1I am an anthropologist and I work at the National Museum of Ethnology in Japan, whose speciality is the study of the world’s cultures and ethnic groups. We are fifty-four permanent researchers working there. Our activities are structured around three missions: teaching, research and the dissemination of knowledge through exhibitions, the publication of academic journals and journals aimed at a wider audience. Our classes are designed for a wide range of audiences, from PhD students to primary school pupils already introduced to these issues. For example, we develop a learning kit on cultural topics for them.

2Moreover, the museum also manages many research projects led by national and international networks. Among the five existing research departments, I belong to the Center for Cultural Resource Studies which aims to organise interdisciplinary and international research projects on cultural resources.

3I am specialised in Soninke international migration. I study their economic activities “where they are”, in their home country, but also in cities across Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, the Americas and Europe (Mishima, 2014).

What new directions are your research taking, and in what ways do they reshape your understanding of international migration?

Over the past centuries, Soninke migrants have been given different appellations. They used to be “the great traders” during the trans-Saharan trade, until Western expansion. During the French colonisation of West Africa, they became “the poor migrants”. If these denominations reflect a view influenced by a certain political, economic or cultural ideology, where is the “true face” of these migrants?

Migration is not only a phenomenon of physical displacement, but it is above all a pursuit of a better life. However, when we study the motivations for migration, it is important not to fall into the “trap of the case study”. Anthropologists have sometimes tended to treat a particularity as if it were a whole, and to describe a specific group without necessarily positioning it within “the universality of the social sciences”. That is why we give particular attention to the study of migration phenomena, especially the work ethic related to migration, as it reveals fundamental issues of human societies.

How has the field of migration studies evolved within the political and disciplinary context of your country in recent years, particularly with regard to methodologies, research objects, and theoretical frameworks? What is the place of scientific knowledge in public debates on migration?

Migration studies are supported by three major organisations: the Japanese Association for Migration Studies, the Japan Association for Migration Policy Studies and the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. The first organisation was created in 1991. It is specialised in the study of Japanese emigration. The second one, created in 2008, studies, as its name suggests, the public policy of Japanese immigration. Then, the last one is the only one to have promoted since 2024 research projects on international migration. It conducts research in France, in partnership with the Institut national d’études démographiques. It also works with research institutions in South Korea, China, India and Mongolia.

Finally, whereas Japan has only belatedly turned into a country of immigration, studies on multiculturalism have significantly helped to reduce the tensions between the migrants and the Japanese population.

How would you characterize the current publishing landscape in your country in the field of migration studies? What types of journals, formats, or readerships presently structure the circulation of knowledge in this domain?

We count around 400 books published between 1982 and 2001 on international migration and the integration of foreign workers in Japan. This reflects, along with the publication of human and social sciences books, the dynamism of Japanese research on these questions.

Finally, even if academics publish their work individually, no university has a specialised department dedicated to migration studies. However, there are “mainstream books” that address the cohabitation with immigrants as it has now become a part of their everyday life. When it comes to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, it is responsible for managing the demographic data of the population, including immigrants.

How do you engage, in your research, with emerging modes of publishing and “journal-making” (open access, artificial intelligence, etc.)?

Our academic journals, including the Bulletin of the National Museum of Ethnology, Senri Ethnological Studies (SES) and Senri Ethnological Reports (SER) are published in both print and open-access online versions. Only the journal Trajectoria, an international multimedia journal, publishes its issues online. It is positioned at the intersection of anthropology, heritage studies, museum studies and the arts.

Moreover, many academic associations such as the Japan Association for African Studies, are now considering publishing exclusively online for budgetary purposes. As for the museum, it offers open access to its scientific articles and descriptions of its collections, including objects, photos and images. For example, I created a database compiling videos collected during my fieldwork. It is a scientific tool of communication and exchange that allows anyone to add information and comments online, based on the model of collaborative wiki platforms.