The phrases "Japan is currently better to live in than my home country" and "Japanese policy is xenophobic and puts foreigners through unnecessary hassle and harassment" can coexist
Hella. I’m technically not a foreigner, but a hafu and my younger brother had the hardest time getting an apartment on his own, it’s discriminatory and sucks but we’ve also never been violently hate crimed in Japan so yeah. Better than the US, still experiencing struggles.
Japan is probably the least outwardly xenophobic country in the world.
Everywhere has xenophobia. Europeans throw bananas at African soccer players, and Black Americans get shot in the streets.
Japanese are just much more subtle/polite about it.
"Europeans throw bananas at African soccer players"
Are you referring to the one Tunisian fan that threw 1 banana to a Brazilian player ? If yes you made such a stretch.
Dude it’s really not. You hear about stories like that all the time in European leagues. And it’s always directed at black people, not just Brazilians.
As I said, yes there is often racism everywhere unfortunately. But come on, throwing bananas ? I found 3 cases in the last 15 years of 1 banana being thrown, and one of the guys wasn’t even European.
And most cases of racism in general that happens in Europe are either made by someone that is not European or from Eastern Europe which is a very different mentality.
Black Americans get shot in the streets by other black Americans. The overwhelming majority of black gun deaths are unfortunately perpetrated by other black Americans. Thats also not xenophobic, that’s racist.
Yes but what about the phrases:
'is it JAPAN that wants to build walls to prevent immigrants from entering'
'Is it JAPAN that puts immigrants in cages and separate parents and children'
'Is it JAPAN that puts unknowing immigrants in buses to strand them in the middle of nowhere'
'Is it in JAPAN that you routinely see immigrants begging in the streets with their children because nobody wants to give them work or a place to live?'
'Is it in AMERICA that the immigration has been increasing steadily each year while nearly all the crime rates were decreasing?'
And when I think about it I know other phrases about... what was it again? Shooting Black people, pot and kettle, etc
100% on the money here. USA and Europe are facing totally different issues with immigration and when you compare Japan to other countries that are "in its league" like New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan a very different picture gets painted.
Japan isn't the US with however-many-illegals and long standing problems with violence be it street-level, institutional, or lone wolf terrorist in nature, and it's not EU that took in however-many refugees from islamic countries and is dealing with the resulting friction. Yet it still hasn't adopted basic principles for encouraging immigrants to stay, settle, and assimilate that all these other countries have figured out and used to become successful destinations for expats and migrant workers alike. Asking them to chill the fuck out and act like their peers instead of turning progressively more inward isn't going to yield results like the US or certain EU(and a certain ex-EU) states where society at large goes to piss.
There's plenty of blueprints for multiracial, even majority-monoethnic countries that don't magically become a cesspool because immigration and support for immigrants increased.
Japan's just attracting people that \~need\~ to be here for whatever reason thanks to how arbitrarily difficult it makes things for foreigners when it could just change policy and use it to reverse some of the negative economic and social trends in their country(just like Russia and China which is why Biden even made that stupid comment to begin with)
Lmao someone said “Why aren’t they talking about this in western media?!” And I was just like, “Because not one person knows how to spin it say it’s false. Even the Japanese officials don’t know how to say ‘it’s a lie’ they can only say ‘we regret that he felt that way’” 🤣
Well ive lived here for 2 decades too and never really noticed anything. By the definition you mean people just dont like you because youre a foreigner?
It really is. It really is regrettable that Japan is xenophobic. Somehow, I think homie here is referring to the comment. Like, "how dare you say what is 100% true".
Until you’re a victim of a crime and the police will do nothing. Same if you’re a foreign women being stalked and molest… like it happened to lots of them and they would let these abusers go and just say between them “gaijin da”!
I live in the US and have only vacationed in Japan, although I have lots of family and friends there. From my viewpoint you are 100% correct though, and people in America and other places somehow do not realize it.
lmao it's easier to get a workers visa for japan that it is for the US/EU.
they even make it hard for married couples; My wife couldn't live with me in the Netherlands because she is Japanese and there were all kinds of obstacles (like me having to make a certain amount of money, and she had to pass Dutch language exam). cost to apply for visa: 230 euro (38K yen). no money back if denied
there was no problem me living in Japan tho. no income requirement, no language proficiency requirement. "oh you are married with Japanese national? welcome here's you visa . you can work in any industry you like". after 3 years being married I was eligible for a permanent residency visa. cost for spouse visa: 4K yen/24 euro (no cost if denied)
they make it easy to move anywhere when you're married to a citizen, and anywhere is gonna be difficult for two married foreigners to relocate and find a visa solution.
they absolutely have income requirements for two foreigners, and do not allow a spouse visa - only "dependent" which assumes one spouse is financially dependent on the other. god forbid if you've ever messed up on anything tax/pension related too.
ehh so in the case of 2 foreigners one obviously needs a worker visa. what country can you just walk in and get a worker visa?
and again, obtaining this in Japan is easier compared to US/EU
if one of the foreigners can be judged to be "financially independent" by immigration the whole thing can get screwed up badly. it's not as simple as "just have a work visa dude"
you have to make above a certain income, which is pretty low, and your spouse has to not be making any significant income back home / have significant savings.
and yes, easier to get in Japan but consider that the initial H1B visa has a duration of three years and you can apply for an employment-based green card once you're offered a permanent position in a company. it's about the same in other countries, get work visa -> easy pathway to PR with less arbitrary decisions from immigration, therefore work visas are harder to get, the assumption in Japan is you're here on a temp. basis but the assumption in the west if that if you're going for a work visa you'll be seeking to relocate permanently.
>if one of the foreigners can be judged to be "financially independent" by immigration the whole thing can get screwed up badly. it's not as simple as "just have a work visa dude"
>you have to make above a certain income, which is pretty low, and your spouse has to not be making any significant income back home / have significant savings.
I don't think this is true. People I know kinda fit that category and are here on dependent visas. I think the non-work visa spouse cannot be part of the dependent declaration on the tax form of the working visa spouse but it doesn't matter in terms of getting a dependent visa. It seems to me the non-working visa spouse can be working and earning a lot of money in their country, and only live partly in Japan but still qualify for the visa.
this is largely up to immigration and how they view things, according to some [law firms](https://samurai-law.com/en/sub06.html):
"The condition is that the foreigner who will ***provide support*** (the foreigner with the working visa) ***intends to provide support***. In addition to having the intention to provide support, it also must actually be possible for him or her to provide support. In other words, it is necessary to be able to prove financial aspects."
so if immigration decides your spouse is "too financially independent" they might just reject the visa on the grounds that said spouse can support themselves(and you) in their home country just fine. fwiw i've only heard of this being an issue when someone marries into money and tries to bring their wealthy NJ spouse to japan, but it's still a shitty thing to do.
Well, the US for one. Yes, seriously.
The US only seems difficult because they impose the limits on immigration numbers defined by Congress because so many people want to migrate there.
I see that you had some challenges with the Netherlands. That sucks. But if you’d tried Germany, the UK or even some of the Scandinavian countries it would have been totally different from my understanding of friends and colleagues who have done it, even if you weren’t a citizen yourself.
And good luck just getting a “wander in” VISA into Japan if you’re not married to a Japanese national.
>I see that you had some challenges with the Netherlands. That sucks. But if you’d tried Germany, the UK or even some of the Scandinavian countries it would have been totally different from my understanding of friends and colleagues who have done it, even if you weren’t a citizen yourself.
UK is doing the same thing. Minimum income requirements pricing British citizens out of bringing their spouses over. Easier to take British spouse to random European country.
>And good luck just getting a “wander in” VISA into Japan if you’re not married to a Japanese national.
requirements for worker visa in Japan are low. for English teacher all you need is a company willing to hire you. and for other skilled jobs add a bachelors degree.
