Cross-border Lives: Exploring the Transnational Mobility Between Romania and Japan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46324/PMP2602157Keywords:
transnational mobility, Romania-Japan migration, educational mobility, Japanese migrants in Europe, Romanian migrants in JapanAbstract
This paper examines transnational mobility between Romania and Japan by focusing on Japanese people in Romania and Romanian people in Japan. Through an analysis of these two groups, it highlights a mobility nexus that has received limited scholarly attention. Mobility between the two countries reflects their economic, political, and social conditions and demonstrates how these factors shape cross-border movement. Based on a pilot interview with a Japanese student in Romania, this paper explores how the participant experiences life in Romania and what these experiences mean in a broader social context. The participant’s settlement experience also informs our understanding of race and ethnicity in a globalizing world, particularly how Japanese migrants are positioned as Asians within predominantly Western social environments. This pilot study provides preliminary insight into the experiences of Japanese nationals in Romania and serves as a foundation for a larger-scale study. In addition to the pilot interview, this study also analyzes videos posted on two YouTube channels run by Japanese residents in Romania. The analysis of these videos offers additional insight into how Japanese migrants narrate their experiences of mobility, settlement, and everyday life in Romania.
References
Anghel, R. G. (2013). Romanians in Western Europe: Migration, status dilemmas, and transnational connections. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
Anghel, R. G. (2024). Migration chains and migration networks: researching migration as a social process. In G. Sciortino, M. Cvajner, & P. J. Kivisto (Eds.), Research Handbook on the Sociology of Migration (pp. 60-73). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Borup, J. (2021). Introduction: Japanese Buddhism in Europe. Journal of Religion in Japan, 10(2–3), 113–133.
Buja, E. (2023). How culture-specific practices and values may influence international (Romanian–South Korean) marriages. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica, 15(3), 17-40.
Crenshaw, K. W. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, (1), 139–167.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). SAGE.
D'Andrea, A. (2007). Global nomads: Techno and New Age as transnational countercultures in Ibiza and Goa. Routledge.
Diminescu, D. (2009). Exerciţiul dificil al liberei circulaţii: o introducere în istoria migraţiei recente a românilor. [The difficult exercise of free movement: an introduction to the history of recent Romanian migration]. In R. Anghel, & I. Horvath (Eds.), Sociologia migraţiei: teorii şi studii de caz româneşti [Sociology of migration: Romanian theories and case studies.]. (pp. 45-62). Iaşi, Polirom.
Drnovšek Zorko, Š., & Debnár, M. (2021). Comparing the racialization of Central-East European migrants in Japan and the UK. Comparative Migration Studies, 9(1), Article 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-021-00239-z
Essed, P. (1991). Understanding everyday racism: An interdisciplinary theory. Sage.
Japan Foundation. (2023). Japanese-language education in Romania: Country and region profile. Japan Foundation.
Government of Japan, Statistics Bureau. (2025). Statistics on foreign residents: Table 01. Foreign residents by nationality/region and status of residence. https://www.e-stat.go.jp/dbview?sid=0004019020
Hof, H. (2021). Intersections of race and skills in European migration to Asia: Between white cultural capital and passive whiteness. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 44(11), 2113–2134. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2020.1822535
Ichimoto, T. (2004). Ambivalent selves in transition: A case study of Japanese women studying in Australian universities. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 25(3), 247–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/0725686042000315759
Japan Student Services Organization. (2025). JASSO outline 2025–2026. https://www.jasso.go.jp/en/about/organization/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2025/08/25/outline2025-26.pdf
Japan External Trade Organization. (2021). The progress of Japanese companies in Romania: From labor-intensive to knowledge-intensive. https://www.jetro.go.jp/biz/areareports/2021/7311a7a815e66d75.html
Joseph, M. G. C. (2016). From students to permanent residents: The role of social networks in the immigration transition of Indians in New Zealand. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 25(2), 168–190. https://doi.org/10.1177/0117196816640988
Kawakami, A. (2009). From an internationalist woman to just another Asian immigrant: Transformation of Japanese women's self-image before and after permanent settlement in a Western country. Journal of Identity and Migration Studies, 3(2), 22–39.
Klien, S. (2020). Life could not be better since I left Japan!: Transnational mobility of Japanese individuals to Europe and the post-Fordist quest for subjective well-being outside Japan. New frontiers in Japanese studies (pp. 194–206). Routledge.
Lan, S. (2022). Between privileges and precariousness: Remaking whiteness in China's teaching English as a second language industry. American Anthropologist, 124(1), 118-129.
