Immigration Public support for more foreign workers in Japan slips below 60%

Support in Japan for accepting more foreign workers has fallen below 60%, while more than a third of respondents now oppose the idea, according to a public opinion survey. The poll, conducted in May, found that 58.2% of respondents said they either supported or somewhat supported expanding the number of foreign workers accepted into the country. By contrast, 33.2% said they opposed or somewhat opposed the proposal. Compared with the previous survey in May last year, support fell by 4.1%, dropping below the 60% mark, while opposition rose by 2.7 points.

The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews from May 15 to 18 among 2,000 people aged 18 or older nationwide. Valid responses were obtained from 1,172 respondents. According to the poll, 20.1% of respondents said they "support" accepting more workers from abroad, while 38.1% said they "somewhat support" the move. By contrast, 10.7% said they "oppose" the expansion and 22.5% said they "somewhat oppose" it. By age group, opposition was relatively strong among younger respondents. The highest level of opposition was recorded among people in their 30s, at 39.5%, compared with 53.9% who expressed support. This was followed by respondents aged 18 to 29, among whom 36.9% were opposed and 53.8% were supportive. Among respondents in their 40s, 50s and 60s, support exceeded 60%.

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Among supporters, the most common reason was that accepting more foreign workers would help ease labour shortages, cited by 85.5% of respondents. Others said Japan needed young workers as the population ages (62.3%), while 39.3% believed some foreign workers were more diligent than Japanese workers. A further 21.8% said it would make Japan more international.

Opponents most frequently cited concerns over public safety, with 74.0% saying illegal overstays and other problems could increase. Other reasons included giving priority to unemployed Japanese workers (56.0%), concerns that foreign workers might not follow local rules (50.1%), higher social security costs (40.1%), doubts about their ability to adapt because of language and cultural barriers (28.3%), and fears that the policy would amount to promoting immigration (25.4%).