Abstract
This paper aims to examine how migrant children in Japan came to choose their current career path. I interviewed
four Japanese-Brazilians and two Japanese-Bolivians and developed a model to explain the entirety of their
development process, from their experiences from the stage of attending public school in Japan to the stage of
employment in Japanese society. First, migrants face difficulties due to characteristics of Japanese public school
culture, challenges pursuing academic activities in the Japanese language, and occasionally, the unrealistic
expectation that they can return to their original country. Migrant children subsequently try to maintain their
motivation by coping with the changing environment independently, so as not to lose their sense of control in the
negative feedback in the Japanese school setting. Parents also support migrant children emotionally, and give them
the opportunity to have a point of access to communities for their country of origin, while also motivating them to
maintain their proficiency in their original language.
