r-intensive and unmechanized industries and Yamanaka argues that changing demographics, rising education levels, and a dislike of manual labor by the young require the government to implement a policy regarding unskilled labor (1993, p. 72). Thus, migration issues are now an important issue for a country that has historically protected its ethnic homogeneity (Meissner, Hormats, Walker & Ogata, 1993, p. 67).
Analysis of the Logic and Completeness of Reeves' Argument
Reeves places Japan within the global network and examines the benefits and costs of labor migration. She establishes Japan as an actor and factor in the international community and examines the factors causing the demand for low-wage labor in Japan, the consequences of Japan's labor shortage, and the factors giving rise to the supply of such low-wage labor by southeast Asian nations.
Reeves argues that the high wages and standard of living demanded by Japanese nationals, as well as its aging population, lowered fertility rate, and the exhaustion of its rural labor supply serve to create a domestic labor shortage. She continues her argument by examining the responses to immigration in Japan. She gives a background on immigration to Japan and skillfully uses official immigration numbers and arrests to suggest that the magnitude of the problem is being overlooked by the Japanese government. She examines the methods of entry, terms of employment, and living and working conditions (poor) for most illegal entrants. She clearly blames the Japanese government for its failure to fully address the issue of illegal immigration and identifies the tension between industry and the government because of the government's lack of action. Finally, she concludes her argument by examining the effects of labor migration on labor-exporting (t
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