Abstract
A large number of foreign residents live in the Tokyo and Osaka metropolitan areas. These foreigners can be divided into the following two groups: “oldtimers,” comprising immigrants from overseas Japanese colonies from before World War II and their descendants; and “newcomers,” who immigrated to Japan after the late 1980s. This paper focuses on the differences in residential segregation between oldtimers and newcomers by calculation and visualization of their segregation in each metropolitan area. From an analysis of small-area census data (1995, 2000, and 2005), the variation in segregation was calculated by means of a general spatial segregation index (GD index). Moreover, clustered patterns of the distribution of foreign populations were detected using local Moran's I and odds ratio indices.
In Tokyo, where newcomers outnumber oldtimers, the GD index exhibits an inconsistent trend with respect to the change in segregation, whereas the number of clusters decreases. This trend was partly derived from the growing foreign population in several specific clusters in Shinjuku, Toshima, Minato, and Arakawa wards. On the other hand, Osaka, where the proportion of oldtimers is greater than 50% of all foreigners, experienced a significant decrease in the GD index of foreigners. In general, the number of foreigners declined significantly in almost all of the existing clusters except for several districts in Ikuno ward. However, the foreign population increased in newly formed clusters in Chuo ward.
A comparison between the trends of segregation in these two areas indicated that the value of the GD index in Osaka is considerably higher than that in Tokyo. Large clusters of oldtimers (almost all Korean residents) contributed to the clearer segregation in Osaka, whereas a social decrease in their numbers in existing clusters caused a rapid decline in the GD index, as mentioned above. However, these two cities share a common feature in that newcomers, especially recently arrived foreigners, played a key role in the growth of the foreign population in these specific clusters. This result can be attributed to the relatively high proportion of privately rented apartments that are available for newcomers.
Analyses of segregation in Tokyo and Osaka indicated that oldtimers and newcomers, respectively, affected the trend of segregation and the spatial distribution of clusters of foreign populations. In particular, the impact of recently arrived newcomers appears to be one of the most specific features in segregation in these two cities. In this respect, Japanese immigration policy, which intends to exclude permanent immigration, is presumably related to the spatial segregation of foreigners in Japanese metropolitan areas.
