the same time, its “failed economic system and natural disasters, including flooding and droughts” 49 have added to the numbers of North Koreans illegally migrating out of the country, whether temporarily or permanently. Because of the internal situation in North Korea, many women seek marriage as a means of remaining in China once they cross the border, whether that crossing was by choice or due to trafficking. Stories of trafficked women in North Korea describe tales of marriage brokers who promise better lives in China for women who are willing to marry Korean-Chinese or Chinese men. Other women are sold by their husbands, lured with false promises of employment, or forced to work in the sex industry. 47 Marshall. 48 Muico: p1. 49 Tsuneo Akaha, "Cross-Border Human Flows in Northeast Asia," Migration Information Source, Oct. 2004, Monterey Institute of International Studies, 14 June 2007 <http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=257>. 42 A flip side to discussions of trafficking and coercion of North Korean women into marriages with Chinese husbands is that marriage may be “a survival mechanism that provides [North Korean women] with the basic necessities of food, water and shelter, plus an opportunity to support family members in North Korea.” 50 Marriage to Chinese husbands may actually provide greater security to illegal North Korean migrant women than does remaining single. According to Ma Guihua, “the easing of border restrictions between China and Vietnam has provided a boon to impoverished Chinese farmers: a steady influx of Vietnamese brides.” 51 The normalization of diplomatic ties in 1989 opened the gates for goods and people to pass between the two countries. Although buying wives is illegal under Chinese law, many of the men involved view the process as a method of matchmaking. Citing the high costs of paying for traditional betrothal gifts, one man interviewed for Ma’s article claimed to have paid only 400 yuan for his Vietnamese wife, the equivalent of US $48. 52 While significant numbers of wives in some rural areas of China are from Vietnam, few Chinese-Vietnamese couples go through the legal 50 Muico: p6. 51 Ma, 2002. 52 Ma, 2002. 43 formalities of marriage or registering their children. In fact, one study of “Vietnamese migrant women who had once lived in China found that close to 30 percent had been sold as brides” 53 while another report cites that of 1,000 Vietnamese women illegally residing in Guangxi, “80% of them were victims of trafficking.” 54 The primary reasons for emigration from Vietnam are economic. “Despite high growth rates in the 1990s and remarkable achievements in poverty reduction, together with the growth rate of the private sector and its capacity for job creation, unemployment has risen in Vietnam every year.” 55 Excess domestic labor and increasing numbers of people being drawn overseas by the potential for higher incomes elsewhere has led the Vietnamese government to engage in “actively promoting overseas migration with the double aim to ease domestic under- and unemployment, and to increase the inflow of remittances.” 56 53 Chapter 2: a Mighty But Silent River: Women and Migration, UNFPA State of World Population 2006, UNFPA, 2006, 12 June 2007: p6. <http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2006/english/chapter_2/index.html>. 54 Wang Yi, Anti-Human Trafficking Program in Vietnam: Trafficking in Women and Children From Vietnam to China: Legal Framework and Government Responses, Oxfam, Quebec, 2005, 15 June 2007: p8. <http://www.tipinasia.info/files/doc/2/0/202/Anti- trafficking%20program%20in%20Vietnam.pdf>. 55 Dang Nguyen Anh, Cecilia Tacoli, and Hoang Xuan Thanh, Migration in Vietnam: a Review of Information on Current Trends and Patterns, and Their Policy Implications, Asia-Pacific Economic Center, International Institute for Environment and Development, and Ageless Consultants, Hanoi, Vietnam and London, UK, 2003, 22 May 2007 <http://www.livelihoods.org/hot_topics/docs/Dhaka_CP_7.pdf>. 56 Anh, Tacoli, and Thanh. 44 Another source of international brides entering China is Burma. Women from the Kachin ethnic communities in Burma report being “transported as far as provinces in north-eastern China for the purpose of being sold as wives to Chinese men.” 57 Characteristics making Kachin women attractive to Chinese husbands stem largely from the traditional gender roles in male-dominated Kachin society. Women are expected to serve their husbands and serve as care-givers within families, and “Kachin women are expected to be chaste before marriage.” Although civil war and isolationist policies left little trade between China and Burma before 1988, the “open door” policies which began in 1989 opened up border trade and led to population growth in border towns. 58 Burmese women have migrated to these sites in search of employment, but poverty and lack of employment opportunities have left many subject to human trafficking and bride buying. According to Human Rights Watch, Burma remains an isolated nation because of the authoritarian military government currently in power. Internal displacement due to conflict, restrictions on the movement of minority persons, and strict limits on refugees allowed to enter nearby countries has 57 Driven Away: Trafficking of Kachin Women on the China-Burma Border, Kachin Women's Association – Thailand (KWAT), Women's League of Burma, 2005, 1 June 2007: p5. <http://www.burmaguide.net/Downloads/KachinWomen-Driven_Away.pdf>. 58 Driven Away: p13. 45 made many Burmese women more vulnerable to trafficking. 59 For example, part of the issue for Kachin women lies in the lack of identity cards among residents in Burma’s remote areas. “A lack of ID usually means that girls or women have not traveled from their hometown before, and thus have not had the opportunity to gain the travel experience that might protect them from being trafficked…Girls without ID are entirely dependent on others, who can wind up being traffickers, to arrange their travel.” 60 Once in China, Burmese women are also vulnerable to arrest by Chinese authorities for entry without proper travel documents. Because of this, and because their Chinese husbands often restrict their movements, or because they have children with their Chinese husbands, many Burmese women and girls remain in China illegally, although some do return to Burma. 61 Choosing Husbands Although migrant women are usually portrayed as poor, economic considerations are rarely the sole reason for female migration. Patriarchal structures within the family and the state are also influential in the choice of women to emigrate. In some cases, patriarchal relations lead to the 59 Burma: Events of 2006, Human Rights Watch, United States of America, 2006, 5 June 2007 <http://hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/2007/01/11/burma14865.htm>. 60 Driven Away: p24. 61 Driven Away: p27-30. Amounts paid to traffickers for providing a Burmese wife, as cited in the KWAT report, seem to range primarily between US $625 to US $1,875. 46 encouraging of female migration abroad because of a limited range of jobs available in the sending state. 