The article doesn't mention, but Japan also took steps to make immigration easier for skilled workers with the Highly-Skilled Foreign Professional visa [1] based on this point system [2]. Can even qualify for permanent residency in as little as one year if you score 80+ points.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_3/en/" rel="nofollow">http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_3/en/</a><p>[2] <a href="http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_3/en/pdf/171110_leaflet.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_3/en/pdf/171110_leaflet...</a>
Not surprised, this is what happens when you "close" off immigration, aging population, have a decrease in new births, restrict most immigrant workers/immigrants to temporary visas/temporary work terms despite length of stay and have a politically conservative mentality towards immigrants.<p>You either invest into more technologies that allow for less labour input or you basically have to somehow increase labour input.<p>Moreover, Japan's mentality against foreign trainees/interns have led to criticisms from U.S. State Department's Trafficking in Persons because they are essentially being used as unofficial farm workers despite advertising it as a technical (technical as in dealing with machines) training or internship program without real oversight into working conditions and overwork without pay: <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/Abuses-rampant-in-foreign-trainee-program-Japan-labor-ministry-finds" rel="nofollow">https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/Abuses-ramp...</a>
I wonder what percentage of these immigrants are ethnically east/southeast Asian, or even ethnically Japanese. I imagine a large portion of the Peruvian and Brazilian immigrants shown in the chart have Japanese ancestry (I believe Japanese ancestry makes immigration from those countries easier -- to the extent that one point there was a black market in being adopted as an adult by Japanese people -- and there is a large, old Japanese emigrant community in both countries).<p>It's a somewhat crass question. But ethnicity, not just nationality, seems to matter a lot in Japan.
The system described here appears to be quite a bit more selective and limited than that found in the US. Permission to live and work in Japan is temporary in the vast majority of cases.<p>> <i>... discussions have centered around issues such as how many temporary workers should be allowed in and for how many years, rather than the longer-term question of whether Japan needs permanent immigration</i><p>> <i>One of the biggest difficulties has to do with restrictions on allowing family members to accompany workers -- a move designed to prevent permanent immigration.</i><p>> <i>The government's program requires trainees to stay with the same employer for three years ... Trainees are discouraged from going back to their country before finishing the three-year term or from having a child, and they cannot bring their spouse on the visa.</i>
Even with a more open system for legally accepting immigrants, Japan has an extraordinarily closed system for culturally accepting immigrants. An immigrant to Japan is considered an outsider to much more of an extent than other countries.
reverse centuries of gains and progress, because you wanted to be homogenous country. it might take up to a generation to reverse the damage that has been done. social aspects and orders have been lost e.g veggie men - no desire to breed. what most people forget is foreigners bring new ideas and vibrancy.