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Trust and Immigration: Japan and the UK compared

Immigration is a contentious issue in both Japan and England, in part due to England's post-Brexit “points-based” system favoring highly skilled workers and Japan's traditionally restrictive migration policies. Yet the governments of both countries implicitly understand the need for immigrants to fill roles in various sectors, especially as demographic shifts pressure labour markets.

By developing a unique conjoint experiment, we explore preferences for immigrants across low and high skilled sectors and find surprisingly nuanced public attitude. English respondents show a greater variation in their preferences by job sector, particularly valuing immigrants in caring professions, likely reflecting the more vigorous and detailed public debate on immigration in Britain compared to Japan's more muted discussion.

• Kawakami, R., Scotto, T. J., Dorussen, H., Pickering, S., Reifler, J., Sunahara, Y., Tago, A., & Yen, D. (2025). Who gets in? A conjoint analysis of labour market demand and immigration preferences in England and Japan. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.