62 Introduction agencies or “go-betweens,” which are common methods of facilitating marriage in traditional societies, are easily found and often used throughout the various sending and receiving states discussed above. 63 More recent trends in marriage migration are also reflective and propelled by women’s own fantasies and imaginings about gender, sexuality, tradition and what they consider as a “modern” 64 marriage or relationship. In an anthropological study of Filipina migrants in rural Japan by Lieba Faier, she found that many respondents described their desire to go to Japan because they imagined having a lifestyle like a celebrity. When interviewees described their impressions of Japan, Faier was struck by “how impressed they had been by the new consumer items and glamorous appearance of women who had worked in Japan and ’become beautiful’.” 65 Many women interviewed also spoke of the love they found with Japanese husbands while working in bars or 62 Piper, 1997: p334. 63 Nakamatsu, Tomoko. “International Marriage through Introduction Agencies: Social and Legal Realities of ‘Asian’ Wives of Japanese Men.” Wife or Worker? Asian Women and Migration. Ed. Nicola Piper and Mina Roces. Oxford, United Kingdom: Rowman & Littlefield, Inc., 2003: p181. 64 Constable: p7. 65 Faier: p151. In Faier’s retelling, the Filipino women referred to “becoming beautiful” in terms of the whiter skin many returning migrants had after marrying in Japan. In traditional Asian countries, “whiteness” is seen as indicative of a higher status or class since lighter skin shows how little time a person spends in the sun doing manual labor. 47 as entertainers, as well as motivations such as poverty in the Philippines and their desire to help their families. According to Karen Kelsky in her book Women on the Verge: Japanese Women, Western Dreams, “Women’s search for true internationalism can only lead them into the arms of Western men, who embodied, even in their most romantic and intimate moments, the Democratic, a modern ideal of ‘fairness’.” 66 This attitude is often cited as a reason why Japanese women resist marrying Japanese men, and why women from other more “traditional” Asian countries identify Japanese husbands as more “Western”. In an interesting representation of the “erotic hierarchy” among Japanese and foreign men and women, Japanese men, in contrast to Western men (according to the graph) were only “good enough” for Southeast Asian and other Asian women. This demonstrates how men and women of different ethnicities – whether Japanese, American/white, Southeast Asian or Asian (more generally) “are fixed in a greater value reflective of their position in a global erotic economy.” 66 Kelsky: p152. 48 JAPANESE WOMEN JAPANESE MEN Sophisticated, attractive, and talented Japanese women who will only be satisfied with a Western Man. Top Japanese men who are “good enough” for Japanese women. Average Japanese women who can “be satisfied with” a Japanese man. Chinese women who look more Japanese. Nikkeijin women from Brazil or Latin America who are ethnically Japanese. Filipino women with “traditional” values. Korean Women who understand Japanese food and filial piety. Average Japanese men rejected by Japanese women, who are forced to turn to Southeast Asian women. Thai Women and others. Figure 1: Japan’s Erotic Hierarchy 67 67 This table is borrowed from p153 of Kelsky’s book, although I have added the right-side section on the hierarchy of Asian women. This table includes greater detail in the hierarchy among South and South East Asian women, as perceived in Japan. 49 Practical considerations seem to be the main consideration in “choice of a mate” in rural China. Because of the difficulties in gaining urban registration, marriage migration in China is most common among rural communities. According to Delia Davin: Marriage in rural China remains the business of the whole family because it affects the whole family…The bride’s qualities can influence the future prosperity and well-being of her husband’s family. Men and their families want a woman who will fit in, be good tempered, work hard and produce healthy children. 68 Although no clear-cut “erotic hierarchy” exists for the Chinese situation as found with Kelsky’s table for Japan, dollar amounts placed on foreign wives as presented within this thesis, the tendency to exoticize and eroticize non-Han women, and other evidence of the preferences of Chinese men and migrant brides cited in various migration research could be combined and interpreted to form a table of reference for China’s “erotic hierarchy”. 68 Davin, 1999: p139. 50 CHINESE WOMEN CHINESE MEN Educated, independent Chinese women areas who prefer remaining single or marrying American, European, Japanese, Taiwanese men, or who decide not to have children. Chinese men who are progressive enough for educated, independent Chinese women. Chinese women who can be satisfied with a Chinese man who may have more traditional expectations for a wife. Older, less attractive, poor, rural, Chinese women. North Korean women who are physically and culturally similar to Chinese or Chinese/Korean men. Vietnamese women with “traditional” values who understand filial piety. Thai women with “traditional” values who understand filial piety. Rural Chinese men rejected by most Chinese women, who are forced to turn to older, less attractive, poor Chinese women or other Southeast Asian women, or who turn to human trafficking to find a bride. Burmese women with “traditional” values who understand filial piety. Figure 2: China’s Erotic Hierarchy 69 69 Christine Hall, Daughters of the Dragon: Women's Lives in Contemporary China, London: Scarlett P, 1997: p72-73. While the format was borrowed from Kelsey’s book, this chart was developed through a synthesis of the information presented within this 51 Marriage migration may simply be an answer to cultural desires for a return to more “traditional” values, physical similarities or other factors, but the simple fact is that cross-border marriages have become an increasingly more common solution to finding wives for growing numbers of bachelors in both China and Japan. Both women seeking husbands and husbands seeking wives use an unspoken “erotic hierarchy” of real or perceived characteristics to choose a spouse. The individual nature of these choices does not negate the issues that state policies and regional and international practices bring up with regard to cross-border marriages. At present, in fact, both China and Japan are facing growing challenges to the state citizenship and international relations with respect to international or cross-border marriage migration as many female marriage migrants leave their home country, but continue to have complicated relationships with the families they left “back home”. thesis. According to Christine Hall, Chinese men cite factors such as connections, gentle manners, looks, wealth, ‘gentle and caring’ behavior and being ‘good at housework’ as main criteria for marriage, while Chinese women are more likely to consider career prospects, family background, education, wealth and looks. Women also preferred that husbands have higher levels of education than their own, as well as higher professional status and income. 