Japan and Immigration: Looking Beyond the Tokyo Olympics (original) (raw)

Nation, Immigration, and the Future of Japanese Society

Education About Asia, Fall 2018 Special Section „Demographics, Social Policy, and Asia (Part II), 2018

This article aims to provide a basic understanding of the historical foundations of nationalism in contemporary Japan and the way the narrative of an “ethnically homogenous nation” has helped frame attitudes toward foreigners. While increasing immigration has been widely discussed as a potential strategy to combat population decline elsewhere, immigration and nationality laws have been very restrictive in Japan. The focus here is not on the complex details of currently operating Japanese legal frameworks but rather on the current state of Japan and future issues. By means of data analysis, the overall picture of immigration, including recent developments amidst changing demographics is painted. In the final section, needs and prospects for building a new consensus for Japan’s narratives on immigration and the nation-state are discussed.

International Migration Transforming Japan's Societal Landscape

Journal of Japanese studies, 2024

International migration profoundly shapes Japan's societal landscape across economic, social, cultural, and political dimensions. Complex dynamics and implications characterise this transformation. One of the key aspects is the economic impact, where foreign workers contribute to addressing labour shortages but face challenges such as wage disparities and job insecurity. Socially, international migration leads to demographic changes and cultural diversity, raising questions about social integration and cohesion. Language barriers and cultural differences can hinder integration efforts, highlighting the need for inclusive policies and programs. A forward-looking perspective is crucial to anticipate future trends and challenges related to international migration in Japan. This includes preparing for demographic shifts and evolving attitudes towards multiculturalism. Effective policies and initiatives should aim to foster mutual understanding, respect cultural diversity, and promote inclusive societies. Overall, international migration is a dynamic force that necessitates thoughtful consideration and proactive measures to ensure a harmonious societal landscape in Japan. Keywords Internationalisation, immigrants, multiculturalism, demographic challenges, greying of society, low birth rate, workforce.

Indispensable Future Workforce or Internal Security Threat? Securing Japan’s Future and Immigration

Governing Insecurity in Japan: The Domestic Discourse and Policy Response, edited by Wilhelm Vosse, Verena Blechinger-Talcott and Reinhard Drifte, pp. 115-140., 2014

What role do immigration and foreign workers play in securing Japan's future? From the late 1990s, this question was increasingly discussed in Japan during the so-called second debate on immigration policy. Although this debate has declined since 2009, the huge controversy about immigration and foreign worker policy during the second immigration debate and its two dominant discourses show that a general agreement exists on the crucial importance of this policy field for Japan's long-term future. Still, the controversy also reveals two completely contradicting and clearly conflicting perspectives. On the one hand, in view of Japan's shrinking population and demographic transformation, a wider opening of the Japanese labor market for foreign workers and a proactive immigration policy are regarded as unavoidable for securing its future. In this view, foreign workers are an indispensable future workforce for maintaining Japan's current level of lifestyle and economic strength. However, on the other hand, more immigration and an increasing number of foreign residents is described as a serious peril that will lead to higher criminality, social and ethnic conflicts and will destroy Japan's social order. According to this discourse, foreign nationals and increasing immigration are an internal security threat undermining social harmony and public peace. Japan is at a crossroads concerning its immigration and foreign worker policy.

2014. When migrants became denizens: Understanding Japan as a reactive immigration country

On the surface, Japan continues to be a non-immigration country. Economic migrants are never admitted as permanent residents at the point of initial entry and rarely viewed as immigrants. At the same time, however, Japanese immigration policy has become markedly settlement-oriented since the mid-2000s. The government has managed to cobble together a series of initiatives which now has the appearance of integration policy mostly targeting co-ethnic migrants. The country has also introduced a new points-based system which confers immigration privileges, such as family sponsorship and expedited access to permanent residence, on highly-skilled migrants. By pointing at these policy examples, I demonstrate that Japan has become a de facto immigration country where some migrants are or are expected to become denizens. The present aim, then, is to explain why and how this shift has occurred despite the stasis which characterises the policy façade. I argue that these changes are best understood as reactive and incremental adjustments to unexpected outcomes of earlier policy decisions on the admission of both unskilled and highly-skilled workers as temporary migrants.

Japan as an ‘Emerging Migration State’

International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 2017

International migration and mobility raise a host of economic and security concerns for states in the Global North and the South. The garrison state linked with the trading state in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. The 20th and 21st centuries have seen the emergence of the migration state, where managing migration is vital for national security and development. Despite a reputation for social, political, and legal closure and a reticence about admitting immigrants, Japan is making halting moves toward a national immigration policy, what could be a 'Meiji moment' with policy innovation and potential transformation of Japanese society. The Japanese case is instructive for the study of migration policy as the only liberal state that has resisted immigration and paid the costs in terms of sociodemographic, economic, and political challenges. This article lays out a framework for analysis of Japan as an

Preface Japan and Global Migration in the 21 st Century

The forces accelerating the migration of labor to Japan assessed in the following chapters continue to prevail into the new century. While Japan’s economic downturn has temporarily dampened the explosive growth in the employment of foreign workers that occurred during the bubble economy a decade ago, key underlying factors working to sustain the demand for these workers have become even more pronounced over the past few years. Among the most important is shoushika, the turn toward below replacement fertility, with 2006 being the year in which for the first time in history Japan’s citizen population will begin to exponentially decline. This demographic event decisively shifts the discourse about foreign workers in Japan from debates about how to solve a temporary phenomenon to the question of how to accommodate a long-term, chronic demand for labor.

The Limits of Immigration Policies: The Challenges of Highly Skilled Migration in Japan

Despite its open and lenient policies for highly skilled migration, Japan has not been successful in attracting many professionals from overseas. Japanese corporations have also found it difficult to retain migrant professionals. This article, based on qualitative interviews with migrant professionals and corporate managers in the Tokyo metropolitan area, examines why the world's third largest economy still remains a considerably small magnet for global talent. It also analyzes what kind of individual and institutional factors prevent migrant professionals' long-term settlement in Japan. The article addresses the limits of immigration policies and emphasizes the importance of reforms in corporate structures, business practices, and overall integration policies in Japan.

Foreign Workers in Japan: A Look at Japanese Cultural Perspectives Regarding Nikkeijin

2006

The object of this research has been to study the status of Asian and South American immigrants currently residing and working in Japan. Traditionally, Japan has made cultural and racial homogeneity a major element of the nation and has thought negatively of immigration. Japanese officials have not easily granted foreigners the right and opportunity to settle permanently. Thus, Japan has a very low immigration rate and the lowest proportion of foreign residents of any major industrialized country. With the current decline in birthrates, an aging population, and labor shortage, Japan’s economic success may depend on foreign residents. Therefore, the issue of arriving foreign workers and their status in society must be addressed. There is a prevalent concern among experts that xenophobic ideologies behind government policies, strict immigration laws, and negative media images have lead to the cultural belief that foreigners are an intrusion on Japanese national identity and a disrupti...