ABSTRACT

This paper explores how material-based and identity-based concerns influence views on immigration in Japan. Our analysis, based on in-depth interviews with 28 local residents and public and policy opinion leaders conducted in 2015 in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, found widespread opposition to immigration with the exception of the immigration of care workers. General opposition to immigration stemmed from identity-based concerns, while openness to and support for the immigration of care workers was related to material-based concerns. Our findings suggest that while the identities approach to understanding anti-immigration sentiment has explanatory power in Japan, material-based concerns can, when sufficiently strong, override identity-based concerns in a phenomenon we call ‘pragmatic divergence’.

摘要

本文探讨了基于物质和基于身份的担忧如何影响日本的移民观。我们的分析基于2015年在日本山梨县对28位当地居民以及公共和政策舆论领袖进行的深入采访，结果发现，除了护理人员的移民外，移民普遍受到反对。对移民的普遍反对源于基于身份的关注，而对护理人员的开放和支持与基于物质的关注有关。我们的研究结果表明，虽然身份理解方法在日本具有反移民情绪的解释力，但基于物质的担忧在足够强大的情况下可以在我们称为“务实分歧”的现象中超越基于身份的担忧。