Japan Should Open Up To Migrants

[Mr Lee]

I wonder how many people would be interested in moving to Japan? and would that take away from some of the people who move to the Philippines?Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Saturday said that his country, which is battling low birth rates and an aging population, should make itself more attractive to migrants.Japan has some of the world's strictest controls on immigration, and Hatoyama admitted that he was broaching a "sensitive issue."But he said that as well as introducing pro-family policies, Japan should attempt to encourage migrants to live and work there."I think Japan should also make itself a country attractive to people so that more and more people, including tourists, hope to visit Japan, hope to live and work in Japan," he said on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit."I am not sure if I can call this 'immigration policy,' but what's important is to create an environment that is friendly to people all around the world so that they voluntarily live in Japan," he said.Japan has relatively few resident foreigners, although in recent years it has cautiously opened up its job market to nurses and care workers from some Southeast Asian countries.Link to the whole story

[TheMason]

I wonder how many people would be interested in moving to Japan? and would that take away from some of the people who move to the Philippines?Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Saturday said that his country, which is battling low birth rates and an aging population, should make itself more attractive to migrants.Japan has some of the world's strictest controls on immigration, and Hatoyama admitted that he was broaching a "sensitive issue."But he said that as well as introducing pro-family policies, Japan should attempt to encourage migrants to live and work there."I think Japan should also make itself a country attractive to people so that more and more people, including tourists, hope to visit Japan, hope to live and work in Japan," he said on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit."I am not sure if I can call this 'immigration policy,' but what's important is to create an environment that is friendly to people all around the world so that they voluntarily live in Japan," he said.Japan has relatively few resident foreigners, although in recent years it has cautiously opened up its job market to nurses and care workers from some Southeast Asian countries.Link to the whole story

The new govt. will be lucky to make it to the next scheduled elections. I seriously doubt Japan will open its borders to foreigners any time soon. If they did though, I would not want to live there. I don't speak Japanese and have heard so many negative comments about their lack of acceptance of foreigners. I would not even visit there, let alone live.

[Mr Lee]

I wonder how many people would be interested in moving to Japan? and would that take away from some of the people who move to the Philippines?Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Saturday said that his country, which is battling low birth rates and an aging population, should make itself more attractive to migrants.Japan has some of the world's strictest controls on immigration, and Hatoyama admitted that he was broaching a "sensitive issue."But he said that as well as introducing pro-family policies, Japan should attempt to encourage migrants to live and work there."I think Japan should also make itself a country attractive to people so that more and more people, including tourists, hope to visit Japan, hope to live and work in Japan," he said on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit."I am not sure if I can call this 'immigration policy,' but what's important is to create an environment that is friendly to people all around the world so that they voluntarily live in Japan," he said.Japan has relatively few resident foreigners, although in recent years it has cautiously opened up its job market to nurses and care workers from some Southeast Asian countries.Link to the whole story

The new govt. will be lucky to make it to the next scheduled elections. I seriously doubt Japan will open its borders to foreigners any time soon. If they did though, I would not want to live there. I don't speak Japanese and have heard so many negative comments about their lack of acceptance of foreigners. I would not even visit there, let alone live.

I have had 2 friends who have gone there to visit that I know of and both spoke highly of Japan and the people. One of my friends Frank son John is married to a Japanese lady he met in Washington state while in college there and they moved back to take care of her aged parents. The son said he was always treated with respect but was always an outsider, yet everyone asked him to teach them English, so he was very popular and eventually became an English teacher for private lessons. He said he had so many friends that he did not have time for them all and often had to go to homes in groups so he could spend time with them all.The father went there to visit his son and then traveled around on his own all over Japan because his son had to work and he told me that he was always treated with the highest degree of respect and was often invited to strangers homes that he met along the way for meals or socializing. He said all he had to do to meet someone was to stand on a corner and look lost and many people would stop and ask if they could help and some would even go with him to show him how to get somewhere, even when it meant they would be late for work. Seems it is a honor to have an American friend to show off to other Japanese friends. So I think it is like the Philippines in that way, while the higher ups do not like foreigners, the average people do like us and are willing to go the extra mile. My friend Frank said it was the friendliest place he has ever visited.