Assimilation and National Myths: Attitudes Towards Immigration in Japan.

It is commonly believed by scholars that supporting immigrant assimilation is anti-immigrant. We show thatthis does not apply in Japan, as assimilationists are more supportive of immigration. We theorize that this difference in the impact of assimilationism between countries such as the United States and Japan, derives from different national legitimizing myths. We conducted a new national sample survey in Japan to test whether and how beliefs over assimilation influence attitudes towards immigration. The results show two important conclusions. First, there is a large anti-immigrant sentiment in Japan. Second, after controlling for other known determinants of attitudes towards immigration, we find that those who are encouraging assimilation are most likely to support increasing the level of immigration, immigrant equal rights, and have more correct views about immigrant crime in Japan. Thus, the quick association often made in the United States of assimilation with racism is not generalizable to all cultures, and may need to be re-examined in other contexts. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]