52 C h a p t e r 3 BEYOND THE STATE: REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL Remittances and Transnational Ties According to Susan Forbes Martin in her presentation to the UN Division for the Advancement of Women in December 2003, “Women migrants tend to remit more of their income to their families than do male migrants.” 1 Some families, imagining an easy life in Japan, expect significant remittances from the women who marry Japanese husbands. 2 While Japan’s economy is generally better than that of many of the migrant wives’ sending countries, little consideration seems to be given to how the wife may afford to provide such remittances. Because of these expectations, many migrant women are taking on the dual responsibilities for helping to sustain multiple families both in Japan and their countries of origin. 3 Traditionally, Japanese husbands hand over portions of their paychecks to their wives for maintaining the household expenses, but some husbands of 1 Susan Forbes Martin, Women and Migration, Consultative Meeting on Migration and Mobility and How This Movement Affects Women, 2 Dec. 2003, United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, 14 June 2007 <http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/meetings/consult/CM-Dec03-WP1.pdf>. 2 Nicole Constable, "Introduction: Cross-Border Marriages, Gendered Mobility, and Global Hypergamy," Cross-Border Marriages: Gender and Mobility in Transnational Asia, ed. Nicole Constable, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania P, 2005: p11. 3 Nobue Suzuki, "Tripartite Desires: Filipina-Japanese Marriages and Fantasies of Transnational Traversal," Cross-Border Marriages: Gender and Mobility in Transnational Asia, ed. Nicole Constable, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania P, 2005: p125. 53 international wives do not out of concern that their hard-earned paycheck will be sent to their wives’ home countries as remittances. Tensions between a wife’s extended family in Japan and abroad are commonplace within international marriages. Some women who migrate to Japan and marry Japanese husbands have chosen to migrate because of the duty felt as a “good” daughter or sister, and the familial obligation to help support family in the sending country. Many Filipinos, for example, equate migration with family stability. The poor quality public services in the Philippines and instabilities imposed by globalization encourage families to send members to other countries for marriage or labor migration. 4 Remittances thereby become a tool to improve the lives of the emigrant’s family members. Female migrants, encouraged by family members and the economic relationship between Japan and the Philippines, send back nearly one third of the estimated $6 billion annually sent to the Philippines as remittances (in the late 1990s). 5 Issues can arise, however, as with Catholicism, in the case of many Filipino brides, and the sense of “duty” instilled by Buddhist traditions within 4 Rhacel Salazar Parrenas, Children of Global Migration: Transnational Families and Gendered Woes. Stanford: Stanford UP, 2005: p18. 5 Graeme Hugo. Migration in the Asia-Pacific Region. Policy Analysis and Research Programme of the Global Commission on International Migration. Geneva, Switzerland: Global Commission on International Migration, September 2005: p4. 14 Apr 2007. http://www.gcim.org/mm/File/Regional%20Study%202.pdf 54 their extended Japanese family. 6 In their marriage contracts, “some Filipinas have had to agree that they would not remit money to their natal families because this would result in their families’ dependency on their daughters and, more problematically, on their affinal Japanese ie (extended family)”. 7 Because of this, some women choose to find their own jobs to enable them to send remittances, bringing their choice to work outside the home directly into conflict with expectations of their Japanese husbands who expect foreign brides to act in more traditional ways. By Filipino standards, however, a “good” wife’s primary responsibilities are to protect the interests of her husband and to manage the household efficiently. Few restrictions or expectations are placed on wives working, as long as employment does not lead to neglect of her expected domestic duties, such as holding the marriage together, maintaining her husband’s interests, caring for the home and children. 8 In China, economic status of the potential bride is weighted against her traditional values because “a bride who came from a poorer family might be tempted to smuggle gifts…back to her parents. Her family might constantly 6 Suzuki, 2005, “Tripartite Desires”: p138. 7 Nobue Suzuki, "Transgressing 'Victims': Reading Narratives of 'Filipina Brides' in Japan," Critical Asian Studies 35 (2003): p409. 8 Andrea Lauser, "Philippine Women on the Move: a Transnational Perspective on Marriage Migration," International Quarterly for Asian Studies 3-4 ser. 37 (2006): p325. 55 ask for help.” 9 While remittances are more easily tracked among internal marriage migrants, migration chains are becoming increasingly important. In some sending countries, in fact, what researchers call a “culture of migration” has developed among the transnational networks. As the number of migrants increases, migration becomes ingrained into people’s behaviors and actions, making the values of migration a pivotal part of the community values. One researcher discussed how female children are influenced by the migration culture at a very young age, influencing the social and economic connections between the receiving and sending countries. 10 Cross-border marriage migrants tend to feel more isolated both because of linguistic and cultural barriers, so migrant brides may try to recruit other women from their “natal village to join her as brides for members of her husband’s family or her new neighbors,” 11 in what is referred to as “chain migration;” however, the prospect of cross-border marriage migration may be more or less attractive for one woman as it is for another based on her situation or country of origin. For some migrant women, the influences they hold in the decision- making power within their extended families are directly related to these social and economic connections. The remittances they send may directly contribute 9 Delia Davin, Internal Migration in Contemporary China, New York: St. Martin P, Inc., 1999: p140. 10 Roger Waldinger, and David Fitzgerald, "Transnationalism in Question," American Journal of Sociology 109.No 5 (2004): p1180. 11 Davin, 1999: p150. 56 to the household income of their family in the sending country. 12 Additionally, many migrant women intend to return to their home countries at some point, whether for a visit or for permanent resettlement. This is partly due to the strict policies some receiving countries have regarding immigrant settlement, but it is also due to the improved economic status given to women who bring or send money back to their families. “As they bring money back and improve their economic status, other women emulate them. As the numbers of migrant women increased and their wealth exerts some demonstration effect, community norms begin to change.” 