TAKAHASHI, Rita (City University of Hong Kong)
Part-Time Working Experience of International Students:
A Significant Channel for Understanding Japanese People and Society
Due to the high living standard of Japan, almost all private international
students (ryuugakusei) take up part-time jobs in order to earn ‘pocket money’
to help ease their financial burden. Different from those overseas students who
are awarded Japanese government scholarships (Mombukagakusho
Scholarship), students who come to Japan on their own without government
subsidy usually have to do “arubaito” (part-time work) to support their daily life.
It is said that a majority of Asian students (mainly from Taiwan, Hong Kong,
China, Korea and Malaysia) are working as part-time staff in catering and food
service sectors (inshokugyoo kankei) such as restaurants and coffee shops.
To international students, part-time jobs are of utmost importance as a major
source of income for daily life. For some, part-time work can help them earn
their tuition throughout their period of study in Japan.
To overseas international students, taking up part-time work means
more than mere income acquisition. Through working together with native
Japanese people, they are able to observe the behavioral patterns of
Japanese, and Japanese ways of thinking, styles of social interaction and
communication. Some had bad experiences, but a majority concluded that
their part-time work have given them precious chances of being able to
observe Japanese society and its people from a broader perspective that they
might not be able to learn and experience at ordinary university life. Based on
casual talk, informal interviews and e-mails with my students (graduates of our
Japanese program from 2001 to 2005) who have been or are now studying in
Japan, I examine the meaning and significance of part-time work for them, and
analyze how their ‘arubaito’ experience in Japan helped enhance their
understanding of Japanese people and society.