The global age of migration is fast becoming a permanent feature of Japanese life, impacting the country's economic, social and political landscape. The 12 essays collected here bring together research on foreign workers and households from a variety of perspectives. Throughout, three key questions are addressed: does the recent wave of migration constitute a new multicultural age that challenges Japan's identity as a homogenous society?; how do foreign workers confront the many difficulties of living in Japan?; and how is Japanese society both resisting and accommodating the growing presence of foreign workers in its communities? This volume should be of interest to anyone concerned with the future of Japanese society. The contributors include John Lie, Takashi Machimura, Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu, Katherine Tegtmeyer Pak and Michael Weiner.