13 Because of these trends, some husbands even hope to return to the home country of their foreign brides. This “fantasy of reversal” may be from a desire to retire to a country, such as the Philippines, where the couple could live economically elevated lives compared to the possibilities in Japan. 14 Citizenship, Deportation and Repatriation Few policies exist at the global level which protect the rights of foreigners living abroad. 15 Even fewer enforcement mechanisms are in place to allow the intervention of regional or international bodies into cases of 12 Nana Oishi, Women in Motion: Globalization, State Policies, and Labor Migration in Asia, Stanford: Stanford UP, 2005: p130. 13 Oishi: p175. 14 Suzuki, 2005, “Tripartite Desires” : p141-142. 15 Oishi: p180. 57 violations of migrant rights, 16 with many nation states, such as China and Japan, claiming that protection of sovereignty is key to concerns of international “interference” in the legal or illegal status of migrants into various countries. Migration issues are politically sensitive in general, and particularly among East Asian nations. While both China and Japan have a strong presence within the international community through organizations such as the United Nations, UN resolutions are not binding legal instruments, so few recommendations are regularly implemented. The International Labor Organization has begun promoting “an orderly and equitable regulation of migration processes in origin and destination countries at all stages - planning and preparation, transit, arrival in reception, working and living at the destination, and return and reintegration,” 17 however any – however limited – implementation of these policies has yet to be felt by most women in international marriages in China and Japan. As discussed, migrant women are especially vulnerable to discrimination and abuses. “Many migrant women do not have a legal status within their host countries that offers them sufficient protection from abuse. 16 Oishi: p181. 17 Regional Seminar on Strengthening the Capacity of National Machineries for Gender Equality to Shape Migration Policies and Protect Migrant Women, 22 Nov. 2006, UNESCAP, 9 June 2007: p25. <http://wwww.unescap.org/esid/GAD/Events/RegSem22- 24Nov06/Aide_memoire_EGM_migration-3%20Oct%2006.pdf>. 58 Or, their legal status is so closely tied to their husband’s or children’s that they are vulnerable to deportation, should their family member leave them or be deported himself, or to domestic abuse.” 18 For women, marriage migration can reinforce traditional gender roles through “racial intolerance and sexual and cultural discrimination aimed at foreign women,” 19 or through barriers such as a lack of language skills, illiteracy, and other legal issues. The requirement to have a spouse “approve” of a foreign wife’s residence in Japan, for example, highlights patriarchal trends within Japanese society, as well as the regional patriarchal structure that still exists in East Asia with Japan attempting to enforce its superior position to other East Asian nations, whether owing to former colonial ties, general racism and stereotypes, or economic differences and relationships. One of the key issues in the migration debate for many nation states is the granting of citizenship, with women and children often caught in the middle. Citizenship is usually based on either jus sanguinis (place of origin), jus soli (place of birth), or some combination of the two. The principle of jus sanguinis is primary in Japan, due to the country’s desire to maintain its myth of homogeneity. A child of a Japanese father and immigrant mother may be permitted to claim Japanese citizenship as long as paternity is officially 18 Martin: p27. 19 Martin: p28. 59 recognized and registered by the father. 20 With these policies, then, not only are women’s lives largely controlled by the “acceptance” of their husbands in the eyes of the Japanese state, but so are the lives of their Japan-born children. Because of the state’s requirements for paternal recognition, the birth of a child does not stabilize a foreign mother’s status in Japan. In addition to recognition of the child, the mother’s status must continue to be renewed every three years and must be supported by her Japanese husband. 21 In some instances, women whose visas had not been renewed were considered over-stayers regardless of marital status or having a child with a Japanese man, and were deported to their country of origin. Once deported, many women faced a ban on their reentry, sometimes having to wait up to five years before reapplying for a visa. This could result in long separations of families, even if women had been trying to settle legally in Japan with Japanese husbands 22 . In 1998 a Japanese NGO issued a statement alleging that policies requiring an extended waiting period for reentry after repatriation 20 Vera Mackie, "Embodiment, Citizenship and Social Policy in Contemporary Japan," Family and Social Policy in Japan: Anthropological Approaches, ed. Roger Goodman, Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002: p204. 21 Carolyn S. Stevens and Setsuko Lee, "Reproducing Identity: Maternal and Child Healthcare for Foreigners in Japan," Family and Social Policy in Japan: Anthropological Approaches, ed. Roger Goodman, Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002: p104. 22 Owed Justice: Thai Women Trafficked Into Debt Bondage in Japan, Human Rights Watch, United States of America: Human Rights Watch, 2000: p172. 60 infringed on the right of families to remain together. Additionally, such policies disregarded the “acquired rights of residence” which migrants should have accrued through “living normal, productive and law-abiding lives in Japan.” 23 In addition to the rights of the children and protection from deportation, international wives are controlled by the Japanese state in matters considered “private” in most liberal democracies. Immigrant women must carry official documentation of their status with them in order to have obstetrician visits during pregnancy. 24 If a foreign wife seeks divorce from a Japanese husband, but chooses not to return to her home country, desiring instead to stay in Japan, she must wait through five years of marriage or risk deportation. And if she has a child, the child’s paternity must also be acknowledged by the Japanese father in order for that child to remain in Japan. Because of this policy, a 2005 lawsuit was brought against the Japanese government contesting the practice of granting nationality to a child of immigrant-Japanese parentage only if a Japanese father officially recognized the child before birth, particularly in situations where the child was born out of wedlock. 25 In this case, the Tokyo District Court ruled the 23 Owed Justice: p173. 24 Stevens and Lee: p99-100. 25 Suvendrini Kakuchi, "Rights: Many Filipino-Japanese Children Face Deportation," Global Information Network 11 May 2005, New York ed.: p1, Proquest, University of Southern 61 practice unconstitutional for its refusal to give Japanese nationality to a boy of Japanese-Philippine parenthood who was born out of wedlock and not recognized by his Japanese father until after his birth. The Justice Ministry is now appealing the verdict. China’s anti-trafficking policies and legislation surrounding illegal migration have become synonymous with a war on international crime, attacking the movement of persons, weapons, or drugs that circumvent legal boundaries and borders. According to Kamala Kempadoo, “Trafficked/migrant persons are designated ‘victims’ under various policies and laws, unless they become informants to the police, they are treated as illegal immigrants and criminals, and as threats to national security.” 