Visual anthropologist turns long lens on Nepali migration to Japan

Send us Fan Mail The rise in the numbers of Nepalis migrating to Japan in recent decades has been phenomenal — and I think overshadowed by movement to countries like the US, UK and Australia. Today the Asian country is by far the top destination for students going abroad to earn degrees and, in many cases, a path to settlement in the country. I doubt that you would ever guess that the origin of today’s migration to Japan is colonial Britain’s presence in Nepal’s neighbour, India. I’ll leave today’s guest, visual anthropologist Dipesh Kharel, to draw out that thread for you. He says that the link has led to a current population of about 230,000 Nepalis in Japan — five times more than the number of Indian migrants. One sign of how fully settled they have become in their new country is that many women no longer return to Nepal to give birth. By the way, Dipesh mentions the Japanese currency, the yen, a couple of times. As of today, 1 Nepali rupee was worth 1.07 yen. Resources About Dipesh Kharel Nepali students’ destinations (2023-24) Support the show Show your love by sending this episode to someone who you think might be interested or by sharing it on social media: LinkedIn Instagram BlueSky Facebook Music by audionautix.com. Nepal Now is produced and hosted by Marty Logan.

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Visual anthropologist turns long lens on Nepali migration to Japan is an episode from Nepal Now by Marty Logan.

This episode is 32:32 long.

This episode was published on Jul 22, 2025.

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