要旨
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How do different types of expatriates react to immediate disaster risk? This study seeks to acknowledge expatriate diversity by mapping reactions while paying special - albeit not blind - attention to expatriate type. I interviewed 12 expatriates in the Tokyo area one year after the 2011 Tohoku disasters. While the earthquake and tsunami caused regional destruction and there was immense uncertainty regarding how the nuclear meltdown would develop, Tokyo remained largely unscathed. Thus, my sample is suitable to study reactions to sudden and prolonged external threat. Analyzing their behavior through the lenses of expatriate type, cross-cultural adjustment and social attachment theory, I unpack the different push-and-pull factors that determine evacuation decisions. Reactions and responses were highly varied, ranging from business as usual to overseas evacuation. Findings indicate that expatriates relate to a variety of stakeholders when responding to increased levels of external threat and making evacuation decisions. For well-adjusted expatriates, these stakeholder maps grow in complexity and importance to the expatriate, reducing the likelihood of evacuation. The study contributes to a nuanced view of different expatriate types and sheds light on the fairly common occurence of heightened but unrealized threat.
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