The Vietnamese Diaspora in Japan and Their Dilemmas in the Context of Transnational Dynamism

One of the most signifi cant characteristics of the 20th century was the extensive movement or displacement of people around the globe. This social phenomenon has continued into the 21st century and has had a considerable impact on human life around the world. This population movement includes migrants, foreign workers, refugees and displaced persons with various social, economic and political reasons for moving transnationally. The phenomenon is closely related to anthropological concerns such as nationalism, racism, ethnic groups, ethnicity, citizenship, traveling and diaspora, memory and history, violence and confl icts, development and human rights, hybridity, creolization, transnational communities, community networks, and the like. However, those involved in this phenomenon of transnational migration are not necessarily crossing borders and recreating their lives in the same way. For instance, where refugees or displaced persons are concerned, they are leading a life in which there is continual uneasiness and fear of persecution, discrimination and instability in domestic relocation centers or even in the countries in which they resettle. Consequently, it is not suffi cient to see refugees as an alternative type of immigrant. Rather, it is a very important anthropological issue to study how those human beings and their families referred to as refugees are recreating their life world in the various situations caused by transnational population movement. In particular, it is an aim of anthropological study to deepen our understanding of the life of human beings in this newly changing world through focusing on their inner life world and ethnic identity.