Japanese marriage migrants in ‘imagined’ multicultural Australia: Facing gaps between expectation and reality

This article uses qualitative data to explore Japanese marriage migrants’ preconceptions of Australia prior to their emigration to Queensland. In particular, it focuses on two dominant images of Australia: its natural environment and its multicultural society. I argue that the preconceived images accord with Japanese media representations of Australia, providing examples of cultural texts that reflect such images. Second, I highlight the disparity between anticipated settlement experiences influenced by preconceived images of Australia and actual lived experience. In Japanese migrants’ imagination, multicultural Australia has no racial prejudice or discrimination, and therefore they do not expect to encounter any. However, some migrants have faced adverse experiences that ultimately contest the preconceived image of a harmonious Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and some informants avoided discussing racist experiences and some even adopted a defensive attitude. This article lastly explores why some participants find it difficult to share their negative experiences.