IMMIGRANT WORKING EXPERIENCE IN JAPAN A case study of Vietnamese students in Japanese school

Although there are more and more Vietnamese students are coming to Japan to study and work as temporary migrant workers, their reasons and experiences remain under-studied. Aiming to fill the gap, this paper purposes to determine the motivations and working experience of Vietnamese students who are learning Japanese in linguistic institutions and working part-time in Japan. A qualitative investigation was conducted on 20 Vietnamese students studying Japanese at Shizuoka International Language School of Japan while working part-time after school. The study found that the participants seem to experience the poor working condition with long working time, unhealthy environment, and cultural barrier as overtime work without a wage. It directly impacts to their study and life balance. On the other hand, the financial benefits and language improvement are the vital factors encouraging them to work in this environment. Keywords: Vietnamese student, motivation to work, migrant work experience in Japan.