Chinese Migrant Families in Japan: Investigating Social Networks for Old-Age Care Provision and the Role of Digital Technology in Times of the COVID-1

人口老龄化是需要紧急关注的最大全球挑战之一。亚洲有两个国家受到的影响尤其严重：世界上老年人比例最高的日本，以及世界上人口老龄化速度最快的中国。本研究探讨了中国移民日本背景下的养老、福祉、数字技术的作用以及新冠疫情的影响。中国人是日本最大的移民群体。但在中国，他们如何与年迈的父母保持联系并照顾他们呢？在日本的中国老年移民是如何与他们在中国和世界各地的社交网络联系起来的？数字技术和社交媒体在这些社交网络和跨国护理关系中扮演了什么角色？日本移民制度在形成这些移民和护理模式方面发挥了什么作用？所有这些都受到了2019冠状病毒病大流行的影响？这些都是这项博士研究计划旨在解决的关键问题，通过一种混合方法，包括面对面和在线采访在日本的中国移民及其在中国和日本的年长父母；绘制社会关系图，使社会网络可见；社交媒体内容的定量内容分析；还有一些数字化的方法，比如网页清理和社交媒体的使用。这项研究将是跨学科的，其成果将反映研究人员的背景和来自地理学、社会学和电子与计算机科学的指导团队。

Population ageing is one of the greatest global challenges needing urgent attention. Two countries in Asiaare particularly impacted by this: Japan - with the highest proportion of older citizens in the world, andChina - with the most rapidly ageing population in the world. This study explores old-age care, wellbeing,the role of digital technology, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of Chinesemigration to Japan. Chinese are the largest migrant community in Japan. But how do they maintain linkswith, and provide care for, their ageing parents in China? How do older Chinese migrants in Japan linkwith their social networks in China and around the world? What role do digital technology and socialmedia play in these social networks and transnational relations of care? What role does the Japaneseimmigration regime play in shaping these patterns of migration and care? And how have all of thesebeen impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic? These are the key questions that this proposed Ph.D.research aims to address, through a mixed-methods approach that will include in-person and onlineinterviews with Chinese migrants in Japan and their older parents in both China and Japan; drawingsociograms through which social networks are made visible; quantitative content analysis of social mediacontent; and digital methods such as web scrapping and use of social media. This research will beinterdisciplinary in nature and outputs, reflecting the researcher's background and the supervisory teamfrom geography, sociology, and electronic & computer science.