Most Aichi residents like the idea of having many foreign residents living among them, according to a prefectural survey.

Last fall, the prefectural government asked residents serving as designated opinion monitors to fill out a questionnaire on how they feel about non-Japanese. The survey drew a response from 488 people, 98 percent of the monitors.

Some 54 percent of the respondents agreed with the sentiment that having foreigners around "gives them more opportunities to learn foreign languages and cultures." On the other hand, 38 percent have a negative stance on non-Japanese neighbors on the grounds they could degrade local security.