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

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

 

Abstract

This paper studies perceived ethnic discrimination in Tokyo’s rental housing market using a survey-based experiment. Respondents are stratified into native Japanese and foreign-born residents and evaluate whether applicants with ethnically identifiable names are likely to receive a viewing invitation for the same rental property. Both groups expect non-Japanese applicants to face significantly lower viewing chances than a Japanese applicant, but native Japanese respondents perceive larger penalties. Perceived disadvantage varies across ethnic groups and is smallest for culturally close Western-Japanese applicants. Perceptions also vary systematically with respondents’ socio-economic characteristics: older, higher-income, and university-educated respondents perceive larger disadvantages for non-native applicants. Among foreign-born respondents, prior experiences of everyday discrimination are associated with lower expected chances of securing a viewing, while Japanese-language proficiency is linked to more optimistic expectations. Legal status explains little once these factors are considered. The findings show that perceived housing discrimination in Tokyo is widely recognised, but differently assessed by natives and foreign-born residents.

JEL.: R21, R31, J15, C90

Keywords: Perceived discrimination; Ethnic discrimination; Rental housing market; Behavioural expectations; Immigration; Japan