Abstract
This study examined how Japan’s intermediary industry has apprehended and discussed problems related to the “Entertainer” visa category in Japan, using articles in the industry magazine Nyukoku Journal.
Specifically, we traced the development of discussions among the intermediary industry, the Immigration Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Justice, politicians, and other parties on how this visa category could be made more appropriate, providing an overview of the circumstances of the intermediary industry associated with the operation of this visa. First, while intermediary industry players in Japan discuss “entertainment” from a cultural standpoint, the industry has deployed the intermediary services with a paternalistic gaze toward the sending societies and individual entertainers. It then reveals how discussions in the industry around the scope of entertainment activities have encompassed economic and human rights issues related to women working in hospitality roles beyond the originally intended classification of “international exchange.” We also show how entertainers themselves have been routinely excluded from discussions within the intermediary industry on the scope of entertainment activities and hospitality work.
