Japan’s Neighborhood Communities and the Production of Multicultural Spaces: Diversity and Inclusion in the Ichō Housing Complex in Kanagawa

The aim of this paper is to explore Japan’s neighborhood communities, their practices, and their broader potential for producing multicultural spaces by examining their cooperation with local governments, local corporations, non-profit organizations (NPOs), and neighborhood associations to produce multicultural communities that respect the diversity of foreign residents and promote their inclusion in Japanese society. Specifically, this paper will examine this development by looking at the relationship between neighborhood communities and local governments, the neighborhoods’ receiving of assistance from non-profit organizations, the fulfillment of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by the local businesses in the neighborhoods, and the role of the neighborhood associations. This paper focuses on the Ichō Housing Complex. The number of foreign households in the Ichō Housing Complex has recently increased, rising to one-tenth of all its households, and some of its neighborhood associations have included foreigners on their committees and boards. The Ichō Housing Complex is thus one of the best cases in Japan for examining neighborhood interactions between native and foreign residents. In the complex, neighborhood associations cooperate with local governments, corporations, and NPOs in numerous activities that promote multiculturalism, such as cultural exchanges, language school activities, language support, and medical assistance. Multicultural spaces like this one can overcome prejudice and discrimination against foreigners in Japan, along with other cultural differences and language difficulties. Local government and international communication associations (which are funded by the local government) manage a language school and dispatch translator services in the Ichō Housing Complex. Local corporations have organized safety patrols and funded community festivals as CSR activities. NPOs and other private organizations manage a community center and other activities including a language school, medical assistance, and cultural exchanges. Likewise, neighborhood associations have initiated social and community activities, including a study, life support, disaster-preparedness measures, and cultural exchanges. These activities are administered by the local government, international communication associations, NPOs, local corporations, and neighborhood associations; the various activities sometimes complement each other, but may also be duplicated by the various civil society actors. Needless to say, there are also negative aspects to the situation in the housing complex. One problem is that, since it is administratively divided between the Yokohama and the Yamato municipalities, the local communities (including the local government and NPOs) are also divided between the two sides. The other problem is that because the community activities (cultural exchanges, language school activities, language support, and medical assistance) are duplicated by the local governments, local corporations, NPOs, and neighborhood associations, they sometimes compete and conflict with each other. This paper will analyze the way that multicultural spaces are created and maintained by social interaction and collaboration between local government, local corporations, NPOs, and neighborhood associations. This paper will also examine the problems of the divided community and the issue of duplication, instead of collaboration, between the various civil society activities.