Lixing Chen is Professor of Sociology at Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan. She is the first Chinese citizen to obtain a PhD in sociology in Japan. After she served as researcher at the United Nations Regional Development Center (UNCRD) she returned to academia and became the first professor of Chinese nationality in Japan, and even served as president of the Japan-China Sociological Society (JCSS). She has led many major research projects, such as the 'Comparative Studies on the New Migrants from BRIC counties in America, Australia, Japan and the UK'. She has published more than 40 articles and 9 books in Japanese, English and Chinese.