Investigating regional disparities and their determinants in Japan’s local integration policy: A nationwide geographical analysis

Although Japan’s social integration policies are virtually non-existent, many local governments implement integration measures under the label of “multicultural coexistence” policies. However, current research on integration policy focuses on municipalities with exemplary practices, leaving regional disparities across the country largely unexplored. This paper aims to clarify regional disparities in multicultural coexistence policies implemented for foreign residents by international exchange associations of local governments, identify the factors shaping these disparities, and propose policies that could help mitigate population decline issues. As a data source, we use material from the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations, which contains highly useful but previously unused information on all 1,741 municipalities in Japan. As a result, the following key findings were obtained. Overall, multicultural coexistence policies are abundant in the areas of concentrated foreign residency, including the three major metropolitan areas, with Kanto being particularly well-developed. Conversely, in the areas of dispersed foreign residents, including many rural districts, the provision of such policies is generally weak. While Hokuriku shows relatively favorable conditions, Hokkaido and Kyushu exhibit very weak implementation. Factors influencing the above regional disparities are analyzed using binary logistic regression analysis. Generally, the presence/absence of multicultural coexistence policies in each municipality is significantly influenced by its population size and fiscal scale, although the composition of significant factors varies by region. Based on our findings, we make the policy recommendation that the current situation, in municipalities lacking or having weak local integration policies, should be improved through various forms of collaboration among multiple municipalities.