GENEVA - Only 20 percent of people in Japan believe that refugees will successfully integrate into Japanese society, making Japan the most skeptical country on the issue among the 29 surveyed, according to a public awareness survey by the U.N. refugee agency and a research firm.
That result, however, contrasts with 64 percent of respondents in Japan who agree that people should be able to take refuge in other countries, including Japan, to escape from war and persecution, suggesting ambivalence in the country's attitude towards refugees.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and Ipsos conducted the survey between April and May, covering a total of over 20,000 respondents in 29 countries. Approximately 1,000 people in Japan responded to the survey, whose results were released Tuesday.
An average of 44 percent of respondents across the surveyed nations took the view that refugees would succeed in social integration, with more than half of people surveyed in Brazil, India, South Africa and Thailand in support of the idea.
Among the Group of Seven nations, the United States was the most positive on integration, with 54 percent expecting success.
The survey also showed that only 21 percent of Japanese are of the view that "Refugees make a positive contribution to my country," the second lowest among the 29 nations.
Japan's support for refugee protection stood at a notably low 23 percent in 2019, but it has remained in the 60 to 70 percent range since 2020.
In Japan, 57 percent agreed with the view that most people seeking entry as refugees are not genuine refugees but are motivated by economic reasons or a desire to take advantage of welfare services.
That figure, however, was below the global average of 61 percent, with such skepticism high even among countries most supportive of accepting refugees.
Some 45 percent of Japanese respondents also believed that their borders should be closed to refugees entirely, compared with 49 percent on average.
According to data published by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, the number of people granted refugee status in Japan in 2025 was 187, a decrease of three from the previous year, while the number of applicants for refugee status was approximately 11,000, a decrease of 8.7 percent from the previous year.
