The importance of both official (institutional) and unofficial (family and friends) support for study abroad students is a common thread in the literature. Japanese students naturally face great hardship when studying in Western countries, such as New Zealand or Australia, because of language and cultural differences. Ayano (2006) reports that her Japanese cohort in Britain never experienced a ‘honeymoon’ period of excitement (which is said to be generally felt when locating to a new environment), but suffered from psychological strain and hardship almost continuously. The most common way in which her participants coped with their difficulties was through withdrawing to their rooms and listening to music. The next most common method was by talking to co-national peers, followed by contacting home, which led Ayano to conclude that Japanese students generally rely on other Japanese, near and far, to cope with life in a foreign environment.
From various commentaries on study abroad, it is clear that group forming is fairly common for all nationalities that have been studied. Flaitz (2003) argues that it is such a Japanese trait to form groups that most Japanese are uncomfortable if they find themselves
82 singled out. When this is coupled with the realization that establishing friendships with people from other cultures generally requires more work, dedication and conscious effort than Japanese relationships (Beech, 2016), it seems logical that Japanese study abroad students tend to form groups with their compatriots. These friendships become closer and more important because, as Kennedy and Yaginuma (1991) state, “as time goes by, the members of any group become increasingly conscious of their obligations to each other, and their group feelings grow stronger” (p. 30).
As stated above, a common way in which Japanese students in Ayano’s (2006) study sought comfort was by contacting home, which in recent times is usually done via the Internet. As we saw in the previous chapter, there are concerns that Internet-based communication with home hinders acculturation and interaction with the local people, however, this may be something that Japanese students accept in the pursuit of happiness and maintaining relationships back home. According to Rothbaum et al. (2000), the harmony so valued in Japan brings a strong focus on the stability and continuity of
relationships with parents, and filial piety continues to influence Japanese young people on study abroad.
Another way in which study abroad students can promote their transition to their new environment is by being active. Toyokawa and Toyokawa (2002) outline the importance of Japanese international students taking part in extracurricular activities to provide
opportunities to socialize with hosts. Their research on Japanese international students studying in the U.S. reveals that those engaged in extracurricular activities generally had a higher life satisfaction than those not active. However, it can be difficult to make contact with non-Japanese students to get the opportunities to join these activities, particularly if
83 the student accommodation is not integrated. The Japanese students in Kudo and Simkin’s (2003) research tended to build intercultural friendships with people they were physically close to or with those who were introduced to them by friends.
One area seldom mentioned in study abroad literature, though clearly worthy of consideration, is student repatriation and what happens to students after their overseas experience. The concern for Japanese students returning home from abroad is that they will be perceived as ‘less Japanese’ by others because of their experience (White, 1988).
Cammish (1997) goes some way to supporting this idea, by positing that countries such as Japan “want their young people to learn English for instrumental reasons, they do not want them to acquire at the same time the cultural baggage which may come with it” (p. 144). However, as shown previously in section 3.3, some returning Japanese students downplay their English skills in the fear that they will be ostracized by their colleagues. Clearly, this thinking could potentially limit what international students can get out of studying abroad, or even what they might want to get out of it. White (1988) comments specifically on the case of Japanese leaving Japan, and postulates that their membership in society is
considered to be on suspension, and adds that the longer they are away from home, the more difficult it is for them to re-establish past relationships. Nearly 30 years ago, White was of the opinion that Japanese can only re-enter Japanese society successfully through “strict conformity and virtual denial of the foreign experience” (p. 106).
However, this attitude may lack grounding in the contemporary world. Block (2010) argues that:
Global citizens need English as the mediator of communications with the peoples of the world and not, as might have been the case until recently in
84 some contexts, as the mediator of American culture, or British culture, or
Australian culture, and so on. (p. 296)
There are indications that repatriation into Japan is easier now than when White’s views were published (Yoshida et al., 2002). However, Sugihashi (2009) reports that her research on study abroad returnees from the U.S. showed that Japanese students still struggle to (re)fit into Japanese culture, both in the classroom and society at large.