(FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC) Like countries in the West, Japan is struggling with the problem of how to manage economic growth with demographic decline–falling birthrates and aging populations. Unlike Western countries, however, Japan is facing this struggle without the benefits (and costs) of mass immigration. This presentation will describe recent research exploring the roles and challenges of low and high-skilled migration to Japan, and the possibilities for finding substitutes for immigration. We can understand Japan’s unique approach to immigration by understanding the intellectual or philosophical assumptions behind its policymaking, and contrasting those with the philosophies of immigration in the West, particularly the United States.

About the Speaker:
John D. Skrentny is Director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies and Professor of Sociology at the University of California-San Diego. He has published widely on immigration and civil rights issues. His latest book is "After Civil Rights: Law and the Meaning of Race in the New American Workplace" (forthcoming).