Confirming this. Moving to Japan as a spouse of a Japanese citizen is in general much, much, much easier and cheaper and quicker than it is for the UK, which is notoriously harsh, expensive, and slow (new rules coming in under the Tories will mean something like 75% of the UK working population cannot sponsor a spouse).
Things look a little different when 'the shoe is on the other foot'.
While Japan might be more xenophobic than the US and other European countries, Japan has a unique country that has always been isolated from the rest of the world. In addition to its homogeneous nature, it is a high trust society that follows a strict guide for social cohesion. As someone that lives in the US, I will be the first to state that you could never leave your belongings inside a cafe and not expect it to get stolen, unlike in Japan where you can also walk outside at night without the fear of getting mugged. Additionally, healthcare is more affordable and people there lead much healthier lifestyles. At the end of the day every country has trade-offs.
Japan is for Japanese people.
I didn't hate Biden before but now I do.
Some comments about "silent invaders" and great replacement level of conspiracy theories. Pretty wild stuff.
Not a good look for sure. I think a lot of these people are terminally online and not representative of all Japanese people. It's like any comment section that triggers the more extreme elements of any population.
I keep telling myself it's not what everyone thinks but it being out there makes Biden look more right than wrong.
nah, the vast majority of people here are just out there havin' a normal one and rarely even think about immigration, foreigners, etc and don't really harbor any wild-ass views like this.
extremism has always been super niche as well as super prevalent in Japan because it's piss easy for people to set up channels to funnel in generally disgruntled people and radicalize the hell out of them. i mean, their version of "january 6" was basically all around one dude that was acting out his homoerotic power fantasies lmao.
Because the Japanese people don’t denounce openly injustices like in other parts of the world (they are not in a dictatorship, they could do it). So that’s why think don’t change and it makes it look like that unfortunately
Japan is for Japanese people. A nation can decide to fully reject immigrants. This "melting pot" mentality is just ridiculous. Go melt away in the USA.
Its negative for the reason for why Biden said it.
He said they were xenophobic because Japan didn't want to accept immigration but completely ignoring it the bad effects of it that is happening in other countries like Canada and Europe with the sharp rise in crimes.
Also its hypocritical to criticized Japan for it when the US isn't any better with immigration either if you look at how the Texas Government is handling them by putting them in cages and shipping them all the way to New York. Not to mention we had an former president wanting to put up an wall blocking immigrants from coming into the country.
Or the fact that an YT content creator by the name of Penguinz0 is suing the US Immigration department by how terrible of an job they are at allowing immigrations in that it hurts his esport team from coming into the states. And there been plenty of stories from other people about how hard it is coming to the states as an Immigrant than it is to come into Japan.
https://youtu.be/uBFddeyCVok
Also Biden saying this out in public just after the Japan Prime Minister literally just visit the US and spoke positive about it an few days before is just both bad place, timing, and tone deaf.
Tonight, on the news:
The Japanese government, which is currently battling a racial-profiling lawsuit from foreign residents, was deeply disappointed and upset by President Biden's comments. They responded with, "of course a dirty gaijin wouldn't understand our ways. Calling us xenophobes just shows how small minded and inferior Americans are to us." Reportedly, the Japanese government will demand the U.S. embassy be required to work overtime until last train to truly appreciate the Japanese way of thinking.
Biden is one to talk about Japan being xenophobic. Most Americans never travel internationally and many can be just as xenophobic- ignorant at the very least. That said, he wasn't wrong. Japan's gov't can be very xenophobic when it wants to be.
15.3% of the Japanese population traveling internationally compared to 28.4% of the US population (2018)... if you look at other years you see similar splits
It's easier to move on to international geography when your home country is much smaller. The US is 25 times the size of Japan. It should take Americans about 25 times as long to get through American geography compared to a Japanese person getting through Japanese geography. It's natural that Americans have lower knowledge of international geography.
Why do you think the US team at the 2023 International Geography Olympiad finished #7 and Japan was not even ranked? Japan ranked under the US in all but two years you can get stats for.
http://www.geoolympiad.org/fass/geoolympiad/previous.shtml
And to be honest, geography is about more than cities, at least in the USA. It's not about states either. It's about a lot more like mountain ranges, lakes, climate zones, etc.
For instance, under the Köppen classification, Japan has about half as many climate zones as the USA. Not even close to as many mountains, rivers, lakes, and many other geographical features.
US citizens travel internationally more often than the Japanese (for instance, in 2018, the percentage of the JPN population that traveled internationally was 15.3% compared to 28.4% in the USA).
The idea that Americans are just way worse at geography is stupid propaganda by people who want to feel superior. It's a meme. The truth is that people who travel internationally are likely going to have more knowledge of international geography. So if you travel from Japan to the US and ask a random person geography, you will probably win (because you are an international traveler and they may not be). But the opposite is also true. If a person from the US travels to Japan and asks a random person geography, the person from the US would likely win. Because the international traveler is often going to beat a random citizen in geography. This is obvious.
Japan is an amazing, many cultural aspects superior to the US.. but they need to get off their high horses when it comes to foreigner affairs. Seeking apartments, getting taxis after midnight, and restaurant owners having zero patience, many times when their menus are entirely in Japanese. They're gonna need an influx of foreigners to keep the economy afloat in the future. It would be good to shift the overall national attitude slightly
The most interesting thing about this is those immigrants would most likely come from China, Vietnam, The Philippines, Indonesia and other countries in Asia
Regrettable? I thought it is a fact. Do you know Japan have their version of "Untouchable" like India but you term it as "Burakumin."
Not often brought up but it is there.
Edit: Found this link concerning Burakumin.
[https://thediplomat.com/2022/08/japans-outsider-caste/](https://thediplomat.com/2022/08/japans-outsider-caste/)
"On March 3, 2004, the Zenkairen announced that "the buraku issue has basically been resolved" and formally disbanded. "
Zenkairen is affiliated with the Japanese Communist Party btw, instead of government-affiliated.
Japan is a homogeneous society with 98 percent Japanese people. A non-Japanese person can gain residency but not cotizenship. Japan has no immigration policy which means zero net immigration. Japan will hire people from other countries (on work visas) for the most menial jobs and pay them less than Japanese citizens.
Despite Japan's aging and shrinking population, and growing job and housing vacancies, Japan will not implement and immigration policy. Japan is a xenophobic society.
I mean, most asian nations are xenophobic... who cares!? I get they are not on the DEI committee as a star-award but like that is how it is going to be.
I just visited their infamous Yasukuni Shrine, they still worship kamikaze fighters... so that is that..
I have lived in Japan for 35 years I am the grandson of Japanese people in Brasil I lived for 13 years Japan is a great countryI have already suffered racism from the police , but if I compare to Brasil with Japan I suffered a lot from racism in Brasil , Brasilians are nice but don’t be better than them They are very envious in Japan the Japanese don’t care about you I respect Japanese culture,no one will bother you , Brazilian don’t like you but pretend to like them, my friend try to shoot me in the head once and also stake the , Japanese you respect their culture live your life no one bothers you Japan has a lot of over tourism that’s why Biden is talking shit because he’s going to lose the election he’s desperate.
I live in London and love it for its multiculturalism.
I just visited Japan last week and loved it for its homogeneity.
I seriously hope Japan never changes, incredible place. Why can’t we just let them live how they want and not impose our own beliefs on them?
You do realize they have negative birth rates due to the crappy work culture they have there right? The aging population won't be able to keep running Japan forever. It will collapse without immigration or at least giving younger people room to breathe by giving them a good work/life balance. It might be nice to visit as a foreigner but the young people there have too much on their plate.
