Japanese believe that to be Japanese, people should speak Japanese, be born in Japan How important do you think isfor being truly Japanese?
Japan is a relatively closed society demographically. The foreign population in Japan accounts for just 1.6% of the country’s population. This is the third-smallest share in any OECD country. And the Japanese feel strongly about their national identity. Roughly nine-in-ten Japanese believe that to be considered truly Japanese, it is very important (70%) or somewhat important (22%) to be able to speak Japanese. A similar portion says it is very (43%) or somewhat important (47%) to share national customs and traditions to identify as Japanese. And roughly three-quarters voice the view that it is very (50%) or somewhat important (27%) to have been born in Japan to be truly Japanese. The intensity of such sentiment is felt most strongly by older Japanese – those ages 50 and older – who are far more likely than those ages 18 to 34 to believe it is very important that a person be born in Japan, speak Japanese and adhere to Japanese customs and traditions to be considered truly Japanese.
Japanese believe that to be Japanese, people should  | speak Japanese, be born in Japan  | How important do you think isfor being truly Japanese?  | Very importa int  | Not very importa nt  | Somewhat important  | Not at all important  | Being able to  | 70%  | 22%  | 5% 2%  | speak Japanese  | Having been born  | 50  | 27  | 14  | 8  | in Japan  | Sharing customs Japanese and  | customs and  | 43  | 47  | 8  | traditions  | Source Spring 2016 Global Attitudes Survey. Q85a-b, d.  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 