Migration, Xenophobia, and the Politics of Belonging in Japan
Fri 30 Oct
|Room TBD, Building 19, Waseda University
This event is co-organized with the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH). Three presentations will explore public attitudes toward foreigners, Muslim women’s everyday experiences of Islamophobia, and the growing targeting of Japan’s Kurdish community.
Date and Venue
30 Oct 2026, 17:00 – 19:00 GMT+9
Room TBD, Building 19, Waseda University, Japan, 〒169-0051 Tokyo, Shinjuku City, Nishiwaseda, 1-chōme−21−１ 早稲田大学 西早稲田ビルディング
About the Event
Abstract:
Debates over immigration, foreign residents, and national identity have taken an increasingly contentious turn in Japan. As the country’s foreign population grows, migrants and minority communities have become more visible and increasingly politicized, especially in debates over national identity, public order, cultural norms, and social change. These tensions are unfolding not only in electoral politics and traditional media, but across digital platforms where domestic grievances increasingly intersect with transnational far-right narratives.
This event brings together three experts to examine different dimensions of this changing landscape. Drawing on survey research, ethnography, and analysis of media and political mobilization, the presentations will explore public attitudes toward foreigners, Muslim women’s everyday experiences of Islamophobia, and the growing targeting of Japan’s Kurdish community. They will examine how traditional and authoritarian values, social norms, political incentives, media ecosystems, digital platforms, and far-right mobilization shape and amplify prejudice and exclusion toward migrant and minority communities.