Life in the Sandwiched Generation: Aging Migrant Women in Japan Wedged between Society’s Many Expectations

Amy. Nora. Marilyn. Yvette. Through their voices, the situation of older Filipino women “in the middle” of providing care for their immediate family in their place of migration, as well as elderly family members who have been left behind, was brought to light in the sixth presentation of the SDRC 41^st Anniversary Webinar Series. Entitled “Older Female Migrants and their Kin in the Homeland: Transnational Caregiving Practices among Filipinas in Japan,” the presentation was made by Dr. Johanna O. Zulueta, an Associate Professor of Sociology at the Faculty of International Liberal Arts of Soka University, on November via Zoom and Facebook Live. In it, she described the familial roles performed by migrant women as mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, aunts, and grandmothers.

Beginning with the circumstance of how they found themselves in Japan, Dr. Zulueta explained that most of the migrant women entered the country on an “entertainer” visa in the 1980s, eventually marrying Japanese men and having families of their own. Others arrived to work as house help for expatriates, or for study or professional employment. By the end of 2019, the Philippines ranked third in terms of the number of female migrants in Japan along with other Asian nationalities, and over half of this population were between the ages of 50 and 55.

With the increase in the number of Filipina migrants came the phenomenon of transnational caregiving, in which a sense of “familyhood” was strived for by fulfilling responsibilities to both those in the place of migration and the kin who lived back home. This sense of duty was expressed by 47-year-old Amy in Kyoto, who had supported her mother, sister, and niece/nephew with monthly remittances. “I need to save for myself,” she now says, after a decade of regularly providing financial care to her immediate and extended family.

Dr. Zulueta’s presentation also examined the role of gender in the delivery of transnational care, particularly in the case of parents who support their children with the expectation that they—primarily the female children—would return such support when it was the parents’ turn to need care. Thus, 57-year-old Nora in Tokyo confided that when her daughter graduated and was able to help out monetarily, it would be possible for their home in the Philippines to be repaired and for Nora to pursue her plans of “visiting other countries.”

Baldassar, Baldock and Wilding’s notion of the five dimensions of care were cited by Dr. Zulueta in a segment on intergenerational relationships and transnational care. These dimensions are the economic, accommodation (for migrants on visits to their families), personal (“hands-on” care when physically present), practical (exchanging advice and information via ICTs), and emotional and moral. But the provision of care is not always easy. Thus, one can sense the remorse of Marilyn, a migrant in her early 50s living in Kyoto, when she says that “Instead of taking care of my own parent, I am just here sending money back home.” Even if she is able to fulfil her obligations money-wise, she is clearly affected by her inability to be in closer proximity to her loved ones.

A major consequence of being away from the family mentioned by Dr. Zulueta was the need to delegate caregiving to other family members or to hire outside help. This can be difficult, as some family members may not give an honest picture of what is happening to the elderly kin. Family members left to care for those left behind can also develop certain sentiments toward the one who has moved away and is “not here to do hands-on care,” thus leading to conflicts. However, it is being absent that will often distress the migrant worker, who cannot afford or secure permission to return home in times of crisis. As seen in the situation of Yvette, who in her early 60s is living in Tokyo, the only comfort her brother in the Philippines can offer is to advise her to “just pray and leave everything to God.”

Through Dr. Zulueta’s interviews with older migrant women in Japan, she observed that they continue to perform their filial obligations, mostly in the form of economic support, even as they age. Old age, in fact, does not hinder them from providing transnational care. Despite their capacity to do so, she does acknowledge the need to investigate further the changing family structures and intergenerational relationships stemming from migration, most notably with regard to these women who are “aging in place.”

In the discussion that followed the presentation, participants asked about the possibility of interviewing the left-behinds in the Philippines, particularly those family members of the migrants interviewed in the study; of including a spiritual dimension along with the five dimensions of transnational care, such as sponsorship of masses and praying of novenas; of looking into how Philippine cultural norms affect the transnational care dimension as a framework as well as the wellbeing of the respondents in the study; and of exploring the experience of aging Filipino male migrants. All of these Dr. Zulueta agreed are areas she could pursue as extensions of her preliminary study, especially once the pandemic is over.

Over a hundred participants viewed the webinar presentation, including faculty from Arellano University, Athens Academy – Taguig, Capiz State University, Cavite State University, Center for Health Care Professions Cebu, Inc., Central Philippine University – Iloilo, DepEd Makati, Department of Teaching Languages at the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines, La Salle Greenhills, Laguna State Polytechnic University, Martinez Memorial College – Caloocan, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa, Pedro E. Diaz High School – Muntinlupa, Philippine Military Academy, Philippine Normal University, Rizal Technological University, St. Mary’s Educational Institute – Lemery, University of the Philippines – Philippines Studies Program, Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology, and the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and the International Christian University in Japan.