26 Once “rescued”, whether by police, NGOs or other groups, trafficked women found in China are usually returned to their native country as undocumented, illegal migrants. The illegal status of these individuals is a complex problem for both China as a country of destination, and for the victims’ countries of origin, making repatriation a core issue in the fight against trafficking. Many are forced to return to the same areas from which they came, potentially putting California, 17 Apr. 2007 <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=836570061&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=4676&RQT=309 &VName=PQD>. 26 Kamala Kempadoo, Jyoti Sanghera, and Bandana Pattanaik, "From Moral Panic to Global Justice: Changing Perspectives on Trafficking," introduction, Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights, Boulder, Colorado: Paradigm, 2005: page xv. 62 them back in situations which made them susceptible to exploitation in the first place. Even more serious are the possibilities that trafficked women may be forced to return to countries with strict laws and penalties regarding illegal border-crossings. According to Chinese law, North Korean women who have been brought into China as illegal brides or undocumented workers and are caught by Chinese authorities or whistleblowers, will be deported and forced to return to North Korea, even though their return means they are likely to face imprisonment, torture, or possible death for illegally migrating out of the DPRK. The U.S. State Department recognizes the seriousness of repatriation for women trafficked into China from North Korea, and has pressured China to change laws that would protect these victims rather than deport them. China’s position, however, is that these women are not “refugees” 27 fleeing a threat of persecution, rather they are “economic migrants” 28 who have simply left North Korea in search of a better life. This interpretation gives trafficked 27 Ray Wilkinson and Mounira Skandrani, eds., "The Wall Behind Which Refugees Can Shelter," Refugees - 50th Anniversary 2.N123 (2001): p16-23, 7 Oct. 2005 <http://www.unhcr.org/home/PUBL/3b5e90ea0.pdf>. According to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person with a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” He or she flees “because of the threat of persecution and cannot return safely to their homes in the prevailing circumstances. (UNHCR, The 1951 Refugee Convention: Questions & Answers, Geneva) 28 Wilkinson and Skandrani: p16. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees defines an economic migrant as someone who “normally leaves a country voluntarily to seek a better life. Should he or she elect to return home, they would continue to receive the protection of their government.” 63 persons a status which forces China to deport them back to North Korea as illegal migrants under the two countries’ current repatriation agreement, regardless of whether the individuals involved are sex workers, domestic servants or brides. 29 Although some officials claim to treat the women as victims rather than criminals, Vietnamese brides who have illegally entered China are also subject to repatriation, whether desired or not, even if repatriation would destroy a marriage that has been in place for years. “We treat them as victims, take good care of them and teach them legal knowledge. But for those who have lived in China for years and would not want to be repatriated, we could do nothing but treat them as illegal entrants,” stated a deputy Chief of the Dongxing City Public Security Bureau. When we send them home, often no sooner had our officers set their feet back, these women had already returned to China.” 30 In addition to legal difficulties on both sides of the border, “Trafficked women and girls returning to their (Kachin) communities find they are subject to moral censure, irrespective of the circumstances under which they were trafficked.” 31 Because premarital sex brings shame on the whole Kachin 29 Chol-Hwan Kang, The Invisible Exodus: North Koreans in the People's Republic of China, Human Rights Watch, 2002, 10 June 2007: p12. <http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/northkorea/norkor1102.pdf>. 30 Guihua Ma, "Trade in Vietnamese Brides a Boon for Chinese," Asia Times 14 Nov. 2002, 8 Oct. 2005: p3. <http://www.atimes.com/atimes/printN.html>. 31 Driven Away: p14. 64 community, when a trafficked woman or girl returns, “ceremonies have to be performed to ‘cleanse’ the community and avert bad luck.” 32 Regional and International A weak regional identity among East Asian nations further complicates issues surrounding international marriage migration. Because of Japan’s desire to retain its façade of a homogeneous citizenship, for example, the country does not favor “the integration of non-nationals, and, excluding refugee agreements, there are no significant international governance regimes in place in Northeast Asia to regulate the cross-border movement of people.” 33 Efforts at NGOs toward various migration issues have accelerated since the 1990s, 34 but failures in regional economic institutions foreshadow potential difficulties for other types of regional actions. Recently, a UNESCAP regional seminar in November of 2006 designed to help East Asian nations better understand the gendered aspects of international and internal migration and to explore ways states could more effectively address gender issues in migration was a first step in 32 Driven Away: p14. 33 Maurice D. Van Arsdol, Jr., Stephen Lam, Brian Ettkin, and Glenn Guarin, "Population Trends and Migration Patterns in Northeast Asia," Crossing National Borders: Human Migration Issues in Northeast Asia, ed. Tsuneo Akaha and Anna Vassilieva, Tokyo: United Nations UP, 2005: p25. 34 Oishi: p185. 65 demonstrating that the effective management of migration and assurance of the rights of migrants would best be carried out through bilateral and regional agreements. Regional interaction is required to deal with the problems created through international marriages, particularly to ensure rights and protections for the female migrants, both in marriage and in the labor force. At the seminar, a Japanese Minister encouraged this attitude saying, “Societies should promote cultural diversity and strive for openness, flexibility and more mobile workforces.” 35 He further acknowledged the economic contributions migrants made to Japan as well as to their sending countries through remittances. 