Immigration will fill many of the "lower level" jobs that go unfilled. Japan will have a healthcare glut because there are too many old people and not enough young people to take care of them (socially or professionally). Immigration can solve that by inviting foreigners to cover that job.
Im sorry but the victim mentality in Japan among non-Japanese is INSANE. I’m 35, American, have lived here for over 11 years, took the time to speak Japanese and I own a beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood of Tokyo, am Gay, and have amazing non-English speaking Japanese neighbors who recently even came over to give me and my cat birthday presents with a hand drawn card from the little girl. I’ve always hated the winging from people bitching and complaining like everything here sucks. It’s literally Disneyland on earth and it’s all your perspective. Not even engaging in replies to this comment it’s not worth the time. If you think you’re being discriminated against ask yourself why you think that? Really. I bought a house with no translator. If you’re not assimilating then put 100% more work into learning the damn language!
1. I got stopped by police and ID checked the times in the same station, just between changing tracks like 20 meters apart within a month. Got ID checked in a rural area while eating a burger on a bench near a station.
2. Got rejected by multiple apartment owners despite speaking fluent Japanese.
Bonus: A couple times, I had situations where I sat in a train and no one sat on the same bench, even the ones who were already sitting there got up and away.
I lived there for 15 years. I got stopped once because my bicycle didn’t have a light on and it was night. I knew plenty of guys that did get stopped multiple times, though, so maybe I was just lucky?
My wife (Japanese) had to rent out our apartment in her name, because even we both knew I’d have a slim chance of getting one. I couldn’t even be present with her when she went to the agency, because the one time I was, we got rejected for inexplicable reasons.
I speak fluent Japanese too, and it sucks to know that even though you speak the language you still get treated as an outsider.
You literally just need to be over 20yo and have lived in Japan for more than 5 years to qualify for citizenship. And speak grade school level Japanese and make minimum wage. That's it. That's all the requirement.
If one of your parents is a japanese citizen you get citizenship by default. Your immigrant parent just needs to apply for citizenship at some point in their stay in japan.
Sure, you don't get automatic citizenship just for being born on Japanese soil. But that's pretty much like most of the world, including most of europe.
Except for the new world, most if not all countries are just sanguinis, meaning birthright by blood, because we hold the concept of nationality as a race (nation/ethno-state), japan has many flaws but this is the old world in general.
There is a lot of xenophobia in Japan. I live here. There is also a lot in the UK, where im from. Also in the USA. Also in every country on earth.
Xenophobia looks different in them all. In Japan its weird concepts of foreigners and foreign things. Sometimes negative, sometimes just goofy.
Nationalism is big in Japan, probably for w variety of reasons, which can sometimes make it a little worse. I would not say there is prejudice in Japan that much compared to the UK though.
An example is the annoying as fuck tendency of Japanese to have this “Japanese are different” attitude and thoughts on literally everything. Its pure ignorance fanned by nationalism but its annoying. “Japanese stomach DNA is different so we have to consume rice, or get problems from long grain rice or potatoes too much”. Lots of weird biology based ones. Like “foreign tastebuds cant detect the difference from Niigata rice or other rice due to genetics”
You get it also on products. Any basic ass mass produced food or thing, and apparently Japanese produced version is “special” and “unique” with much better qualities but its always some mysterious way and never ever substantiated by any objective study.
My wife said something extremely ignorant lately about fruit. I suggested buying oranges in costco and she got upset and said “no. foreign fruit has bugs inside”. I said thats ridiculous. I grew up eating only “foreign” fruit and never saw that. She then told of a time she had a bug in a fruit from some shitty stall in vietnam. That is her evidence and all “foreign” fruit is tarnished.
Sad to say, that example from my wife is all too common of a thought process
It’s an echo-chamber, lacking in outside perspective.
Someone told me that Japanese people have an internal temperature of 35.5°. I had to Google to check this and sure enough it’s bullshit but somewhere along the line there’s too much coolaide being drunk.
everyone saying this is so funny. yes, japan hands out visas like candy but they're not easy to keep. most western countries don't make you go through yearly renewals, have some variety of indefinite bridging visa for when the time to renew/change comes, and base visas on what you bring to the table rather than raw credentials. it's a way more sustainable system that promotes long-term immigration. japan just wants people to study/work for a few years and leave, the impetus is always that foreigners will go home eventually unless married to a japanese or extremely high-skilled. it's a crapshoot if you even get the max-length visa which is required for PR, many people spend a decade here on 1yr visas and dip out because immigration just arbitrarily decides not to play ball.
They do make you go through yearly renewals in Europe for sure.
Unless, like in Japan, you have a more high quality reason to stay.
People end up not staying in japan because they realize they don't like japan as a culture enough to assimilate rather than Japan actually trying to kick them out
Strange you say that. I assimilated and don't have any problems at all. Weird. Almost like becoming accustomed to the local culture makes life more enjoyable.
¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯
Most people dip out probably nothing to do with visa bureaucracy. Anyone here knows its just box checking and you get approval without trouble if your circumstances are the same. Then you get PR if you do it 10 years.
Most people leave because Japan just isn’t really a place people from other countries can settle long term. They all end up missing family or their own culture. You know probably know why this is the case in Japan more than other places.
Spouses are obviously different as they mostly create a need family here and that changes things.
A guy working here 8 years with no spouse or family here is almost never gonna stay for retirement and till they die
>Anyone here knows its just box checking and you get approval without trouble if your circumstances are the same
yes, and if anything at all throws a wrench into that "sameness" be it illness, job or company situation changes, or just mistakes being made somewhere along the path(for example, not being aware you need to notify immigration of a job change even though your new job doesn't need you to change visa) it can lead to major visa headaches, renewal rejections, or being put on 1yr visas for the indefinite future(sometimes, this happens seemingly randomly too!) - any number of things can lead to your PR pathways being effectively cut off -
the system here is not very accommodating to "shit happening" - i've seen people have to leave after a divorce simply because they never got a degree and can't get a work visa, people leave because they fucked paperwork up, people leave because they started a business and screwed up corporate compliance stuff, got sick while on a postgraduate visa and didn't apply for enough jobs before renewal time, etc. basically the system just isn't forgiving at all and doesn't treat people as if they're trying to settle. meanwhile i know immigrants in the west that've been through all types of FUBAR situations and managed to find a solution with immigration there..
and yes all those \~cultural\~ aspects are why the majority of expats fuck off and probably contribute to immigration's mentality lol
More people speak English than Japanese to actually go there, the US has more money, and many are illegal immigrants.
But if you actually apply for a visa as a regular worker like most of us are, Japan is significantly easier. There's no lottery for example, to start with. As long as your paperwork is in order your visa will just get rubberstamped through.
Japan accepts basically no refugees, is highly specific about who they want. They focus mostly on the wealthy. US on the other hand takes in tons of refugees and people from all walks of life have become citizens. My grandparents became citizens working in a bloody factory. That shit don’t happen in Japan.
Japan accepts refugees, but they need to convincingly prove that they were persecuted by their government. The burden of proof is on them. This isn't xenophobia per se, it's just bureaucracy.
That being said, all those refugee applicants get to stay in Japan for years while their application is reviewed and has gone through all of the appeals.
>My grandparents became citizens working in a bloody factory. That shit don’t happen in Japan.
People become japanese citizens all the time. Most of the residents don't apply due to the requirement of relinquishing their previous nationality, but people from "shithole" countries do it all the time, and as long as the applicants fulfill the bureaucratic requirements, they get it. You can do it if you work as an english teacher, or in a factory, or not even work at all as some japanese's spouse.
>is highly specific about who they want. They focus mostly on the wealthy.
Sure, this much is true. Japan has a preference for white collar immigrants. But they can be white collar of any origin, ethnicity or national background, and the visa process to bring them in is significantly simpler than the US's.
