Japan’s youth are now the most hostile to immigration, survey finds

Younger Japanese are proving to be the most resistant to immigration, defying assumptions that generational change would produce greater cosmopolitanism.\nA new survey found that 70 per cent of those aged 18 to 39 expressed safety concerns about foreign workers – higher than any other demographic.\nThis unexpected reversal reveals a generation grappling with anxieties that cut across conventional narratives of openness and globalisation.\nThe study by the Yomiuri newspaper and Waseda University’s Institute for Advanced Social Studies, published on December 2, found that nearly 60 per cent of 2,004 respondents opposed accepting more foreign workers, up from 46 per cent last year.\nYet it was the youngest cohort that drove the shift amid stagnant wages, soaring housing costs and uncertainty about the future that have made safety and stability paramount concerns for those in Japan just entering adulthood.\nThe rapid increase in tourists and foreign residents has brought issues\nMasako Kan, cultural consultant\nMasako Kan, an international cultural consultant, explained that this generation was exposed daily to the effects of rapid tourism growth and increased foreign residency in Japan’s urban centres.\n“The rapid increase in tourists and foreign residents has brought issues such as noise, poor manners, congestion and litter to the forefront,” she said, noting that short clips of disruptive behaviour circulated quickly online, worsening the sense of perceived safety regardless of actual crime statistics.\nRising economic insecurity had compounded these concerns, Kan told This Week in Asia.\n“Rising living costs and heavier tax burdens have heightened concerns about the future,” said Kan, who specialises in connecting US and Japanese businesses. “In this environment, some people fear that social services and public resources might become strained if more foreigners are accepted.”\n\nYounger Japanese, concentrated in cities and directly affected by these changes, feel these pressures most acutely.\nThe pattern inverts expectations: the generation presumed most worldly is now the most cautious about cultural change.\nThis did not reflect hostility towards foreigners, Kan emphasised, but rather apprehension about potential misunderstandings or conflicts arising from differences in language and cultural norms.\n“Stagnant wages, rising housing costs and uncertainty about the future contribute to a sense that any additional risk or instability is unwelcome, making safety concerns more acute,” she said.\n“Japan also lacks a clearly defined long-term immigration policy, leaving the public unsure about the country’s future direction.”\n\nBut public anxiety clashes with economic realities in a nation where the population is shrinking and ageing, leading to acute labour shortages across sectors, from construction to healthcare, welfare and transport.\nThe Japan Research Institute estimates that labour shortages cost the economy 16 trillion yen (US$103 billion) last year, or 2.6 per cent of gross domestic product, a five-fold increase from five years prior. By 2040, the shortfall could reach 11 million workers, with mounting evidence that companies are declaring bankruptcy due to staffing crises.\nNot everyone views large-scale immigration as the necessary remedy, however. Ken Kato, a conservative-leaning Tokyo business owner, said technology, not migration, should be Japan’s solution.\n\n\n“We know that AI and robotics are making huge leaps and this sort of technology will soon be able to make up for any shortages of workers,” he said.\nKato also warned of the human costs of relying on foreign workers during inevitable downturns, saying they were likely to struggle to find alternative employment and ultimately burden Japan’s welfare system.\nHe pointed to media reports of Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo, where a sizeable Kurdish population has settled.\nTechnology is the answer and large-scale immigration is the wrong approach\nKen Kato, Japanese businessman\nHe highlighted coverage of Kurds, recognised as refugees, allegedly running illegal businesses and causing friction with local residents through loud behaviour and failure to follow Japanese social customs.\nIncidents of violence and sexual assault have also drawn media attention, fuelling suspicions that some are exploiting the refugee system, which in turn has eroded public trust in genuine asylum seekers.\nKato added that many Japanese feared an influx of Muslims, citing terrorist attacks in Europe as a cautionary tale, and argued “technology is the answer and large-scale immigration is the wrong approach”.\n