36 Although many in the international community are quick to criticize China’s participation, or rather lack of participation, in global efforts to stem human trafficking and other human rights issues, China has become more vocal and active with its efforts in recent months. The U.S., meanwhile, continues to threaten China with potential economic sanctions, and through public and political commentary on China’s trafficking issues. While acknowledging that China has admitted the seriousness of its human trafficking problem and that it is taking steps to improve, the U.S. government has repeatedly called on the Chinese government to do more. According to 35 Regional Seminar (UNESCAP): p8. 36 Regional Seminar (UNESCAP): p11-12. Figures from World Bank – China were $21.3 billion, Philippines were $11.6 billion. 66 the testimony of Ambassador John R. Miller before the Congressional- Executive Commission on China Combating Human Trafficking in China, the US stance is that: To date, the Government of China has made limited progress in addressing key deficiencies in its efforts to address trafficking in persons. Although the government has undertaken some efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking-related crime, much more needs to be done to detect and protect victims of trafficking. 37 As if in response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said “The trafficking of women and children in particular is a regional and international problem and we are willing to conduct international cooperation in this regard to step up our efforts to combat the evil acts of traffickers.” 38 This is significant because of the need for effective enforcement and cooperation between China, East Asia and the international community. While Chinese law allows for up to 10 years’ imprisonment for convicted traffickers of women and children, China’s slow legal process often takes years for a case to be concluded. “Without effective law enforcement cooperation between China 37 John R. Miller, "Combating Human Trafficking in China: Domestic and International Efforts," Congressional-Executive Commission on China, 6 Mar. 2006 (2:00 p.m.), 4 May 2006 <http://www.cecc.gov/pages/hearings/2006/20060306/JohnMiller.php>. 38 Jamal Halaby, "China Says It's Ready to Boost Cooperation with Other Countries in Human Trafficking Fight," Financial Times 6 June 2006, The America's Intelligence Wire, University of Southern California, 10 Oct. 2006 <http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286- 15511437_ITM>. 67 and neighboring countries, Chinese police say they are relatively powerless to act against trafficking.” 39 One effort to remedy the enforcement issue is being demonstrated in Foshan, China. Foshan reports that it is one of four areas in Guangdong which is carrying out a pilot anti-trafficking initiative. According to an article in Guangzhou Daily: It is essential to improve women’s awareness of trafficking and their ability to prevent and respond to it, in order to achieve this anti- trafficking work will be assimilated into the management, social services and work in other areas involving migrant women….the aim is for girls and young women who are faced with the risk of being trafficked to be provided with education, safe employment, legal advice and other such services. 40 Another news story carried by BBC International on August 19, 2006 shows that at least some of China’s enforcement policies are having an effect as headlines reported “Three men and two women on the Chinese mainland have been convicted of smuggling 43 women to Hong Kong and sentenced to three to 12 years in jail in a court in Shanghai.” 41 39 Guihua Ma, "China: Open Borders and Lure of a Better Life Aid Sex Trafficking," Global Information Network 19 Feb. 2004, New York ed., Proquest, University of Southern California, 7 Oct. 2006 <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=547419821&Fmt=3&clientId=69396&RQT=309&VNa me=PQD>. 40 "News & Updates: Guangdong, China Initiating Anti-Trafficking Action," HumanTrafficking.Org, 13 Nov. 2006. <http://www.humantrafficking.org/updates/478>. 41 "China Jails Three Men, Two Women for Human Trafficking," Xinhua News Agency, Beijing 18 Aug. 2006, 11 Nov. 2006 <http://english.people.com.cn/200608/19/eng20060819_294783.html>. 68 Other recent regional initiatives have included joint programs between China and Vietnam. These programs are designed to facilitate communication and the sharing of information regarding both traffickers and trafficking victims in an effort to stem the flow between the two countries. In affirmation of this commitment between Vietnam and China, a recent joint statement published on September 25, 2006 declares “Vietnamese border police and China’s Yunnan provincial counterparts are strengthening their bilateral security cooperation in combating human trafficking, drug and economic crimes, state media reported.” 42 Another well-known anti-trafficking initiative in Asia is aimed at reducing human trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. The initiative, first launched in 2004, called for the governments of China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam to adopt “a comprehensive and strategic Sub-regional Plan of Action to jointly combat human trafficking”, starting in 2004. Under this agreement, the various member states would each devise a national plan of action based on their own legal system. 43 While China had 42 Tishrin Foundation, "Culture & Society: Vietnam, China Intensify Fight Against Human Trafficking," Vietnam News Briefs 25 Sept. 2006, Thompson-Gale, University of Southern California, 15 Nov 2006 <http://zb5lh7ed7a.search.serialssolutions.com/?genre=article&title=Vietnam+News+Briefs&a title=Culture+%26amp;+Society%3A+Vietnam,+China+Intensify+Fight+against+Human+Tr afficking.&date=2006-09-25&spage=NA&sid=Gale%3AGeneral+BusinessFile+ASAP>. 43 "China Issues Plan to Combat Human Trafficking," Xinhua News Agency, Beijing 2 July 2006, 14 Nov. 2006 <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-07/13/content_639918.htm>. 69 taken part in the agreement in 2004, it wasn’t until July 12, 2006 that the Chinese government announced approval of a plan to meet its obligations to the 2004 agreement. 44 This announcement, in turn, was quickly followed by the August 2006 announcement of the official launch of the Regional Training Programme to Combat Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. 45 Other anti-trafficking efforts are being supported by various international organizations and NGOs, following the lead of organizations such as the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration. The United Nations has made a large-scale commitment to the future of China’s girls and women through the joint issuance with the All-China Women’s Federation of cartoon-style self-help brochures and public awareness videos to teach women and children how to avoid falling victim to human traffickers, as well as means of protection such as relevant laws and regulations. Many other UN programs aim to assist illegal migrant women and children by providing centers where they can find shelter and training peer educators who can provide counseling and vocational training for victims of trafficking. 44 "China Intensifies Human Trafficking Efforts," Thai News Services 17 July 2006, Thompson- Gale, University of Southern California, 14 June 2007 <http://zb5lh7ed7a.search.serialssolutions.com/?sid=Gale:+Business+%26+Company+Resou rce+Center&atitle=China+intensifies+human+trafficking+efforts.