Leysen, B., & Verhaeghe, P.-P. (2023). Searching for migration: Estimating Japanese migration to Europe with Google Trends data. Quality & Quantity, 57(5), 4603–4631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-022-01560-0
Magyari-Vincze, E. (2006). Social exclusion at the crossroads of gender, ethnicity and class: a view of Romani women’s reproductive health. Budapest: Open Society Institute. http://policy.hu/studydocs/Magyar_Vincze_PS_July2006.pdf
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. (2024). Annual report of statistics on Japanese nationals overseas 2024. https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/100781392.pdf
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. (2025). Basic data on Romania. https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/romania/data.html
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania (2022). Statistical data on Romanian citizens with domicile or residence abroad, at the end of 2021. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania. https://diaspora.gov.ro/images/content/resurse/Date_statistice_-_M.A.E._2021.pdf
Ono, M. (2015). Descending from Japan: Lifestyle mobility of Japanese male youth to Thailand. Asian Anthropology, 14(3), 249–264. https://doi.org/10.1080/1683478X.2015.1117220
Pelea, C.-I. (2014). Japanese popular culture and its impact on Romanian cultural space. Romanian Journal of Sociological Studies, (1–2), 65–84.
Sandu, D. (Ed.). (2006). Locuirea temporară în străinătate. Migraţia economică a românilor: 1990-2006. [Temporary residence abroad. Economic migration of Romanians: 1990-2006.] București. Fundaţia Pentru o Societate Deschisă.
Sandu, D. (2010). Lumile sociale ale migratiei româneşti în străinătate [Social worlds of Romanian migration abroad] Iaşi: Polirom,
Sandu, D. (2021). Noile diaspore românești între aici și acolo. Românii în Italia.[ The new Romanian diasporas between here and there. Romanians in Italy] IDOS. https://www. resea rchgate. net/publication/346247408_Noile_diaspore_romanesti_ intre_aici_si_acolo_2020.
Sava, R. (2022). Ambassador Romulus Ioan Budura and his contributions to elevating Romanian-Chinese relations (In Memoriam). Romanian Review of Political Sciences and International Relations, 19 (1), 3-9.
Robertson, S., & Roberts, R. (2022). Migrants in-between: Rethinking privilege and social mobility in middle-class migration. In S. Robertson, & R. Roberts (Eds), Rethinking privilege and social mobility in middle-class migration (pp. 1–26). Routledge.
Silasi, G., Pirtea, M. G., & Simina, O. L. (2010). From the'strawberry jam'to the'Sushi-Bar': Romanian migration in the context of Asia's increasing economic role. Available at SSRN 1616469.
Sue, D. W., Bucceri, J., Lin, A. I., Nadal, K. L., & Torino, G. C. (2007). Racial microaggressions and the Asian American experience. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13(1), 72–81. https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.13.1.72
Șerban, A. M., & Brazienė, R. (2021). Young people in rural areas: diverse, ignored and unfulfilled. Strasbourg: EU-Council of Europe youth partnership. https://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/42128013/106317733/Rural-youth-study.pdf
Tai_Romania (2023, July 17). Cea mai bună mâncare românească pentru un japonez [The best Romanian food for a Japanese person]. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv4FYdSsIek
Tai_Romania (2023, July 19). Mămăliga – de ce români?! [Polenta – why Romanians?!]. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCtwjhB_RCc
Takeda, A. (2011). Japanese middle-aged women and the Hanryu phenomenon. Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies. paper 3 http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/discussionpapers/2011/Takeda.html
Takeda, A. (2020). Transnational mobility to South Korea among Japanese students: When popular culture meets international education. Asian Anthropology 19(4), 273-290. https://doi.org/10.1080/1683478X.2020.1730029
The_JapanGuy (2025, December 12). DAY IN MY LIFE as japanese student in Romania. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tmZtPUQLd-E
The_JapanGuy (2026, March 26). Outfits…. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Lj9wYdIiv3g
The_JapanGuy (2026, April 16). Cum să faci cumpărături ieftin în România. [How to shop cheaply in Romania.]. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/woZNWZ4qMoI
Veith, C. (2020). Sustainable cross-cultural business between Romania and Japan in the automotive industry. BASIQ International Conference on New Trends in Sustainable Business and Consumption. https://conference.ase.ro/papers/2020/20081.pdf
Vertovec, S. (1999). Conceiving and researching transnationalism. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22(2), 447–462. https://doi.org/10.1080/014198799329558
Zheng, R. (2016). Why yellow fever isn't flattering: A case against racial fetishes. Journal of the American Philosophical Association, 2(3), 400–419. https://doi.org/10.1017/apa.2016.25
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Academic seminar "Media and Education", Department of Sociology, South-West University
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
