544 From entertainers to caregivers: aging intimacies and marital carework among migrant Filipina women in Japan

Abstract OP 26: Exclusion and Discrimination 4, B207 (FCSH), September 4, 2025, 16:00 - 17:00 Aims This study investigates the long-term life trajectories of former Filipina entertainers in Japan who migrated in the 1980s and 1990s. It specifically examines how gender, aging, and migration intersect as these women, currently in their late 40s to 50s and formerly recruited under Japan’s “entertainer visa” system, navigate caregiving roles for their aging Japanese husbands, now in their 70s to 80s. The aim is to understand how these women negotiate belonging, care, and agency in the context of gendered migration, aging intimacies, and marital carework. Methods The research draws on a combination of archival data, migration policy analysis, and in-depth interviews with former entertainers currently living in Japan. These qualitative methods allow for a grounded understanding of the women’s lived experiences and shifting roles within domestic and marital contexts. Results Findings reveal that many of these women now serve as primary?caregivers and decision-makers in their households, managing?not only physical care but also medical and legal responsibilities?for their aging spouses. Their experiences are shaped?by earlier immigration pathways, structural precarity, and persistent gendered expectations. While their labor often remains invisible and feminized, their roles have evolved significantly, from?dependents and entertainers to key figures in the domestic sphere. Conclusions This study contributes to ongoing discussions on gendered migration, intergenerational care, and the affective dimensions of aging. It shows how Filipina migrants’ aging lives and marital responsibilities are shaped not only by state policies or labor markets, but also by intimate, long-term obligations within transnational marriages. By reframing aging as a political and emotional terrain negotiated through care, it also invites reflection on how intimate, transnational relationships evolve over time, through migrant women’s labor and agency.