Foreign Workers and Law Enforcement in Japan

<p>This is a detailed study of the extent to which an increased influx of foreign workers is a threat to law and order in the context of the data-generating process of police statistics and the media coverage of "crimes" committed by foreigners. It shows that a general mood in which foreign workers are viewed as potential danger to Japanese society "protects" the criminalization of foreign "illegal" migrant workers. </p><p>The work begins by tracing the upsurge of "illegal" foreign workers in Japan. It builds a social profile of these "illegals" showing that because of fear of expulsion, lack of knowledge of the law and over-dependence on employer and workplace, their ability to avail themselves off the protection of the law is neglible, and they are always at risk of becoming victims to multiple exploitation. </p> <p>1. Preliminary Remarks 2. Phenomenology of the "illegal" Labour Migration to Japan 3. Some Historical Preliminaries 4. Prelude: The Japayuki Question 5. The Early Stages of a Process of Irregular Migration: The Increase of Male "illegal" Workers 6. The Debate Concerning a Formal Policy on Guest-Workers 7. Migrant Workers and Criminality 8. The Media and Criminality</p>