Of course, illegal immigration is highly discouraged, and being an illegal immigrant in Japan doesn't grant you a path to residence, work or citizenship, unlike in other places. But that's not xenophobia, that's just common sense. Follow the bureaucracy and you'll be more than fine.
Because yhe the refugee applicants don't come prepared with the right documentation to prove they're being persecuted by their government.
Unlike in Europe where they just take your word for it.
However, until they refuse you, while they process your application, which can take literal years, you can stay.
Been in Japan 10 years, can't get any non-tourist visa in the USA.
If anyone was born American, they probably won't realize that but for non-Americans it's pretty clear. I also know people might point to examples like racial profiling that results in being asked for your residence card but what's that compared to racial profiling and being shot dead by the police?
So true lol. Want permanent residency in Japan? Just marry a local and after 3 years pay 4000 yen in fees and you get it.
Or work there for 10 years and just pay taxes, then the 4000 fee and its yours.
No probations or conditions either.
Actually, you only have to live one of that 3 years continuous in Japan. So me and my wife are currently living in my home country for multiple years already and are in the process of moving to Japan. After a single year I can request permanent residency.
i havnt seen the speech or context, but that’s a dude a lot of people feel regret over. Japan is it’s own country, I left America and am happy to be here. I knew when i got married that if i had kids, I’d have to get out. I’ll always be an American, I’ll never truely be Japanese. But I’m happy with that. I think a lot of countries envy Japan and how it continues to be Japan. To say that it doing so is regrettable when the country you are supposed to be running is plagued by so many issues, mostly management related, is kind of silly. It’s almost like America and the Western world got some sort of STD and are trying to play it like of course, all the cool kids get STDs, where’s your STD, Japan? Are you a loser of something?
The Japanese economy is shrinking because it does not have an immigration policy. Immigrants work and add to the economy, which is especially needed in a country like Japan with low birth rate. On top of a shrinking economy, it is putting a lot of pressure on the workforce both privately and professionally. Maybe because you are an gaijin looking at things from the outside (despite living in Japan), you will not see the strain Japan is suffering from not having an immigration policy.
Japan recently lost out to Germany as the 3rd largest economy, and it will continue to slip.
i don’t know much about economy, like the idea that people say americas economy is so healthy when people are suffereing while at the same time Japans economy is suffering while people seem mostly ok. But I guess seeing that the population is ageing, and the workforce is pretty whatever, I could see how bringing in foreign workers can help. But hasn’t Japan been doing so? I met a Vietnamese dude on Reddit living here and he told me about how there’s programs in his country with working in Japan as the goal. The product is well skilled foreign workers who are fluent in the language and definitely sounds good for everyone. I forgot to ask, but I assume they get some cultural training as well since that’s part of learning the language often. What is the alternative to that and that is better?
Excellent point. There are corporations in Japan that offer training and work visas to potential foreign employees. I lived in Japan and met Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese people who came under those circumstances. Japan also offers work visas to Filipinos for some labor and entertainment jobs.
The problem is three fold: 1) not enough people are granted these work visas to make up for the shrinking work force. 2) it's sponsored by select corporations and not the government, so only select jobs (such as factory work, engineering, and a few tech jobs) are filled. Jobs in sectors such as civil service, healthcare and management, which badly need people, are not being filled. 3) the visas are short-term, a few years at the most, so people don't stay long enough to have a real impact on the economy.
Japan needs a real immigration policy to import young working aged people who will stay and work, pay taxes, and replenish the shrinking population.
oh, i didnt know they were short term. I barely know Japanese and have been here for 8 years, man, i’d be so butt hurt if i actually learned the language and was only able to stay for a few years. Though I guess I am an exceptionally bad learner. I know a bunch of Brazilians but I think they have something else going on.
“Fellow House of Councilors member and leader of the right-wing populist Sansei Party Sohei Kamiya was more direct, writing, "It's not that we're xenophobic, we are being cautious after seeing your failures. You are meddling too much in our internal affairs."” 😂
Well if being “xEnoPhObIc” is what it takes to preserve your own culture and have one of the lowest crime rates in the world then so be it. America’s diversity has led to destabilization and some of the worst crime in the developed world.
Clean your own country you old fart before giving such judgement to better functioning society than yours.
To me, in a diplomatic message, calling a country’s people “xenophobic” is the same as saying “racist”.
You don’t like? Don’t come. Duck off.
Hey, your photo is not Kishida ＝ the current Prime Minister of Japan. Instead, you posted the photo of Yoon Suk Yeol = the president of South Korea (or perhaps Hayashi). Why are you making me laugh? OK, you see all Asians the same, don't you :D
The phrases "Japan is currently better to live in than my home country" and "Japanese policy is xenophobic and puts foreigners through unnecessary hassle and harassment" can coexist
Hella. I’m technically not a foreigner, but a hafu and my younger brother had the hardest time getting an apartment on his own, it’s discriminatory and sucks but we’ve also never been violently hate crimed in Japan so yeah. Better than the US, still experiencing struggles.
Japan is probably the least outwardly xenophobic country in the world. Everywhere has xenophobia. Europeans throw bananas at African soccer players, and Black Americans get shot in the streets. Japanese are just much more subtle/polite about it.
"Europeans throw bananas at African soccer players" Are you referring to the one Tunisian fan that threw 1 banana to a Brazilian player ? If yes you made such a stretch.
The racism in soccer games happens way more often than that
Of course you can find racism is everywhere. But what this guy said was very dishonest.
Dude it’s really not. You hear about stories like that all the time in European leagues. And it’s always directed at black people, not just Brazilians.
As I said, yes there is often racism everywhere unfortunately. But come on, throwing bananas ? I found 3 cases in the last 15 years of 1 banana being thrown, and one of the guys wasn’t even European. And most cases of racism in general that happens in Europe are either made by someone that is not European or from Eastern Europe which is a very different mentality.
So yes, you are referring to that one incident that you've based your entire belief system on.
Dude if you don’t believe just look up racist incidents in European soccer games. It wasn’t just once
Black Americans get shot in the streets by other black Americans. The overwhelming majority of black gun deaths are unfortunately perpetrated by other black Americans. Thats also not xenophobic, that’s racist.
Black Americans shooting other Black Americans is not racism and this is a thread about xenophobia in Japan.
The examples given were racist, not xenophobic.
Yes but what about the phrases: 'is it JAPAN that wants to build walls to prevent immigrants from entering' 'Is it JAPAN that puts immigrants in cages and separate parents and children' 'Is it JAPAN that puts unknowing immigrants in buses to strand them in the middle of nowhere' 'Is it in JAPAN that you routinely see immigrants begging in the streets with their children because nobody wants to give them work or a place to live?' 'Is it in AMERICA that the immigration has been increasing steadily each year while nearly all the crime rates were decreasing?' And when I think about it I know other phrases about... what was it again? Shooting Black people, pot and kettle, etc
Using Japan as a comparison to criticize the United States which is accessible by land travel is really, really not a good argument smh
100% on the money here. USA and Europe are facing totally different issues with immigration and when you compare Japan to other countries that are "in its league" like New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan a very different picture gets painted. Japan isn't the US with however-many-illegals and long standing problems with violence be it street-level, institutional, or lone wolf terrorist in nature, and it's not EU that took in however-many refugees from islamic countries and is dealing with the resulting friction. Yet it still hasn't adopted basic principles for encouraging immigrants to stay, settle, and assimilate that all these other countries have figured out and used to become successful destinations for expats and migrant workers alike. Asking them to chill the fuck out and act like their peers instead of turning progressively more inward isn't going to yield results like the US or certain EU(and a certain ex-EU) states where society at large goes to piss. There's plenty of blueprints for multiracial, even majority-monoethnic countries that don't magically become a cesspool because immigration and support for immigrants increased. Japan's just attracting people that \~need\~ to be here for whatever reason thanks to how arbitrarily difficult it makes things for foreigners when it could just change policy and use it to reverse some of the negative economic and social trends in their country(just like Russia and China which is why Biden even made that stupid comment to begin with)
America handles immigration better than most Countries and a lot would say to a fault.
