The Role of Nationalism and Political Identity in Shaping Japanese People’s Perceptions of Immigrants and Refugees

Abstract

Japan is well-known for its strict immigration and refugee policies. This study examines how Japanese public opinion towards both immigrants and refugees developed in the past, and whether the current trends in public approach towards these phenomena signalise any change in policies. Several studies have already explained the general attitudes of Japanese people towards immigrants and foreigners, while the Japanese attitude towards refugees remains genuinely understudied. In this chapter, public attitudes towards selected groups of nationals, as well as ethnic and religious minorities—and opinions on statements related to immigration and refugee issues—were all analysed. The data used in this chapter have been collected from the Sinophone Borderlands Indo-Pacific Survey, which was co-conducted in 2022 by one of the authors and collected 1219 nationally representative responses. Focusing on the role of the level of nationalist sentiments and political identity, this chapter reveals that nationalism and conservatism have a small impact on how Japanese society perceives refugees and immigrants. In general, the study shows that Japanese society is not welcoming towards foreigners, however, it does demonstrate a high level of awareness regarding the difficulties that Rohingya refugees face and shows support for their resettlement.