Residential Segregation in Japan: Ethnic Stratification in a Global New Destination

This study investigates the dynamics and factors affecting immigrant residential segregation in Japan between 2000 and 2020, a period marked by Japan’s emergence as a global immigrant destination. Using restricted-access census microdata, I examined the segregation of the 12 largest immigrant groups to the Japanese majority and among each other. I then assessed the relationship between dissimilarity and factors affecting integration using pooled linear regressions and individual location attainment models. My findings reveal that all immigrant groups exhibit high residential segregation from the Japanese majority and notable pairwise segregation. There is a general trend of spatial assimilation that higher levels of socioeconomic factors predict less segregation, while Brazilians and Peruvians, the earliest contemporary immigrant group who arrived in Japan as ethnic descendants, demonstrate a pronounced tendency towards place stratification. These observations provide support for both spatial assimilation and place stratification theory. Moreover, there is a strong trend of self-segregation among highly skilled elite, particularly Western immigrants from the Japanese majority and peer immigrants. The results provide support for a dichotomy in segregation trends, underlining the integration challenges for minority groups in global new destinations and the pronounced self-segregation among elite skilled minorities.