著者

阿部 亮吾

出版者

人文地理学会

雑誌

人文地理 (ISSN:00187216)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.55, no.4, pp.307-329, 2003

被引用文献数

2 2

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This paper argues the issue of female migrant workers who have been remarkable under the globalization, particularly paying attention to the condition of Filipino women, because the Republic of Philippines has been systematizing and promoting the exportation of manpower, and sending many Filipino female domestic workers to developed areas in Asia, the Middle East, and other western countries. However, Japan excludes domestic workers selectively through its strict immigration policy. As result, a great number of Filipino females who come to Japan are only entertainers like dancers and singers. In this context, Japan is unique compared with other countries. Most entertainers work at Philippine Pubs in different cities all over Japan. Therefore, the unique urban nightscapes of Philippine Pubs are built in local urban spaces.I explored the politics of space of Philippine Pubs, which is an important component of local urban space, and the politics of positioning Filipino female entertainers who work there, through a case study of Sakae Walk Street where many Philippine Pubs are located in Nagoya City.First, my study showed that the present location of Philippine Pubs in Sakae Walk Street used to be an entertainment area (Snack town) in the outskirt of downtown Sakae District. With the decline of this area, Philippine Pubs, where cheaper and younger entertainers are a main character, started to mushroom and eventually replaced the old entertainment town.Second, my study revealed that two agents concerning the formation of this space of Philippine Pubs in Sakae Walk Street have respectively constructed each representations of 'ethnicity' of the entertainers. Employers and talent agencies have constructed this 'ethnicity' showing imaginative geographies of exotic, sexual and southern countries, through the formation of space, particularly aspects of landscape-appearance, standing signboards, advertising boards-. Immigration/police have doubly constructed 'ethnicity' as 'victims' or 'wrongdoers' through the formation of space of control against this space of Philippine Pubs by executing the surveillance and exposure activities around Ikeda Park. Local inhabitants in Sakae Walk Street also support these activities.In conclusion, I hope to suggest that the politics of the formation of local space of Philippine Pubs, being mutually compositional with the politics of the social construction of representations about 'ethnicity', is one of the processes of othering entertainer. And also, the spaces, which two above-mentioned agents have formed, are mutually negotiative rather than parallel. This makes the politics of the formation of this space of Philippine Pubs and also the process of othering entertainers multidimensional.