Neighborhood participation and foreign resident life satisfaction in Japan

Abstract Research on immigrant life satisfaction rarely examines Japan’s rapidly expanding foreign population. Applying social production function theory, we examine how neighborhood participation influences life satisfaction among foreign nationals in Nagoya. Using ordered logit regression analysis of survey data from 1,496 foreign residents collected in 2015, we test effects of four participation forms: social contact with Japanese neighbors, membership in neighborhood household associations (NHAs), volunteering, and event participation. Social contact and event participation positively predict life satisfaction, while NHA membership unexpectedly predicts lower satisfaction. Some of these effects vary by nationality, with Brazilians benefiting less from contact with Japanese neighbors and Vietnamese showing weaker gains from event participation. These findings reveal that formal membership in an institution that builds social capital among Japanese citizens reduces life satisfaction among foreign residents. It may be that organizational membership imposes burdens that outweigh benefits for non-citizens. Our results demonstrate that neighborhood participation effects are neither uniform nor universally beneficial, challenging assumptions that institutions serving majority populations automatically benefit minorities.