This paper reveals psychological aspects of retirees who live cross-culturally after their retirement. In order to gain their insights, the researcher employed participant observation and conducted interviews among Japanese retirees who live in Thailand. As a result, "strategic marginalization" has emerged. Deliberately eschewing deep contacts from both the host and their own national society, they live in a comfort. This is supported by factors specific to this age group: they found that the host society induces nostalgia, they seek self-actualization after completing social roles, and most possess a relatively liberal personality fostered by previous life experiences. Unlike "marginalization" in earlier studies, the "strategic marginalization" provides a free environment from restrains and interference.

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This paper examines the influences of Japanese language learning, Japanese culture, and relationships with Japanese people on three Italian long-term residents in Japan through interviews, and explains how they maintain or reconstruct their identity. While none of them feel any particular difficulties from being foreigners in Japan, all are not satisfied concerning their relationships with Japanese people. One subject changes her identity depending on who she is talking to, either by showing more of her Italian side to those closer to her, or behaving more like Japanese when talking to others. The second subject feels that he is not accepted by Japanese people; for this reason, he chooses not to change his Italian identity. The third subject has a strong interest in Japan, so she intentionally shows the side of her identity that is influenced by Japanese culture. This research also found that the Japanese language is an important tool for each of them to understand and adapt to Japanese culture. While motivation and investment in the target language can be considered as contributing factors to successful language learning and adaptation to Japanese society, over-awareness of Italian identity can interfere with Japanese language acquisition and integration into the Japanese community.

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This article treats a relatively new and as yet largely unexplored area of research: the coming of the first Americans to Japan on two merchant vessels, Lady Washington and Grace from Massachusetts in 1791, which was an attempt by the United States to establish commercial relations with the Japanese through negotiations some 60 years prior to the arrival of Commodore Perry in 1853. This article describes how the first contacts were made between the Americans and the Japanese within the framework of the history of cross-cultural and cross-national negotiation.
Incidental to the investigation, this research paper also briefly focuses on: (a) conceptions held by Americans and Japanese with regard to the term negotiation and the connotative meanings attached to it, (b) aspects of behavioral patterns adopted by Americans and Japanese during the negotiation process, and (c) some cultural influences that exert a visible and nonverbal impact on negotiating behavior between the Americans and Japanese.

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