Coping with racism : Japanese students' experiences of racist encounters in Britain

The aim of this study is to identify and describe the Japanese student’s experiences of university in Britain through an interview process, looking at their experiences of racial discrimination, racial awareness and their responses, coping strategies that evolve during their years of study for the Japanese students. The overall questions are: what experiences and understandings of race and racism do Japanese students encounter in Britain, and how do they cope with these experiences? Further questions include: How may this experience in Britain differ according to 'gender', ‘pre-departure expectation’? There are several issues that researcher must address in order to elaborate these questions. There is very little sociological literature on Japanese students who come to study in Britain or other Western societies. Japanese students in Britain are not typical immigrants, since they come for a few years to study. Nor are they 'native' ethnic minorities who have historically experienced colonialism and racial subordination.