Abstract
Although the policy of "multi-cultural co-existence" (Tabunka Kyousei) in Japan aims to socially integrate the Japanese people and ethnic immigrant minorities, little attention has been paid to the actual attitudes of the Japanese people. This study analyzes the attitudinal variation of Japanese residents toward this policy, and particularly focuses on the policy's effects with respect to neighborhood history. Through a questionnaire survey conducted in a neighborhood increasingly populated by Japanese-Brazilians in Yokkaichi City, we found that an accommodating view toward foreign residents was affected by the richness of the respondents' social networks with both Japanese and Brazilians. On the other hand, factors related to age and educational background do not have significant effects on such a view. These varying attitudinal aspects are also confirmed to originate from neighborhood characteristics, especially the type of housing (owner-occupied, rented by the prefecture, or rented by the Urban Renaissance Agency). While owner-occupiers have resided in the area for long and formed their social networks, they have relatively less motivation to support their counterparts. This is because they seldom get chances to communicate with Brazilians, as most of them reside in rented housing. The residents of apartments rented by the Urban Renaissance Agency also exhibit a passive attitude toward social integration regardless of daily contact with foreigners, as they have a poor social relationship with the neighborhood association due to the short term of their stay. In comparison to these two housing types, residents of apartments rented by the prefecture have enough networks with Brazilians and are ready to accept them in a positive way. This result is partly derived from the fact that the prefectural government requires all tenants including foreign households to participate in the neighborhood association.
