ASYLUM SEEKERS STRUGGLE FOR RECOGNITION Japan offers refugee status to far fewer people than do other industrialized countries. Of 2,545 people who applied for the designation in Japan last year, only 18 succeeded. One of those whose application was turned down is a woman who escaped from Myanmar. After holding down part–time jobs in a number of restaurants, she started working as a manicurist about a year ago. The nail salon where she practices her trade was founded to support people like her. She aspires to improve her skills in order to have a stable life in Japan, but anxiety about her status is a fact of life. Our report documents how she spends her days and examines the struggles of similarly situated people. + EXPORTING JAPAN'S POP–IDOL STYLE