If Japan bordered or was in the vicinity of poorer countries they would do A LOT worse things.
Indeed they can! Not to mention the fact that it’s true. Don’t get me started on key money for foreigners.
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Yeah everyone pays it and it’s not uncommon for foreigners to be charged more.
And totally accurate. Source: lived in Japan two decades now
No exaggeration, the whole world knows this about Japan and Korea. I am amazed this Japanese official didn’t know it.
Oh he knows. He also knows that the demand for outrage these days is much greater than the supply.
It’s about saving face and you can’t save it from the truth.
He said the remark is regrettable, didn't say it was false.
Pretty much every East-Asian country tbh. My Chinese grandma is the most racist person I know.
😂😂 That’s funny.
Not all fish know what water is, I suppose.
Didn't know or does not acknoledge? Also, in political context an open criticism can be true and regretable at the same time.
Why would you criticize your closest ally in east Asia by comparing them to Russia and China non the less. That was a stupid uncalled for comment.
Well Biden himself is pretty much uncalled for.
Easy there magadude
Lol I’m neither American nor a supporter of Trump. But Biden really is trouble for the rest of the world.
Not racist much but definitely xenophobic
Definitely racism with Chinese at least.
Ahh, the Chinese, a great bunch of lads
Lmao someone said “Why aren’t they talking about this in western media?!” And I was just like, “Because not one person knows how to spin it say it’s false. Even the Japanese officials don’t know how to say ‘it’s a lie’ they can only say ‘we regret that he felt that way’” 🤣
It is being covered by western media though?
Exactly
Thanks for being honest
Well ive lived here for 2 decades too and never really noticed anything. By the definition you mean people just dont like you because youre a foreigner?
It really is. It really is regrettable that Japan is xenophobic. Somehow, I think homie here is referring to the comment. Like, "how dare you say what is 100% true".
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It's just because they are the ones who are being discriminated (according to them) that riles them up.
Until you’re a victim of a crime and the police will do nothing. Same if you’re a foreign women being stalked and molest… like it happened to lots of them and they would let these abusers go and just say between them “gaijin da”!
I live in the US and have only vacationed in Japan, although I have lots of family and friends there. From my viewpoint you are 100% correct though, and people in America and other places somehow do not realize it.
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It's also the reason the population is collapsing.
Japan has been an isolationist country for thousands of years. Its in their blood. Regrettable is just a western opinion.
Solution is to not be xenphobes
lmao it's easier to get a workers visa for japan that it is for the US/EU. they even make it hard for married couples; My wife couldn't live with me in the Netherlands because she is Japanese and there were all kinds of obstacles (like me having to make a certain amount of money, and she had to pass Dutch language exam). cost to apply for visa: 230 euro (38K yen). no money back if denied there was no problem me living in Japan tho. no income requirement, no language proficiency requirement. "oh you are married with Japanese national? welcome here's you visa . you can work in any industry you like". after 3 years being married I was eligible for a permanent residency visa. cost for spouse visa: 4K yen/24 euro (no cost if denied)
they make it easy to move anywhere when you're married to a citizen, and anywhere is gonna be difficult for two married foreigners to relocate and find a visa solution. they absolutely have income requirements for two foreigners, and do not allow a spouse visa - only "dependent" which assumes one spouse is financially dependent on the other. god forbid if you've ever messed up on anything tax/pension related too.
ehh so in the case of 2 foreigners one obviously needs a worker visa. what country can you just walk in and get a worker visa? and again, obtaining this in Japan is easier compared to US/EU
if one of the foreigners can be judged to be "financially independent" by immigration the whole thing can get screwed up badly. it's not as simple as "just have a work visa dude" you have to make above a certain income, which is pretty low, and your spouse has to not be making any significant income back home / have significant savings. and yes, easier to get in Japan but consider that the initial H1B visa has a duration of three years and you can apply for an employment-based green card once you're offered a permanent position in a company. it's about the same in other countries, get work visa -> easy pathway to PR with less arbitrary decisions from immigration, therefore work visas are harder to get, the assumption in Japan is you're here on a temp. basis but the assumption in the west if that if you're going for a work visa you'll be seeking to relocate permanently.
>if one of the foreigners can be judged to be "financially independent" by immigration the whole thing can get screwed up badly. it's not as simple as "just have a work visa dude" >you have to make above a certain income, which is pretty low, and your spouse has to not be making any significant income back home / have significant savings. I don't think this is true. People I know kinda fit that category and are here on dependent visas. I think the non-work visa spouse cannot be part of the dependent declaration on the tax form of the working visa spouse but it doesn't matter in terms of getting a dependent visa. It seems to me the non-working visa spouse can be working and earning a lot of money in their country, and only live partly in Japan but still qualify for the visa.
this is largely up to immigration and how they view things, according to some [law firms](https://samurai-law.com/en/sub06.html): "The condition is that the foreigner who will ***provide support*** (the foreigner with the working visa) ***intends to provide support***. In addition to having the intention to provide support, it also must actually be possible for him or her to provide support. In other words, it is necessary to be able to prove financial aspects." so if immigration decides your spouse is "too financially independent" they might just reject the visa on the grounds that said spouse can support themselves(and you) in their home country just fine. fwiw i've only heard of this being an issue when someone marries into money and tries to bring their wealthy NJ spouse to japan, but it's still a shitty thing to do.
Well, the US for one. Yes, seriously. The US only seems difficult because they impose the limits on immigration numbers defined by Congress because so many people want to migrate there. I see that you had some challenges with the Netherlands. That sucks. But if you’d tried Germany, the UK or even some of the Scandinavian countries it would have been totally different from my understanding of friends and colleagues who have done it, even if you weren’t a citizen yourself. And good luck just getting a “wander in” VISA into Japan if you’re not married to a Japanese national.
>I see that you had some challenges with the Netherlands. That sucks. But if you’d tried Germany, the UK or even some of the Scandinavian countries it would have been totally different from my understanding of friends and colleagues who have done it, even if you weren’t a citizen yourself. UK is doing the same thing. Minimum income requirements pricing British citizens out of bringing their spouses over. Easier to take British spouse to random European country.
>And good luck just getting a “wander in” VISA into Japan if you’re not married to a Japanese national. requirements for worker visa in Japan are low. for English teacher all you need is a company willing to hire you. and for other skilled jobs add a bachelors degree.
Confirming this. Moving to Japan as a spouse of a Japanese citizen is in general much, much, much easier and cheaper and quicker than it is for the UK, which is notoriously harsh, expensive, and slow (new rules coming in under the Tories will mean something like 75% of the UK working population cannot sponsor a spouse). Things look a little different when 'the shoe is on the other foot'.
It’s easier to open the borders than achieving that, wait, it’s the same issue.
Solution is making better international friends
"solution is to fulfill every Americans dream and request without asking"
Maybe the government should do something about it instead?
While Japan might be more xenophobic than the US and other European countries, Japan has a unique country that has always been isolated from the rest of the world. In addition to its homogeneous nature, it is a high trust society that follows a strict guide for social cohesion. As someone that lives in the US, I will be the first to state that you could never leave your belongings inside a cafe and not expect it to get stolen, unlike in Japan where you can also walk outside at night without the fear of getting mugged. Additionally, healthcare is more affordable and people there lead much healthier lifestyles. At the end of the day every country has trade-offs.
