Since April 2019, Japan has recognized manual labor as a “specified skill” in new immigration policy. According to OECD statistics on the annual inflow of foreign population by country, Japan ranks fourth among OECD member states. In fact, Japan is a major immigrant destination, with 2.84 million foreign nationals living within its borders. Internationally, the level of happiness among immigrants is considered an important issue, and indeed the World Happiness Report has published a special feature on the topic. However, in Japan, no such surveys have been conducted, with the exception of studies on happiness among international students. The current study examines the level of happiness among immigrants to Japan and was conducted using micro data from the Foreign Nationals’ Opinion Survey conducted by City “T” in Japan. These data were used because no nationwide surveys of happiness among foreign residents in Japan have been conducted. Results of the regression analysis indicated that the ability to speak Japanese had a significantly positive effect on the level of happiness. They also indicate that those who had experienced the negative aspects of life in Japan—such as working for companies that violate labor laws (e.g., not paying overtime) and who had an unpleasant experience in their daily lives—had a low level of happiness. These results suggest the possibility that the image foreign nationals have of Japanese society may worsen, which in turn would lower their level of happiness and lead to their separation from Japanese society. Japan’s immigration policy thus requires an examination of happiness.

自2019年4月以来，日本已将体力劳动视为新移民政策中的“特定技能”。根据OECD关于按国家/地区划分的外国人口年度流入量的统计，日本在OECD成员国中排名第四。实际上，日本是一个主要的移民目的地，其境内有284万外国人居住。在国际上，移民的幸福水平被认为是一个重要问题，事实上，《世界幸福报告》已经发表了关于这一主题的特别报道。但是，在日本，除了国际学生对幸福感的研究以外，没有进行过这样的调查。本研究使用日本“ T”市进行的外国人意见调查中的微观数据，对进入日本的移民的幸福程度进行了研究。之所以使用这些数据，是因为尚未对日本的外国居民进行全国性的幸福感调查。回归分析的结果表明，说日语的能力对幸福感有明显的积极影响。它们还表明，那些在日本经历过不良生活的人（例如在违反劳动法的公司工作（例如，不加班）以及在日常生活中有不愉快经历的人）的幸福感很低。这些结果表明，外国人对日本社会的印象有可能恶化，从而降低他们的幸福感并导致他们与日本社会分离。因此，日本的移民政策需要审视幸福。