FACTORS INFLUENCING ASIAN STUDENTS ATTITUDES TOWARD JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of various factors on the attitudes that Asian students have toward Japan and its people. The factors studied were economic conditions, length of stay, Japanese language ability, experience of discrimination and friendship with Japanese people. One hundred and sixty-three (163) Asian students living in this country answered a questionnaire, and the data were analyzed with path analysis. The results showed that economic conditions and length of stay were negatively related to discrimination and positively to friendship, and discrimination was negatively related to the students' attitudes toward Japan and the Japanese and friendship positively to the attitudes toward the Japanese. Proficiency in the Japanese language was not related to the attitudes. The study also indicated that Asian students' image of the Japanese over time could be graphed as a U-shaped curve ; the Japanese people were seen as friendly by those who have stayed less than 24 months, as most unfriendly by those staying between 37 to 48 months, and as friendly again after 48 months of stay.