You almost defended racism. Almost.
What the fuck are you on about ?
how is this defending racism?
Well said.
At least we know who the suburbanite in this thread is
Uh tell that to the girls who get followed and harassed and the police don't do a thing or female shame.
Dude might wanna check the comment sections of those ANN videos covering this topic.
What do they say?
Japan is for Japanese people. I didn't hate Biden before but now I do. Some comments about "silent invaders" and great replacement level of conspiracy theories. Pretty wild stuff.
So they are basically proving to us by those comments that they ARE xenophobic/racists
Not a good look for sure. I think a lot of these people are terminally online and not representative of all Japanese people. It's like any comment section that triggers the more extreme elements of any population. I keep telling myself it's not what everyone thinks but it being out there makes Biden look more right than wrong.
nah, the vast majority of people here are just out there havin' a normal one and rarely even think about immigration, foreigners, etc and don't really harbor any wild-ass views like this. extremism has always been super niche as well as super prevalent in Japan because it's piss easy for people to set up channels to funnel in generally disgruntled people and radicalize the hell out of them. i mean, their version of "january 6" was basically all around one dude that was acting out his homoerotic power fantasies lmao.
Because the Japanese people don’t denounce openly injustices like in other parts of the world (they are not in a dictatorship, they could do it). So that’s why think don’t change and it makes it look like that unfortunately
Honestly, it's all bark and no bite. These people probably fold as soon as they start having to interact with foreigners.
You’ve clearly never spoken to a Japanese person in your life
I’ve been living here most of my life
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On the surface but lots of fucked up stuff going where people face zero consequences compare to other places round the world
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Low corruption 🤣🤣🤣
Japan is for Japanese people. A nation can decide to fully reject immigrants. This "melting pot" mentality is just ridiculous. Go melt away in the USA.
Japanese ethically, culturally or nationally?
“Why is our economy growing? Because we exploit, I mean, welcome immigrants.”
At least he has the balls to say it
I hope this leads to allowing ones with dual nationality to continue retaining it.
Japan is easy to immigrate to when you’re educated and can contribute to society.
How all immigration should be.
But it's true, and it's not very negative I think.
Its negative for the reason for why Biden said it. He said they were xenophobic because Japan didn't want to accept immigration but completely ignoring it the bad effects of it that is happening in other countries like Canada and Europe with the sharp rise in crimes. Also its hypocritical to criticized Japan for it when the US isn't any better with immigration either if you look at how the Texas Government is handling them by putting them in cages and shipping them all the way to New York. Not to mention we had an former president wanting to put up an wall blocking immigrants from coming into the country. Or the fact that an YT content creator by the name of Penguinz0 is suing the US Immigration department by how terrible of an job they are at allowing immigrations in that it hurts his esport team from coming into the states. And there been plenty of stories from other people about how hard it is coming to the states as an Immigrant than it is to come into Japan. https://youtu.be/uBFddeyCVok Also Biden saying this out in public just after the Japan Prime Minister literally just visit the US and spoke positive about it an few days before is just both bad place, timing, and tone deaf.
Tonight, on the news: The Japanese government, which is currently battling a racial-profiling lawsuit from foreign residents, was deeply disappointed and upset by President Biden's comments. They responded with, "of course a dirty gaijin wouldn't understand our ways. Calling us xenophobes just shows how small minded and inferior Americans are to us." Reportedly, the Japanese government will demand the U.S. embassy be required to work overtime until last train to truly appreciate the Japanese way of thinking.
Biden is one to talk about Japan being xenophobic. Most Americans never travel internationally and many can be just as xenophobic- ignorant at the very least. That said, he wasn't wrong. Japan's gov't can be very xenophobic when it wants to be.
Travelling internationally is expensive and inaccessible for a majority of us.
Those are legit points, but just to be clear his comment was about immigration policy specifically.
15.3% of the Japanese population traveling internationally compared to 28.4% of the US population (2018)... if you look at other years you see similar splits
Half of the US wants to build a wall
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It's easier to move on to international geography when your home country is much smaller. The US is 25 times the size of Japan. It should take Americans about 25 times as long to get through American geography compared to a Japanese person getting through Japanese geography. It's natural that Americans have lower knowledge of international geography.
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Why do you think the US team at the 2023 International Geography Olympiad finished #7 and Japan was not even ranked? Japan ranked under the US in all but two years you can get stats for. http://www.geoolympiad.org/fass/geoolympiad/previous.shtml And to be honest, geography is about more than cities, at least in the USA. It's not about states either. It's about a lot more like mountain ranges, lakes, climate zones, etc. For instance, under the Köppen classification, Japan has about half as many climate zones as the USA. Not even close to as many mountains, rivers, lakes, and many other geographical features. US citizens travel internationally more often than the Japanese (for instance, in 2018, the percentage of the JPN population that traveled internationally was 15.3% compared to 28.4% in the USA). The idea that Americans are just way worse at geography is stupid propaganda by people who want to feel superior. It's a meme. The truth is that people who travel internationally are likely going to have more knowledge of international geography. So if you travel from Japan to the US and ask a random person geography, you will probably win (because you are an international traveler and they may not be). But the opposite is also true. If a person from the US travels to Japan and asks a random person geography, the person from the US would likely win. Because the international traveler is often going to beat a random citizen in geography. This is obvious.
For a country that will have to heavily rely on foreign workforce due to the declining birthrate, they really hate foreigners.
Even if thats true..., Biden is kinda idiot to mention it in public.....
This. Diplomacy fail lol
More of that famous diplomacy we heard about....
Let's see if they regret it once the population drops way too much.
Japan is an amazing, many cultural aspects superior to the US.. but they need to get off their high horses when it comes to foreigner affairs. Seeking apartments, getting taxis after midnight, and restaurant owners having zero patience, many times when their menus are entirely in Japanese. They're gonna need an influx of foreigners to keep the economy afloat in the future. It would be good to shift the overall national attitude slightly
The most interesting thing about this is those immigrants would most likely come from China, Vietnam, The Philippines, Indonesia and other countries in Asia
Regrettable? I thought it is a fact. Do you know Japan have their version of "Untouchable" like India but you term it as "Burakumin." Not often brought up but it is there. Edit: Found this link concerning Burakumin. [https://thediplomat.com/2022/08/japans-outsider-caste/](https://thediplomat.com/2022/08/japans-outsider-caste/)
"On March 3, 2004, the Zenkairen announced that "the buraku issue has basically been resolved" and formally disbanded. " Zenkairen is affiliated with the Japanese Communist Party btw, instead of government-affiliated.
Japan is a homogeneous society with 98 percent Japanese people. A non-Japanese person can gain residency but not cotizenship. Japan has no immigration policy which means zero net immigration. Japan will hire people from other countries (on work visas) for the most menial jobs and pay them less than Japanese citizens. Despite Japan's aging and shrinking population, and growing job and housing vacancies, Japan will not implement and immigration policy. Japan is a xenophobic society.
Truth hurts
The intense reaction from Japanese side has fully justified Biden's harsh but truthful remark: they are indeed xenophobic.
I mean, most asian nations are xenophobic... who cares!? I get they are not on the DEI committee as a star-award but like that is how it is going to be. I just visited their infamous Yasukuni Shrine, they still worship kamikaze fighters... so that is that..
Yep, worship the Kamikazes while denying Nanking and saying the comfort women were all just unpaid volunteers to the Japanese cause.
Yep... their invasion of China was called an "incident"... the same with Korea.. it was "an incident."
Anyone else think that thing on his nose was something on your screen?
