Abstract
In this chapter, I have reported the results for four research participants out of my second phase of research. The second phase of research is meaningful as it reflects how the general public perceive returnees and how the former returnees react to the image that has been created and perpetuated for a long time. The following three findings should be noted.
First, all of the participants reported in this chapter faced the general public image of returnees as being fluent in English. Being fluent in English on occasions limited them in going beyond ‘someone being good at English’. Therefore, each of them acquired their own way of survival respectively.
Second, as former returnees, they have become more face-conscious than before. Some of them not only became concerned about their own face but also the face of people surrounding them. By speaking ‘good English’, they could make it clear that he is a former returnee and that the rest of the people cannot communicate in English as well as they can.
Third, if a person has a sense of shame and loses face in one category of identity, he/she has to restore pride and face within the same category of identity. For example, one of the participants was able to wipe off her shame as a returnee by improving her English. However, that did not help her cope with shame as a woman even if her English improved.
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Notes
- 1.
I modified Table 6.1 in Sueda (2012, p. 84).
- 2.
I created this figure based on Appendix 3 in Sueda (2012, p. 139).
- 3.
I modified Figure 6.1 in Sueda (2012, p. 90).
- 4.
I modified Figure 6.2a in Sueda (2012, p. 96).
- 5.
I modified Figure 6.2b in Sueda (2012, p. 101).
- 6.
The high school is an affiliated school of the university she went to, and some students of this high school came from the affiliated kindergarten, elementary school and junior high school.
- 7.
A ‘half’ refers to being a child from the parents whose nationalities are different.
- 8.
Employees of Sohgohshoku do everything and are expected to do any job on their own and take a core part of the organisation in the future. They may have to move to any location but they are on the track of promotion. On the other hand, employees of ippanshoku are engaged in clerical work and support Sohgohshoku employees. They are not on the track of promotion. Usually, this distinction applies to female workers.
- 9.
I modified Figure 6-3 in Sueda (2012, p. 107).
- 10.
Katakana is one component of Japanese writing system and is phonetic. It is often used for words imported from foreign countries.
References
Baxter, L. A., & Babbie, E. (2004). The basics of communication research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Scheff, T. J. (1997). Emotions, the social bond, and human reality: Part/whole analysis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Sueda, K. (2012). Tamenteki aidentiti no chohsei to feisu (mentsu) [Face and the negotiation of multiple identities]. Kyoto, Japan: Nakanishiya.
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Sueda, K. (2014). Results (The Second Phase of Research): Japanese Former Returnees in Industry. In: Negotiating multiple identities. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-008-7_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-008-7_7
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