Cross-Border Identity and Multiculturalism in East Asia— An Empirical Study on Taiwanese Diaspora in Contemporary Japan

Nation States are confronted with a rising tide of human flows in the era of globalization. Crossing borders becomes an universal phenomenon after the 1970s, which leads to modern state’s “porous borders ” (国境の多孔 化 ) (Hirano 2005). Transnational or multicultural studies on crossing-border ethnicity in the West Europe and that in the US are thus relatively preeminent in terms of quantity and quality. When it comes to East Asia, Japan serves to be an interesting case for latest studies. Japan, widely considered to be a society of racial and cultural homogeneity, faces an increasing influx of transmigrants, in particular those from East Asia. An increasing influx of transmigrants, particularly migrants from the East Asia, has led to a broad range of concerns in Japanese society in recent years. This study examines the cultural identity of a particular transmigrant group, the “newcomer ” Taiwanese, in Japan. This group of Taiwanese came to Japan after the conclusion of WWII. They have experienced several transitional changes in terms of recognition of legal status and self-identification due to the dynamics of international politics. This study seeks to investigate Taiwanese transmigrants ’ cultural adaptation and socialization under the Japanese discourse through literature reviews and field study. This paper argues newcomer Taiwanese have constructed their hybridized identity, which serve to be unique characteristics of migrants in the multicultural era in the globe