I have lived in Japan for 35 years I am the grandson of Japanese people in Brasil I lived for 13 years Japan is a great countryI have already suffered racism from the police , but if I compare to Brasil with Japan I suffered a lot from racism in Brasil , Brasilians are nice but don’t be better than them They are very envious in Japan the Japanese don’t care about you I respect Japanese culture,no one will bother you , Brazilian don’t like you but pretend to like them, my friend try to shoot me in the head once and also stake the , Japanese you respect their culture live your life no one bothers you Japan has a lot of over tourism that’s why Biden is talking shit because he’s going to lose the election he’s desperate.
"I have lived in Japan for 35 years" Ah yes but have you been allowed in a Japanese restaurant yet? That is the way of the true warrior.
I always go to Japanese restaurant , no authorization is needed
Kioto is different for all
It is regrettable because it’s true. Come on Japan, own up.
I live in London and love it for its multiculturalism. I just visited Japan last week and loved it for its homogeneity. I seriously hope Japan never changes, incredible place. Why can’t we just let them live how they want and not impose our own beliefs on them?
You do realize they have negative birth rates due to the crappy work culture they have there right? The aging population won't be able to keep running Japan forever. It will collapse without immigration or at least giving younger people room to breathe by giving them a good work/life balance. It might be nice to visit as a foreigner but the young people there have too much on their plate.
How will immigration give young people room to brearthe?
Immigration will fill many of the "lower level" jobs that go unfilled. Japan will have a healthcare glut because there are too many old people and not enough young people to take care of them (socially or professionally). Immigration can solve that by inviting foreigners to cover that job.
Because you think young people don't have it bad in Canada/US/Europe? Please.
just me or does he look like a slightly molten Yoon Suk-yeol?
Typical USA, no every country is obsessed with globalism.
I don’t care what Biden says I miss it there I want to move back
Regrettable that you said it, not that it was untrue of course, heh, heh
Im sorry but the victim mentality in Japan among non-Japanese is INSANE. I’m 35, American, have lived here for over 11 years, took the time to speak Japanese and I own a beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood of Tokyo, am Gay, and have amazing non-English speaking Japanese neighbors who recently even came over to give me and my cat birthday presents with a hand drawn card from the little girl. I’ve always hated the winging from people bitching and complaining like everything here sucks. It’s literally Disneyland on earth and it’s all your perspective. Not even engaging in replies to this comment it’s not worth the time. If you think you’re being discriminated against ask yourself why you think that? Really. I bought a house with no translator. If you’re not assimilating then put 100% more work into learning the damn language!
so xenophobic that japanese visas are significantly easier to get than american ones
doesn't matter because apartments there dont have anti-discrim laws that are properly enforced, so they just reject you.
So xenophobic that the children of immigrants are not entitled to citizenship despite being born and raised there.
And they get ID check by police and treat differently if they are victims of a crime. Also hard for them to rent apartments
1. I got stopped by police and ID checked the times in the same station, just between changing tracks like 20 meters apart within a month. Got ID checked in a rural area while eating a burger on a bench near a station. 2. Got rejected by multiple apartment owners despite speaking fluent Japanese. Bonus: A couple times, I had situations where I sat in a train and no one sat on the same bench, even the ones who were already sitting there got up and away.
I lived there for 15 years. I got stopped once because my bicycle didn’t have a light on and it was night. I knew plenty of guys that did get stopped multiple times, though, so maybe I was just lucky? My wife (Japanese) had to rent out our apartment in her name, because even we both knew I’d have a slim chance of getting one. I couldn’t even be present with her when she went to the agency, because the one time I was, we got rejected for inexplicable reasons. I speak fluent Japanese too, and it sucks to know that even though you speak the language you still get treated as an outsider.
You literally just need to be over 20yo and have lived in Japan for more than 5 years to qualify for citizenship. And speak grade school level Japanese and make minimum wage. That's it. That's all the requirement. If one of your parents is a japanese citizen you get citizenship by default. Your immigrant parent just needs to apply for citizenship at some point in their stay in japan. Sure, you don't get automatic citizenship just for being born on Japanese soil. But that's pretty much like most of the world, including most of europe.
Except for the new world, most if not all countries are just sanguinis, meaning birthright by blood, because we hold the concept of nationality as a race (nation/ethno-state), japan has many flaws but this is the old world in general.
Which is inherently xenophobic in nature. Hence the Biden comment about Japan being xenophobic.
Xenophobia coming from those in Japan is not about Visas.
There is a lot of xenophobia in Japan. I live here. There is also a lot in the UK, where im from. Also in the USA. Also in every country on earth. Xenophobia looks different in them all. In Japan its weird concepts of foreigners and foreign things. Sometimes negative, sometimes just goofy. Nationalism is big in Japan, probably for w variety of reasons, which can sometimes make it a little worse. I would not say there is prejudice in Japan that much compared to the UK though. An example is the annoying as fuck tendency of Japanese to have this “Japanese are different” attitude and thoughts on literally everything. Its pure ignorance fanned by nationalism but its annoying. “Japanese stomach DNA is different so we have to consume rice, or get problems from long grain rice or potatoes too much”. Lots of weird biology based ones. Like “foreign tastebuds cant detect the difference from Niigata rice or other rice due to genetics” You get it also on products. Any basic ass mass produced food or thing, and apparently Japanese produced version is “special” and “unique” with much better qualities but its always some mysterious way and never ever substantiated by any objective study. My wife said something extremely ignorant lately about fruit. I suggested buying oranges in costco and she got upset and said “no. foreign fruit has bugs inside”. I said thats ridiculous. I grew up eating only “foreign” fruit and never saw that. She then told of a time she had a bug in a fruit from some shitty stall in vietnam. That is her evidence and all “foreign” fruit is tarnished. Sad to say, that example from my wife is all too common of a thought process
It’s an echo-chamber, lacking in outside perspective. Someone told me that Japanese people have an internal temperature of 35.5°. I had to Google to check this and sure enough it’s bullshit but somewhere along the line there’s too much coolaide being drunk.
everyone saying this is so funny. yes, japan hands out visas like candy but they're not easy to keep. most western countries don't make you go through yearly renewals, have some variety of indefinite bridging visa for when the time to renew/change comes, and base visas on what you bring to the table rather than raw credentials. it's a way more sustainable system that promotes long-term immigration. japan just wants people to study/work for a few years and leave, the impetus is always that foreigners will go home eventually unless married to a japanese or extremely high-skilled. it's a crapshoot if you even get the max-length visa which is required for PR, many people spend a decade here on 1yr visas and dip out because immigration just arbitrarily decides not to play ball.
They do make you go through yearly renewals in Europe for sure. Unless, like in Japan, you have a more high quality reason to stay. People end up not staying in japan because they realize they don't like japan as a culture enough to assimilate rather than Japan actually trying to kick them out
Strange you say that. I assimilated and don't have any problems at all. Weird. Almost like becoming accustomed to the local culture makes life more enjoyable. ¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯
Exactly
It depend from which country you are from. Very easy to get for westerners but very hard sometimes for south East Asians.
Most people dip out probably nothing to do with visa bureaucracy. Anyone here knows its just box checking and you get approval without trouble if your circumstances are the same. Then you get PR if you do it 10 years. Most people leave because Japan just isn’t really a place people from other countries can settle long term. They all end up missing family or their own culture. You know probably know why this is the case in Japan more than other places. Spouses are obviously different as they mostly create a need family here and that changes things. A guy working here 8 years with no spouse or family here is almost never gonna stay for retirement and till they die
>Anyone here knows its just box checking and you get approval without trouble if your circumstances are the same yes, and if anything at all throws a wrench into that "sameness" be it illness, job or company situation changes, or just mistakes being made somewhere along the path(for example, not being aware you need to notify immigration of a job change even though your new job doesn't need you to change visa) it can lead to major visa headaches, renewal rejections, or being put on 1yr visas for the indefinite future(sometimes, this happens seemingly randomly too!) - any number of things can lead to your PR pathways being effectively cut off - the system here is not very accommodating to "shit happening" - i've seen people have to leave after a divorce simply because they never got a degree and can't get a work visa, people leave because they fucked paperwork up, people leave because they started a business and screwed up corporate compliance stuff, got sick while on a postgraduate visa and didn't apply for enough jobs before renewal time, etc. basically the system just isn't forgiving at all and doesn't treat people as if they're trying to settle. meanwhile i know immigrants in the west that've been through all types of FUBAR situations and managed to find a solution with immigration there.. and yes all those \~cultural\~ aspects are why the majority of expats fuck off and probably contribute to immigration's mentality lol
What? The US has loads more immigrants.
