Amidst the spreading historicization of the experience of zainichi Brazilians (在日ブラジル人) now that more than 30 years since the so-called "dekasegi phenomenon” saw its beginning, I am engaged in historical research regarding the "juvenile delinquency" of second-generation dekasegi youths in the late 1990s. Here, "delinquency" encompasses behaviors known as furyō (不良) going beyond the legal terminology of delinquency, thus offering a framework that highlights the peculiarities of youth "deviation" in the Japanese society. By focusing on "delinquency," it becomes possible to comprehensively understand the social circumstances beyond just educational issues that children and adolescents who were brought along by their families to Japan as dekasegi faced.
Due to how recent this topic is, the possibility of making use of oral sources becomes a significant strength of this study. I conducted oral history interviews with a former “delinquent youth” and three Japanese-Brazilian researchers and educators who were residing in Japan at that time. While conducting remote interviews using web conferencing tools is not impossible, it is much more difficult to construct a dialogue compared to face-to-face interactions, besides inherent challenges related to internet connection and audio equipment, which affect the quality of the recording. Thanks to this grant, I was able to conduct in person interviews with four individuals and present at the International Oral History Association Conference that took place in Rio de Janeiro.
Through this research, it was possible to delve into how collective issues such as the social situation in which Brazilian youth faced, exclusionary aspects of the Japanese education system, the lack of spaces Brazilian youths could occupy (居場所), and the societal dynamics that pushed Brazilian youths into the labor market ever so early even through illegal means, influenced individual life choices of one Brazilian adolescent. The other three interviewees were researchers and/or educators who participated in or were involved in the planning of the "Symposium on Various Issues Regarding the Education of Japanese-Brazilians" held at Tenri University in 1997. It became clear from the interviews that, unlike the ethnic media discourse, "delinquency" was not discussed as an issue related to education at the occasion.
I aim to continue my historical research on zainichi Brazilians and leverage the findings that were made possible thanks to this grant.