&title=Thai+Press+Reports& date=2006-07-17>. 45 "News & Updates: Official Launch Ceremony of the Regional Training Programme to Combat Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region," HumanTrafficking.Org, 25 Sept. 2006, 4 Apr. 2007 <http://www.humantrafficking.org/updates/418>. 70 UNICEF also has programs to train police, border guards and other immigration officials about the trafficking. In addition to programs with agencies like the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration and the All-China Women’s Federation, some multinational corporations have already become involved in certain trafficking issues, as with Microsoft’s grants to “deliver IT training courses specifically for people in human-trafficking hot spots”. 46 While this program has not yet been extended to China, it would certainly be a logical “next step”, showing how modern technology can and should be employed to deal with the modern challenges of East Asia’s trafficking problem. At present, China has focused mainly on promises to act in accordance with international recommendations, but with limited visibility of its actions and few tangible results. China has also engaged in several bilateral agreements to deal with the criminal side of trafficking; however, these policies have largely served to add to trafficked women’s disempowerment and marginalization through criminalizing their illegal cross-border journeys. Instead, Chinese and other domestic and international policy-makers must join 46 "Microsoft Partners with Asian NGOs to Fight Human Trafficking," News & Views on Corporate Social Responsibility in China, 19 June 2006, ChinaCSR.com, 9 June 2007 <http://www.chinacsr.com/2006/06/19/microsoft-partners-with-asian-ngos-to-fight-human- trafficking>. 71 the international community in more broad-based, multi-focal investigations into the complexities of the trafficking issue. A weak regional identity, issues of sovereignty and citizenship, illegal (or trafficked) versus legal status of migrants, and complications of deportation and repatriation are just some of the complexities faced by China and Japan in addressing and understanding the issues of cross-border marriage migration. In China, most research seems to be focused on human trafficking, and in Japan, a great deal surrounds the (re-)entry of Nikkeijin and their integration into Japanese society. While the situations of international marriage migrants clearly demonstrate a number of differences between the two countries, several interesting similarities also seem to be highlighted through an examination of the gender, ethnic, cultural and economic factors influencing cross-border marriage migration into China and Japan. 72 CONCLUSION As mentioned in this paper’s opening quote, “The landscape of international relations in Northeast Asia is changing, and migration and other types of human flow within and between the countries of the region are becoming an important part of it.” 1 Both sending and receiving countries’ policies affect which women migrate and for what reasons. The issues and concerns raised by international migration can no longer be explained in simple terms of North/South and “haves” and “have nots”. As traditional divisions between states are being blurred by increasing economic and political interdependence, trafficking in persons, especially women, has become a more pertinent subject in terms of social issues, as well as state, regional and international policy and security concerns. The role of the state in controlling or facilitating emigration and immigration cannot be ignored, making the need for a more gendered perspective clear. Feminist IR theorists call for insight 1 Tsuneko Akaha, and Anna Vassilleva, "Introduction: Crossing National Borders," Crossing National Borders: Human Migration Issues in Northeast Asia, ed. Tsuneko Akaha and Anna Vassilleva, Tokyo: United Nations UP, 2005: p1. 73 into policy and practices through “gender awareness lenses” 2 which would highlight the lives and experiences of these women. Through a broad-based, multi-level investigation into how issues of gender, race and class have shaped and been shaped by the paths, methods and policies surrounding cross-border marriage migration in China and Japan, this paper has pointed out the gendered nature of marriage migration through a feminist lens. Although the situations of China and Japan have significant differences, this paper has also demonstrated how similarities between the countries have shaped international marriage migration. Both China and Japan are both currently at the center of a great deal of migration, with many migrants entering these countries to join the labor force or for marriage. While the feminization of migration is a growing phenomenon worldwide, it seems to be heightened within China and Japan, directly related to the countries’ low fertility rates and traditionally patriarchal societies. The improved mobility and economic status of Chinese and Japanese women is directly related to increasing numbers of cross-border marriages. Men in both China and Japan cite similar ethnic, cultural and economic reasons as to their preference for migrant brides, however, the basis for the respective “facades” 2 Cynthia Enloe, The Curious Feminist: Searching for Women in a New Age of Empire, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California P, 2004. I first read this in Cynthia Enloe’s “The Curious Feminist,” although I’ve seen it many more times (un-cited) in several other feminist writings. 74 of homogeneity are different, as seen through each country’s “erotic hierarchy”. In both China and Japan, having children does not necessarily stabilize a migrant woman’s status, and may actually pose greater restrictions on the migrant brides because of their children’s unofficial status. Simply being “irregular,” illegal or undocumented migrants, however, makes women highly vulnerable even when children aren’t involved. In addition to social and cultural isolation, illegal status limits the protections afforded to undocumented marriage migrants in both China and Japan, with additional difficulties based on the women’s country of origin and its relationship with the receiving state. In China, female North Korean migrants are doubly disadvantaged because of China’s interpretation of the North Koreans as “economic migrants” rather than “refugees”, while in Japan, a similar situation exists with Filipina women who are assumed to have entered Japan as “entertainers” or “sex workers”. Further Research and Policy Recommendations In addition to summarizing the issues cross-border marriage migration creates for individuals, states, societies and regional and international communities, this thesis has demonstrated the need for a greater 75 understanding of the lives and experiences of migrant women who marry a Japanese or Chinese husband. As discussed, most migration policy is highly gendered, referring to a generic category of “migrant” rather than highlighting the women who are most often involved in entering countries as international marriage migrants. Data on marriage migrants in both China and Japan tend to be included in broader