Foreigners more eager for local interaction than Japanese: survey

Foreign residents in Japan show more appetite for interacting with local Japanese people than the other way around, according to a survey unveiled Monday by the land ministry and other agencies. The survey showed that 56% of foreign respondents living in districts where foreigners accounted for 15% or more of the total population expressed eagerness to communicate with their local communities, while only 10% of Japanese respondents said they want to interact with foreign residents.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport attributed the survey results to the lack of opportunities for Japanese people to meet foreign residents. As steps to increase such opportunities, the ministry stressed the need for cooperation among residents, companies, administrative authorities, and schools in local communities, and establishment of a framework in which local people and foreigners can promote exchanges with each other.

The survey was conducted between December 2006 and January 2007 among 738 foreign households and 1,104 Japanese households in a total of 16 districts in four prefectures — Gunma, Tochigi, Saitama and Ibaraki.