Varieties of Public Attitudes toward Immigration: Evidence from Survey Experiments in Japan

AuthorFrances M. Rosenbluth,Rieko Kage,Seiki Tanaka
Published date01 March 2022
Date01 March 2022
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/1065912921993552
2022, Vol. 75(1) 216 –230
https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912921993552
Political Research Quarterly
© 2021 University of Utah
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/1065912921993552
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Introduction
Attitudes toward immigration have played a potent role
in the electoral politics of rich democracies in recent
decades, creating an urgent need to understand these
views. According to some studies, citizens fear the dilu-
tion of prized cultural norms and values (Card, Dustmann,
and Preston 2012; Hainmueller and Hopkins 2015;
Newman et al. 2013; Sides and Citrin 2007a). Other stud-
ies point to economic considerations, such as the concern
that immigrants will drain the country’s welfare resources
(Burgoon and Rooduijn 2021; Dustmann and Preston
2006; Gerber et al. 2017; Hanson, Scheve, and Slaughter
2006; Mewes and Mau 2013) or that they will compete
for jobs (Goldstein and Peters 2014; Mayda 2006;
O’Rourke and Sinnott 2006; Scheve and Slaughter
2001a). But beyond the question of why citizens oppose
immigration, recent research also reports a considerable
degree of pro-immigrant sentiment across developed
democracies (Card, Dustmann, and Preston 2012;
Hainmueller and Hopkins 2015). We broaden the debate
to consider whether different segments of the citizenry
may approach the issue from different angles.
Drawing on original surveys conducted in Japan, we
demonstrate the importance of understanding both (1)
who cares about which kinds of immigrants and (2)
why they exhibit these preferences. Japan’s restrictive
immigration policy is generally taken to reflect public
distaste for outsiders, but we find that over 60 percent
of our respondents favor widening the doors to immi-
grants for economic or cultural reasons or both. Our
findings are consistent with recent research on other
developed democracies that show sizable pro-immi-
grant sentiment (Card, Dustmann, and Preston 2012;
Hainmueller and Hopkins 2015).
We excavate which factors shape whether individuals
value or oppose immigration on cultural and/or eco-
nomic grounds. As we would expect, education is associ-
ated with more open attitudes toward immigration, but
there are differences among educated people depending
on material or cultural circumstances. All else equal, cor-
porate managers are likely to favor immigration, but
only for economic reasons. People with foreign friends
(currently or in the past) are more likely to appreciate
immigrants for cultural reasons, compared with people
who have never had foreign friends. These are examples
of the more general phenomenon that attitudes often rest
993552
PRQXXX10.1177/1065912921993552Political Research QuarterlyKage et al.
research-article2021
1The University of Tokyo, Japan
2Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
3University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Corresponding Author:
Rieko Kage, Department of Advanced Social and International
Studies, The University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku Komaba 3-8-1,
153-8902 Tokyo, Japan.
Email: kage@waka.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Varieties of Public Attitudes toward
Immigration: Evidence from Survey
Experiments in Japan
Rieko Kage1, Frances M. Rosenbluth2,
and Seiki Tanaka3
Abstract
What factors shape attitudes toward immigration? Previous studies have typically debated whether citizens oppose
immigration more for economic or cultural reasons. We broaden this debate by exploring how different segments of
the citizenry feel about immigration. Our original surveys conducted in Japan reveal two separate axes along which
many citizens view immigration: (1) its cultural and economic effects, and (2) its positive and negative effects. Even
in Japan, whose relatively closed policy toward immigration is conventionally believed to reflect widespread public
intolerance of outsiders, over 60 percent of our respondents favor widening the doors to immigrants for economic
or cultural reasons or both.
Keywords
immigrants, anti-immigrant sentiment, survey experiments, Japan
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