Transnational retirement mobility as processes of identity negotiation: the case of Japanese in South-east Asia

ABSTRACT

The increasing mobility of Japanese retirees to South-east Asia is part of a larger political economy reconfiguration in the region. This article argues that in order to fully appreciate the underlying dynamics of transnational retirement mobility, we should understand the mobility as processes of contestation over the seemingly simple question of ‘who is a retiree migrant?’. The governments of the destination countries and an emerging retirement industry strive to turn the retiree migrants into a particular type of high-value consumer subject. But the retirees see themselves as pragmatic individuals who seek to enjoy low living costs in South-east Asia in a time of economic uncertainty. The article sheds new light on transnational retirement mobility by examining how the retirees explore their sense of self while interacting with various actors. By linking it with the Foucauldian notion of subject making, this article deepens our understanding of identity negotiation in a transnational context.