An immigration conundrum in Japan
By Peter Taberner
Immigration policy has always launched heated debate in Japan, where decades of
government administrations have failed to create an expansive legal framework
for migrant workers. But a declining population will perhaps create a fresh
awareness and cultural outlook concerning foreign nationals living and working
in Japan.
Last month, a new immigration plan proposed by 80 Liberal Democrat lawmakers
and led by the party's former secretary general, Hidenao Nakagawa, pushed for
Japan to loosen its borders and by 2050 to have 10% of the Japanese population
consisting of immigrants - an intake of at least 10 million people.
The proposal claims that the population is shrinking as deaths
now outnumber births and immigration remains tightly controlled. According to
communications company CNC Japan KK, the number of Japanese will shrink to just
under 90 million in 2055, from the current total of 127 million.
Nakagawa's plans are revolutionary; not only adjusting numbers to cope with
labor market shortages but also inviting workers' family members to live in
Japan. Inviting relatives is aimed at creating a vibrant sense of
multiculturalism as opposed to simply making up the labor shortfall in the
low-paying health or agricultural sectors.
The plan calls for a central immigration agency to be established, and assume
all border duties. Such a move has also been requested recently by seven
prefectures, including Nagoya and Nagano. Other tenets of Nakagawa's proposal
include extending student and working visas to five years from three, and the
construction of Japanese culture and language institutions abroad. There was
even a call to outlaw racism.
Recently, there have been two significant developments which suggest a thaw in
Japan's traditionally cold reception of foreign workers. First, a court ruling
that Japanese children of unmarried foreign mothers can now be granted
citizenship "for the protection of basic human rights". And second, as part of
a trade agreement with Indonesia, a deal has been brokered to allow Indonesian
nurses and health professionals to live and work in Japan.
The conditions for the nurses' arrival and participation in the health sector
will be strict. There will spoken and written Japanese language examinations as
well as a three-year training course for nurses and a four-year course for
health workers requiring more technical qualifications. Only when these
requirements are successfully completed will Indonesian health workers be
treated as full wage workers. They will receive a "training wage" up to that
point.
Similar deals exist with the Philippines, but this is limited to nurses only.
Japan's diplomatic relations with Thailand have not extended into an
immigration policy.
These arrangements could be viewed as pilot schemes for any attempt to infuse
the population with more overseas workers. At the moment, however, they are no
more than part of trade agreements and nothing like the scope that Nakagawa
proposes.
Will Japan be able to cope with the extra numbers? Japanese society cannot
boast of a harmonious relationship with immigrants and there are many examples
of begrudging migration policies throughout its history. However, Japan pales
in comparison to some European nations which maintain immigrant populations of
up to 15%.
Before World War II, there were migrant flows from Korea after Japan colonized
the country in 1910. Millions of laborers were brought into Japan on a
conscription basis, but the flow stopped after 1945. When independence was
declared in 1952, all non-nationals were declared gaijins or
"foreigners" and given no welcome entry into Japanese society. Few gaijins
were encouraged to settle long-term.
Later, the Immigration Control Law (ICL) was introduced and became the
framework of all ensuing migrant policies. It has held that all foreign workers
must sign into an alien registration scheme which must be repeated every year.
The ICL also provided means to monitor workers who only planned to stay for a
short time.
During the spiraling economic progress of the 1960s and 1970s, machines became
preferred to foreign labor; a policy propelled by government and major
corporations alike which resulted in low migrant labor numbers during this
period.
In response to more transnational networks - and the growing power of a strong
yen to attract overseas workers - the ICL was reformed in 1989. The overhaul
aimed to buck the rise in expired short-term visas as well as an influx of
low-skilled labor. It established strict guidelines for employers concerning
illegal or black-market employment of foreigners.
Foreigners have not always enjoyed a favorable reputation in Japan, and have
widely being blamed for the rise in crime and increased use of drugs in the
country.
Tokyo's governor Shintaro Ishihara is one of Japan's most prominent right-wing
figures. In 2006, he was quoted as saying, "Roppongi [Tokyo's most
populous foreign section] is now virtually a foreign neighborhood. Africans - I
don't mean African-Americans - who don't speak English are there doing who
knows what. This is leading to new forms of crime such as car theft. We should
be letting in people who are intelligent."
Still, the obvious necessity for change may provoke a change in such entrenched
attitudes.
"Opinions from Japanese people are diverse at the moment and there is an
increasing realization that demographic patterns are going to change and that
we need a younger population," said Akio Nakayama, of the International
Organization for Migration's Tokyo office. "Many more local communities know
that there is no other alternative, and in the major cities they already have
migrant communities and their knowledge of multiculturalism is growing. We have
2.15 million migrants in the country now and look at the amount of Brazilians
that now reside in Japan since the Nikkeijin policy was introduced allowing
descendents of Japanese emigrates to live here. This has only been recent."
Nakayama added, "Tokyo has a high proportion of foreigners and has the
experience of welcoming labor. But the skepticism [about] foreigners and the
perception that they often cause crime is not based on reality and official
crime figures confirm that. This image is manipulated."
However, criticism of foreign workers still points to a loss of national
culture, social instability and the burden of unemployed migrants.
Goro Ono, author of Bringing Foreign Workers Ruins Japan, argued that
salaries will determine whether migrants are needed. Nor does Ono believe an
increase in migration is a necessity: "If industries where labor is in high
demand pay adequate salaries, people will work there."
Nakagawa is an influential politician and his proposal is the strongest
indication yet that policies must change. Still, his proposal is unlikely to
become law in its current form and will almost certainly have to be watered
down.
Across the Diet opinions are diverse. The Democrat Party, which took control of
the House of Councilors after last year's elections, has put forward its own
proposal which is much more limited in scope than Nakagawa's, but is supportive
of an immigration overhaul.
Japan's immigration debate is heating up once again.
Peter Taberner is a freelance journalist based in the United Kingdom for
the past four years. He has also reported directly from Bosnia.
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