“Promotion of Japan-Sri Lanka Business Relations through Sri Lankan Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Japan” Research in Progress by 2016-17 the Japan Foundation Fellows

Please join us on Monday, March 13, 2017 at the Japan Foundation Headquarters for the presentation given by one of our 2016-2017 Japan Foundation Fellows (Scholars and Researchers) on the subject of “Promotion of Japan-Sri Lanka Business Relations through Sri Lankan Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Japan,” followed by discussion. In this session, Hettige Don Karunaratne (Professor and Head of Department of Business Economics, Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka) will be talking about his research to find factors that motivated Sri Lankan entrepreneurs to start a business in Japan, as well as their contemporary challenges.

Date and Time Monday, March 13, 2017 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Venue The Japan Foundation Headquarters (Main Building)
Seminar room 1, 9th floor, 4-4-1 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Tel. +81-(0)3-5369-6071
[Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line] 3-minute from Yotsuya-Sanchome Station
Access Map
Language English (no interpretation).
Seating Capacity 30
Program
  1. 1. Presentation: “Promotion of Japan-Sri Lanka Business Relations through Sri Lankan Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Japan”
    Speaker
    Hettige Don Karunaratne, Professor and Head of Department of Business Economics, Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
    Affiliation: The Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo
  2. 2. Commentary: Yoshiko Higuchi, Lecturer, Reitaku University and Ph.D Candidate, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
  3. 3. Discussion/Q&A
Presentation Summary Immigrant entrepreneurship has been increasingly benefiting both sending and receiving countries in terms of international trade, investment and employment. In many societies, immigrants actively participate in the local socio-economic life and join important social networks. At the same time, the host countries are also benefiting from immigrant businesses. Immigrants are considerable human capital source.
A survey conducted by Karunaratne in 2009 found that Sri Lankan immigrant entrepreneurs in Japan were opportunity-driven rather that necessity-driven. Although Sri Lankan immigrant entrepreneurship has not become noticeable by their number in Japan, ethnic resource utilization and business networks are important to promote more business ties between Japan and Sri Lanka. Karunaratne will share his research in progress based on his macro and micro-level data collection through almost 100 Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, 3 focus group discussions and several participant observations.
Registration Free admission but advance registration required. To sign up, please send your name, e-mail address, and occupation by e-mail with the subject line “Promotion of Japan-Sri Lanka Business Relations” to asiaoceania＠jpf.go.jp by Friday, March 10, 2017. (When sending an e-mail, please replace the full-width "＠" character with a half-width "@" character.)

[Contact Us]

The Japan Foundation
Japanese Studies and Global Partnerships Programss Department
Asia Oceania section
Person in charge: Yamaguchi (Ms.), Mugitani (Ms.)
Tel: +81-(0)3-5369-6070 Fax: +81-(0)3-5369-6041
E-mail:asiaoceania＠jpf.go.jp
(When sending an e-mail, please replace the full-width "＠" character with a half-width "@" character.)

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