What’s in a Name? Perceived Ethnic Discrimination in Tokyo’s Rental Housing Market

Jessica Alder
University of Cambridge
Department of Land Economy

Sofie R. Waltl
University of Cambridge
Department of Land Economy

Konatsu Nishigai
University of Cambridge
Department of Land Economy

Helen X. H. Bao
University of Cambridge
Department of Land Economy

Abstract

This paper studies perceived ethnic discrimination in Tokyo’s rental housing market within Japan’s contemporary legal and institutional framework. Using a survey-based experiment, native Japanese and foreign-born respondents evaluate the likelihood that otherwise identical rental applicants with ethnically identifiable names receive a viewing invitation for the same property. We document five main findings. First, both native Japanese and foreign-born respondents expect non-Japanese applicants to face significantly lower viewing probabilities than otherwise identical Japanese applicants. Second, native Japanese respondents perceive substantially larger penalties than foreign-born respondents. Third, perceived disadvantage varies across applicant groups and is smallest for Western-Japanese applicants, suggesting that perceived access is shaped not only by foreignness itself but also by signals of cultural proximity and partial insider status. Fourth, among foreign-born respondents, prior experiences of everyday discrimination are associated with more pessimistic expectations regarding rental access. Fifth, respondents evaluate their own prospects more favourably than those of their broader nationality group, consistent with the personal-group discrimination discrepancy (PGDD), suggesting that perceptions of disadvantage are shaped differently at the personal and collective levels. The paper contributes to the literature by shifting attention from realised discrimination to subjective expectations of discrimination in housing markets.

JEL.: J15, R31, R21, C90, D91, K38
Keywords: Perceived discrimination; Ethnic discrimination; Rental housing; Housing access; Immigration; Anti-discrimination law; Personal-Group Discrimination Discrepancy; Japan

Working Paper: https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.131270

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