TOKYO - More students at junior high schools in Japan appear unconvinced about the benefits that a rise in foreign residents would bring to society, a survey showed Saturday, with over 40 percent taking a negative view about it in 2025, doubling from three years earlier.
The outcome of the survey, conducted a few months after a parliamentary election, was apparently affected by the online spread at the time of negative narratives toward foreign nationals. More than 90 percent of students, however, indicated liberal tendencies, saying they could accept people with different views.
Norihiro Nihei, a sociology professor at the University of Tokyo, analyzed the results of surveys since 2012 targeting around 2,000 students at 10 public junior high schools in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
The 2025 survey was carried out in October and November, after the Senate election in July.
In the race, how Japan should tackle issues related to the rise in the foreign population was one of the main issues. The ultraconservative Sanseito party, pushing for a "Japanese First" policy, saw its number of seats surge.
Asked if they agreed that an increase in the number of foreign nationals living in Japan would bring many benefits, a combined 22.2 percent said in 2022 they disagreed "slightly" or "completely." The percentage jumped to 41.5 percent in 2025.
Those who believed rules should be strictly enforced tended to take a negative view of the rise in the foreign population in the 2025 survey, bucking past trends.
Nihei said the latest findings do not suggest young people are simply becoming more conservative.
The professor noted the possibility that the rapid spread of the narrative portraying foreigners as posing concerns for society during the election campaign had a strong bearing on the outcome.
The 2025 upper house election took place before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office. Her government is aiming to create an "orderly society" in which Japanese and foreign nationals coexist while cracking down on illegal activities.
