Dipesh Kharel

DIPESH KHAREL, an independent scholar, Tokyo, Japan, was awarded a Fejos Postdoctoral Fellowship in October 2018 to aid filmmaking on ”Little Japan’ and ‘Little Nepal’: A Migration Story. The ethnographic film project, based upon a PhD dissertation, explores the unique trend of Nepali cooks migrating to Japan. Fieldwork was conducted in Japan and Nepal, utilizing video documentation to capture the lives of Nepali immigrants in Japan and their families back home. The Nepali population surged approximately twentyfold, from 5,314 in 2005 to nearly 150,000 in 2023, establishing them as the largest South Asian community in Japan. However, migration remains a challenging endeavor. Bishnu’s narrative exemplifies this struggle; migrating in 2008, he incurred significant debt to obtain a work visa, prompting his wife Bina to join him in Japan in 2009 to alleviate their financial burdens. This ethnographic film chronicles Bishnu and Bina’s daily life in Japan, alongside their daughter Bipisha, who was just three months old when her parents left Nepal. Balancing their experiences in Japan with Bipisha’s life in Nepal, the film interconnects their narratives through everyday experiences. Depicting the complexities of migration, it portrays the emotional toll of leaving loved ones behind. The film not only sheds light on individual stories but also contributes to understanding the broader implications of transnational migration. Through this lens, it aims to foster empathy and provoke thoughtful discourse on migration and its impact on families.