Using the Keio Grant for the Development of Academic Research, my research about Social Markers of Acculturation ("SMA") has advanced in two ways: 1. I have conducted survey research and given presentations at academic conferences to share the results as to which SMA Japanese people value the most when deciding whether or not to socially accept immigrants as members of Japanese society (as well as how those SMA change according to variables such as the degrees of threat and contribution that Japanese perceive from immigrants), and 2. I have conducted survey research to assess the impact of expectations for SMA on immigrants' mental health (for example, levels of stress and life satisfaction).

For #1 above, I published my paper "The Exigent Case for Belonging: Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Actualization" in the International Journal of Intercultural Relations (published by Elsevier) and delivered an invited lecture online about this material at the Intercultural Development Research Institute in Milan, Italy on September 30th, 2021. I also gave presentations at two online conferences: the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology 25th International Congress (July 29, 2021) and the SIETAR (Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research) Japan Annual Conference (November 27, 2021).

For #2 above, I collected data from 800 migrants living in Japan and am currently analyzing this data to prepare myself to give presentations about it at academic conferences later in 2022 (for example, the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology 26th International Congress and the SIETAR Europa Congress).

I have used this year's budget of 300,000 yen to gather additional data related to #1 above. In other words, I am also researching whether Japanese people expect different SMA depending upon immigrants' national origin. Therefore, I hired Rakuten to survey 800 Japanese people to assess which SMA they value most and how those criteria change according to context depending upon which immigrant group they are considering (Chinese, Koreans, Westerners, or South Americans).