data about “migrants” as a general category, hiding many of the gender differences experienced by female migrants. More in- depth investigations into the lives of migrating women are needed, not only to clarify the issues they face in how men in the receiving countries choose foreign brides, but also to discover the attitudes of migrant women toward their potential husbands both before and after migration. Additionally, the well-established tensions existing between many Asian nations, as well as the inability and ineffectiveness of regional economic institutions to work effectively at a regional level, also show the importance of further area- specific investigations. Through this investigation, a multi-level feminist perspective has shown that international marriage migration may seem to be a consequence of the improved status of women in general; however, the intricate complexities of cross-border marriages extend far beyond economic “push and pull” factors. The empowerment which has improved the lives of many Chinese and 76 Japanese women has not been enjoyed equally among those of various classes, educational or ethnic backgrounds, nor by migrant women, whether legal or illegal. Only through discovering more of the lived experiences of female international marriage migrants can policies and processes be shaped to effectively address the growing challenges of ever-increasing international migration. As most feminist scholars agree, accurate figures and statistics reporting the numbers of women involved in all sectors of international migration do not exist, and the regularly publicized examples of marriage migrants as trafficked women are only extreme cases that make interesting news stories. 3 Therefore, based on the research presented in this thesis, it is advisable that independent researchers and bilateral and international monitoring agencies, in conjunction with Chinese and Japanese officials and women’s organizations, design and implement methods to gather both quantitative and qualitative information about the lives, experiences and situations of migrant women in both China and Japan. China and Japan should work with other nations to create structured systems which would allow for “safe migration” across 3 Kamala Kempadoo, Kamala Kempadoo, Jyoti Sanghera, and Bandana Pattanaik, "From Moral Panic to Global Justice: Changing Perspectives on Trafficking," introduction, Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights, Boulder, Colorado: Paradigm, 2005: page xx. 77 borders, ensuring a greater degree of freedom of movement and protection for migrants and refugees. 4 In the case of North Korean “economic migrants”, for example, the multi-level feminist perspective employed within this thesis makes it clear that China should confer the status of “refugee” onto these individuals, not only as a protection for those individuals’ safety and security, but also as a demonstration of leadership in East Asian regional politics and security issues. In addition, elimination of restrictive laws controlling the movement of migrants, especially women, would be warranted since “curbing migration has not and will not stop trafficking…Borders cannot be impermeable, and stricter immigration measures have merely resulted in pushing the trafficked persons further into situations of violence and abuse.” 5 This thesis has shown that instead of repatriation, state actions and programs would be more effective if they were to have a multi-dimensional focus, including policy reform, social services, education, job training, and psychological counseling. Rather than forced detention facilities, programs should focus on language and skill training, employment and housing assistance, and legal advisory services. 4 Kempadoo: page xvi. 5 Sanghera, Jyoti. "Unpacking the Trafficking Discourse." Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights. Ed. Kamala Kempadoo, Jyoti Sanghera, and Bandana Pattanaik. Boulder, Colorado: Paradigm, 2005: p11. 78 Ultimately, the greatest challenge will be breaking down the stigma attached to female migration in general. As “it is vitally important that women be equally represented at all levels of policy-making,” 6 all actors – from sex workers, to marriage brokers, to refugees, to policy makers – must be involved in more effective debates, discussions and decisions for how both legal and illegal migration issues are handled, including the issues raised through increasing cross-border marriage migration. Both Japan and China must work closely with other states involved within some form of structured framework, along with international institutions, NGO’s and multinational corporations, to address the economic, political and social conditions which underlie the issues of international and cross-border marriage migration in China and Japan. 6 J. 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Abstract (if available)
Abstract
While a great deal of migration research cites classic "push" and "pull" factors as those which are primarily responsible for marriage migration, International Relations feminists have turned their investigations toward the intersections of race, class, gender, and other hierarchical social structures at the global level. This thesis, through employing a multi-level feminist approach, will show how a variety of gender and culturally-biased attitudes intersect with demographic changes and state policies to influence international or cross-border marriage practices and policies in China and Japan. Empowerment which has improved the lives of many Chinese and Japanese women has not been enjoyed equally among those of various classes, educational or ethnic backgrounds, nor by migrant women, whether legal or illegal. Only through discovering more of the lived experiences of female international and cross-border marriage migrants can policies and processes be shaped to effectively address the growing challenges of ever-increasing international migration.
Linked assets
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Yutani, Jeanine Emiko
(author)
Core Title
International brides: cross-border marriage migration in China and Japan through a feminist lens
School
College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
East Asian Area Studies
Publication Date
08/11/2007
Defense Date
06/27/2007
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
cross-border marriage,marriage migration,OAI-PMH Harvest
Place Name
China
(countries),
Japan
(countries)
Language
English
Advisor
Rosen, Stanley (
committee chair
), Cooper, Eugene (
committee member
), Katada, Saori N. (
committee member
)
Creator Email
yutani@usc.edu
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m688
Unique identifier
UC1234871
Identifier
etd-Yutani-20070811 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-521265 (legacy record id),usctheses-m688 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-Yutani-20070811.pdf
Dmrecord
521265
Document Type
Thesis
Rights
Yutani, Jeanine Emiko
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Repository Name
Libraries, University of Southern California
Repository Location
Los Angeles, California
Repository Email
cisadmin@lib.usc.edu
Tags
cross-border marriage
marriage migration