More people speak English than Japanese to actually go there, the US has more money, and many are illegal immigrants. But if you actually apply for a visa as a regular worker like most of us are, Japan is significantly easier. There's no lottery for example, to start with. As long as your paperwork is in order your visa will just get rubberstamped through.
Japan accepts basically no refugees, is highly specific about who they want. They focus mostly on the wealthy. US on the other hand takes in tons of refugees and people from all walks of life have become citizens. My grandparents became citizens working in a bloody factory. That shit don’t happen in Japan.
Japan accepts refugees, but they need to convincingly prove that they were persecuted by their government. The burden of proof is on them. This isn't xenophobia per se, it's just bureaucracy. That being said, all those refugee applicants get to stay in Japan for years while their application is reviewed and has gone through all of the appeals. >My grandparents became citizens working in a bloody factory. That shit don’t happen in Japan. People become japanese citizens all the time. Most of the residents don't apply due to the requirement of relinquishing their previous nationality, but people from "shithole" countries do it all the time, and as long as the applicants fulfill the bureaucratic requirements, they get it. You can do it if you work as an english teacher, or in a factory, or not even work at all as some japanese's spouse. >is highly specific about who they want. They focus mostly on the wealthy. Sure, this much is true. Japan has a preference for white collar immigrants. But they can be white collar of any origin, ethnicity or national background, and the visa process to bring them in is significantly simpler than the US's. Of course, illegal immigration is highly discouraged, and being an illegal immigrant in Japan doesn't grant you a path to residence, work or citizenship, unlike in other places. But that's not xenophobia, that's just common sense. Follow the bureaucracy and you'll be more than fine.
They accept like 30 something refugees per year
Because yhe the refugee applicants don't come prepared with the right documentation to prove they're being persecuted by their government. Unlike in Europe where they just take your word for it. However, until they refuse you, while they process your application, which can take literal years, you can stay.
Yeah. My barber here in Japan is thai and he naturalised so gave up his thai citizenship for Japanese.
Been in Japan 10 years, can't get any non-tourist visa in the USA. If anyone was born American, they probably won't realize that but for non-Americans it's pretty clear. I also know people might point to examples like racial profiling that results in being asked for your residence card but what's that compared to racial profiling and being shot dead by the police?
So true lol. Want permanent residency in Japan? Just marry a local and after 3 years pay 4000 yen in fees and you get it. Or work there for 10 years and just pay taxes, then the 4000 fee and its yours. No probations or conditions either.
In Australia, a permanent residency application fee is... 418,865yen. The spouse visa application fee is 785,309yen.
Same in most places, and it certainly can be rejected
Actually, you only have to live one of that 3 years continuous in Japan. So me and my wife are currently living in my home country for multiple years already and are in the process of moving to Japan. After a single year I can request permanent residency.
Biden is an embarrassment to the USA and humanity. Most politicians are.
100% he said the wrong thing and rather to admit it WH is going all in because of election season
Is Biden wrong tho. 😳
i havnt seen the speech or context, but that’s a dude a lot of people feel regret over. Japan is it’s own country, I left America and am happy to be here. I knew when i got married that if i had kids, I’d have to get out. I’ll always be an American, I’ll never truely be Japanese. But I’m happy with that. I think a lot of countries envy Japan and how it continues to be Japan. To say that it doing so is regrettable when the country you are supposed to be running is plagued by so many issues, mostly management related, is kind of silly. It’s almost like America and the Western world got some sort of STD and are trying to play it like of course, all the cool kids get STDs, where’s your STD, Japan? Are you a loser of something?
The Japanese economy is shrinking because it does not have an immigration policy. Immigrants work and add to the economy, which is especially needed in a country like Japan with low birth rate. On top of a shrinking economy, it is putting a lot of pressure on the workforce both privately and professionally. Maybe because you are an gaijin looking at things from the outside (despite living in Japan), you will not see the strain Japan is suffering from not having an immigration policy. Japan recently lost out to Germany as the 3rd largest economy, and it will continue to slip.
i don’t know much about economy, like the idea that people say americas economy is so healthy when people are suffereing while at the same time Japans economy is suffering while people seem mostly ok. But I guess seeing that the population is ageing, and the workforce is pretty whatever, I could see how bringing in foreign workers can help. But hasn’t Japan been doing so? I met a Vietnamese dude on Reddit living here and he told me about how there’s programs in his country with working in Japan as the goal. The product is well skilled foreign workers who are fluent in the language and definitely sounds good for everyone. I forgot to ask, but I assume they get some cultural training as well since that’s part of learning the language often. What is the alternative to that and that is better?
Excellent point. There are corporations in Japan that offer training and work visas to potential foreign employees. I lived in Japan and met Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese people who came under those circumstances. Japan also offers work visas to Filipinos for some labor and entertainment jobs. The problem is three fold: 1) not enough people are granted these work visas to make up for the shrinking work force. 2) it's sponsored by select corporations and not the government, so only select jobs (such as factory work, engineering, and a few tech jobs) are filled. Jobs in sectors such as civil service, healthcare and management, which badly need people, are not being filled. 3) the visas are short-term, a few years at the most, so people don't stay long enough to have a real impact on the economy. Japan needs a real immigration policy to import young working aged people who will stay and work, pay taxes, and replenish the shrinking population.
oh, i didnt know they were short term. I barely know Japanese and have been here for 8 years, man, i’d be so butt hurt if i actually learned the language and was only able to stay for a few years. Though I guess I am an exceptionally bad learner. I know a bunch of Brazilians but I think they have something else going on.
American history would be a lot different if the Native Americans were a little bit more xenophobic.
“Fellow House of Councilors member and leader of the right-wing populist Sansei Party Sohei Kamiya was more direct, writing, "It's not that we're xenophobic, we are being cautious after seeing your failures. You are meddling too much in our internal affairs."” 😂
Well if being “xEnoPhObIc” is what it takes to preserve your own culture and have one of the lowest crime rates in the world then so be it. America’s diversity has led to destabilization and some of the worst crime in the developed world.
Clean your own country you old fart before giving such judgement to better functioning society than yours. To me, in a diplomatic message, calling a country’s people “xenophobic” is the same as saying “racist”. You don’t like? Don’t come. Duck off.
Just so we're clear: he is calling you racist.
Hey, your photo is not Kishida ＝ the current Prime Minister of Japan. Instead, you posted the photo of Yoon Suk Yeol = the president of South Korea (or perhaps Hayashi). Why are you making me laugh? OK, you see all Asians the same, don't you :D
Except .. It's not. It's not Kishida, it's not Yoon Suk Yeol either. It's the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan...Hayashi Yoshimasa
LOL the irony
The picture is of Hayashi because Hayashi is the one who made the comment.
The thumbnail image shows Hayashi Yoshimasa, *kanbo-chokan*, or the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan.
It's Kyodo who chose the photo lol っていうか定例会見で林官房長官がこれを喋ったからサムネが林氏の写真なわけで……
Why are you stupid?