Tsan-Hsuan

Tsan-Hsuan Yang
Professor Carlisi
ESL 33B
Dec. 3, 2015
People who want to migrate from their own homeland to another place were looking
for the higher quality of living environment. Also, they usually immigrate to a place
where can provide them with desired needs they cannot get from their own homeland.
There are a large amount of people immigrate to the United States every year because
they discover many opportunity in this nation. By 1925, more than 200,000 Japanese had
left their homes for Hawaii, and about 180,000 had immigrated to the mainland of the
United States. (Adachi, 576) Japanese Americans have historically been among the three
largest Asian American communities in the United States. (Adachi, 576) There were
many reasons why Japanese decided to immigrate to the United States. Those Japanese
immigrants would like to discover a new and different way of life, but they would need to
adapt some hardships, such as discrimination. Although Japanese immigrants had been
through many things during World War II and they would have face many different kind
of obstacles in the United States, they still determined decided to immigrate. However,
there were numerous Japanese immigrated to the United States because they wished to
live in a safer environment, get better job opportunities, and have better education
system.
The opening of trade with the United States provided Japan with its first exposure to
a completely foreign culture. Many Japanese saw the United States as a model of modern
life, and their nation's exposure to American business and culture triggered a period of

Tsan-Hsuan

great social upheaval and change. (Becker, 9) The financial stability and economic
growth in Japan influenced agricultural traditions declined. Therefore, people who lived
in countryside moved to more urban city or downtown to find better job. Since Japan had
low wages, overcrowded cities, and high poverty, so the rates of malnutrition and
starvation soared. (Becker, 9) As a result, many Japanese considered immigrating to the
United States and Hawaii because they wanted to have better future and living
environment.
Employment opportunities are more available in the United States than in Japan.
Therefore, Japanese wanted to come to the United States to find a well-paid job.
According to Steven Gold, he mentions that these newcomers find employment in wellpaid occupations for which there is considerable demand. (Gold, 409) However, there
were many unskilled jobs that Americans do not like to do. Since Japanese immigrants
were willing to work hard, Japanese immigrants had more chances to earn jobs. The
reason why Japanese immigrants were willing to work hard was because they wanted to
have a new way of life in the different country. Based on Ishiis article, she mentions that
there are more available outside opportunities in the United States than in Japan. (Ishii,
283) However, if Japanese immigrated to the United States, they would have better living
environment and have the higher chance to find a good job.
Japanese emigration surged in the late 1880s. The first Japanese who moved to
Hawaii and the United States became known as the Issei. (Becker, 10) The first
generation of Japanese would not only face the benefits in the United States because they
would also face some difficulties in the different country, such as discrimination.
According to an article which has mentioned Chiu and Ring research is Yeh and Inoses,

Tsan-Hsuan

they said that Asian immigrant youth may experience a variety of stressors in the school
environment, including racial discrimination, racial/ethnic stereotyping, language
barriers, and intergroup conflicts and tensions. (Yeh and Inose, 71) The most common
difficulty for immigrants was discrimination and there were many reasons to cause
discrimination. Arora

said that

ethnic

minority adolescents

may experience

discrimination, which could compromise their sense of pride in their culture of origin and
limit their aspirations and achievements. (Arora, 483) Finally, discrimination is a big
issue for Japanese immigrant. In order to adapt quickly, they should be open minded and
be brave to struggle with those problems.
To decrease the hardships in the United States, Japanese immigrants should have
aspiring attitude and accept cultural diversity. In order to accept the cultural differences
rapidly, Japanese immigrants should be willing to contribute to the United States. As
Gold mentioned in his article, he said that many immigrants are willing to serve in the
American armed forces during a war that is both dangerous and internationally unpopular
demonstrates their patriotism and willingness to literally put their lives on the line to
further the goals and values of their new nation. (Gold, 410) Moreover, if Japanese
immigrants are willing to contribute and be open mind, then the hardships will not
become a big issue for them.
Education is an important part for everyone and American developed their education
system very well. One of the major difficulties immigrants face was the language barrier.
(Yeh and Inose, 484) Since English was not Japanese immigrants first language, they
would have difficulty in speaking or expressing their opinions. In addition to arriving as
fluent English speakers, many immigrants also arrive as highly educated professionals.

Tsan-Hsuan

Between the late 1960s and the early 1990s, over one in four immigrant heads of
household was a high-status professional, executive, or manager in his or her country of
origin. The education and resources of these immigrants may enable them to help their
children become more fully bilingual, acquiring literacy and academic skills in two
languages. (Ciment, 603) Because of the education system and living condition in the
United States, Japanese immigrants could have a chance to learn second language.
Finally, Japanese immigrants could benefit from having academic skills in two languages.
Because of the poverty, many Japanese decided to immigrate to the United States to
study. As Becker mentioned in his article, he said that some people resorted to eating tree
bark and roots for survival. (Becker, 9) Moreover, many Japanese had difficulty to pay
for their childrens tuition at that time. If they could not pay for the tuition of higher
education for their children, their children might give up for having higher quality of
education. In contrast, American did not need to worry about tuition and their children
could have chance to earn higher education. The reason why American did not need to
worry about tuition was because the education system was well developed and their
children could also receive financial aids. As a result, many Japanese decided to migrate
to the United States in order to have better education system and the subsidy.
In conclusion, there were many benefits of Japanese immigrants to the United
States. The reason why Japanese immigrants wanted to immigrate to the United States
in World War II was because they sought for safer and high quality of living
environment, better job opportunities, and higher educations. Also, they would like to
discover a new and different ways of life. Japanese immigrants should struggle with
some hardships, such as discrimination. Moreover, the solution to solve those

Tsan-Hsuan

problems were Japanese immigrants should be open mind or try to be a part of

American. For example, they can contribute to Americans short-term economic
benefits and long-term population growth. (Gold, 409) The rates of malnutrition and
starvation in Japan were higher than in the United States, so they were looking for a
place that was safety. In addition, Japanese immigrants could also get more
employment opportunities and well-paid wages in the United States. Japanese
immigrants would have better education system and they could take advantage of
having academic skills in two languages. Because of those benefits and reason, there
were many Japanese have decided to immigrate to the United States.

Tsan-Hsuan

Works Citied
Adachi, Nobuko. "Japan." American Immigration: An Encyclopedia of Political, Social,
and Cultural Change. Ed. James Ciment and John Radzilowski. 2nd ed. Armonk,
NY: Sharpe Reference, 2014. 575-580. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16
Nov. 2015.
Becker, Peggy Daniels. Japanese-American Internment during World War II. Detroit:
Omnigraphics, 2014. Defining Moments. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 1
Dec. 2015.
Ciment, James, and John Radzilowski, eds. American Immigration: An Encyclopedia of
Political, Social, and Cultural Change. 2nd ed. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference,
2014. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
Gold, Steven. "Immigration Benefits America." Society 46.5 (2009): 408-411. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
Ishii, Keiko. "Do Differences In General Trust Explain Cultural Differences In
Dispositionism?" Japanese Psychological Research 49.4 (2007): 282-287.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
Matray, James I. "Japanese Americans." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I.
Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 462-465. Gale
Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
Yeh, Christine, and Mayuko Inose. "Difficulties And Coping Strategies Of Chinese,
Japanese, And Korean Immigrant Students." Adolescence 37.145 (2002): 69.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
"Japanese Immigration to the United States." Japanese-American Internment during

Tsan-Hsuan 7