Community-building among foreign residents during crises and its implications on the host society: The case of Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic

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During 2022 the group conducted monthly meetings with all members and a research assistant to work on research activities implementation, presentations and publication planning. The main frameworks of the study were set on integration processes, and anticipatory and polycentric governance. Each member continued working on reviewing of the most recent literature and analyzed them based on the topics: migrant incorporation and COVID-19 policies (Kim); labor migration, governance of risks (Carlos); crises response and coping mechanisms (Makabenta-Ikeda); Japan’s and other countries’ policies and media coverage of COVID-19 response (Babovic).The group organized fieldwork activities: fieldtrips to Kobe and Osaka (Kim, Makabenta-Ikeda) and online interviews (Tottori pref. and Tokyo) with semi-governmental organizations and NGOs to survey them on the issues foreign residents faced during the pandemic. We found out that there was a difference between Filipinos and Russian-speaking residents: Filipinos' networks weakened due to the lack of the access to the churches and other physical meeting places. On the other hand, Russian-speaking residents concentrated on the online communication. At the moment, we are contacting Brazilians-related organizations to analyze their community changes during the pandemic, as they experienced no organizational support, but mostly gathered in local groups. We also discovered that sending states did not provide support to their citizens overseas, which led individuals, who live outside of their home countries to organize self-help groups.