Japanese Corporate Wives Abroad

[Mulboyne]

[floatl][/floatl]Asahi Book Review: "Home Away from Home: Japanese Corporate Wives in the United States" by Sawa Kurotani

Kurotani...interviewed more than 120 women in three expatriate communities in the United States...While many of the women Kurotani interviews succeed in maintaining Japanese enclaves in their new habitats--befriending other expat wives, sending their children to Japanese schools and patronizing only Japanese-friendly stores and businesses--by the end of their stays they find they have, sometimes to their surprise, changed during their time abroad. Japan no longer feels as homey as it once did. They have--God forbid--Americanized...more...

I know a reasonable number of Japanese wives in the UK who stayed on when their husbands were transferred back home. The main reason was to allow their children to finish education in the UK system. I can't think of an expat wife in Japan who did that although there are plenty of kids in Japanese schools and colleges. Perhaps an Asian family would be more likely to do it although I don't know if Japan even offers a visa to allow it.

[maraboutslim]

Most of my wife's friends are other Japanese women, some with American husbands, some with Japanese husbands. We send our daughter to Japanese school (saturdays), shop at Asian food markets, speak mainly Japanese at home...the whole trip.

None of these people express any interest in returning to Japan. Yes, the educational system is far superior (in their opinions) to that of Japan, and that must be a huge reason. But in general, I think they just get used to life here on the California coast. And hey, who wouldn't, you know? This ain't Kansas.