Neighborhood Ties as an Effect of Mediation: Exploring Links between Residential Concentration and Integration among Immigrants in Japan

Abstract

The isolation thesis argues that immigrants’ residential concentration may hinder their integration through decreased social contact with natives. Meanwhile, evidence also shows that informal ethnic networks formed in immigrant enclaves may function as safety nets and help them better integrate into the host society. The relationship between residential concentration and integration among immigrants may differ depending on the historical and social context. In Japan, although many studies have investigated the mechanism of the formation of residential concentrations of immigrants, the social impact remains unknown. To fill this gap, we explored the relationship between residential concentration and integration among immigrants in Japan, with a particular focus on the mediation effect of social ties with Japanese and immigrant neighbors. An online questionnaire survey was conducted in October 2021, and path analysis was used to estimate the indirect effect of residential concentration on integration mediated by neighborhood ties.

Our results showed that immigrants living in neighborhoods with higher foreign population ratios were less likely to have social contacts with Japanese neighbors but more likely to form social networks with immigrant neighbors. These two types of neighborhood ties have different effects on immigrants’ integration. Social ties with Japanese neighbors have a positive effect on integration; however, social ties with immigrant neighbors are negatively related to their integration.

Although we did not find a direct effect of residential concentration on the integration of immigrants, significant indirect effects through neighborhood ties were confirmed. Immigrants’ residential concentration hampers the formation of social ties with Japanese neighbors, which consequently affects their integration. Meanwhile, the ethnic networks resulting from residential concentration may also hinder integration. These results suggest that building connections with local neighbors could help immigrants better integrate into society, especially those living in concentration areas.