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Living in a Bubble?

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Transnational Organizations and Cross-Cultural Workplaces

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Abstract

This chapter describes how Japanese expatriates and families carve out their spaces as individuals and groups in new environments in Indonesia, outlining their everyday lives in non-work contexts. This chapter explains where, with whom, and how they connect, by shedding light on the lesser-known realities of their lives. The exclusive lifestyle of Japanese expatriates and families is structurally supported by three things—housing, transportation, and domestic servants—which upgrade their social class and create their image as privileged elites. In contrast, through open spaces on the surface of the “bubble,” they forge ties with the host nationals and host society. Such dual characteristics—the closure of their encapsulated lives and the particular types of openness—enable connections with the host nationals and society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

    Yukimi Shimoda

  2. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan

    Yukimi Shimoda

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  1. Yukimi Shimoda
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Shimoda, Y. (2017). Living in a Bubble?. In: Transnational Organizations and Cross-Cultural Workplaces. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52212-2_3

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