Abstract
The number of Muslims who visit and live in Japan is increasing. However, attitudes toward Muslims are not generally positive. Existing research has shown that the perceived threat of Muslims exerts a strong influence on attitudes toward Muslims and perceptions of them. However, previous studies have not fully revealed the factor structure of perceived threats. Thus, the present study aims to explore the factor structure of the perceived threat in both Japan and Korea by building on integrated threat theory which incorporate the perceived threat into the realistic and the symbolic separately. In addition, to compare the perceived threat of Muslims, the present study also examined perceived threats associated with Chinese, Japanese/Koreans, and foreigners in general. An analysis of data collected from 409 Japanese and 417 Koreans revealed that the factor structures of perceived threats differed from those expected from the integrated threat theory and that the structures varied among groups. In conclusion, the integrated threat theory cannot be fully applied to perceived threats in Japan and Korea, and further exploration needs to be done to understand the contextuality of these societies.
