Ignore the election hype, foreign residents are here to stay

Japan Times

4 days ago

In the lead-up to Sunday's Upper House election, Japan's openness to the growing influx of foreign nationals garnered considerable media attention and spooked even some long-term foreign residents.
All the political parties found it necessary to offer policies, but the media focused largely on the new conservative party, Sanseito, which won 14 seats in Sunday's election, with some calling its campaign slogan 'Japanese first' xenophobic.
Hype and emotions are always higher in an election cycle, so post-election is a good time to examine the issue dispassionately and in depth.
Sanseito was not alone in targeting foreign nationals. Just days before the election, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba formed a new 'control tower' at the Cabinet Secretariat to address what he poorly described as 'crimes, nuisance behavior and inappropriate uses of various systems by some foreign-born persons that are making Japanese citizens feel anxiety and unfairness.'
The highly inappropriate lumping together of all foreign nationals, whether by the prime minister, media or candidate stump speeches, without separating the issues associated with the massive increase in tourists from those relatively insignificant issues arising from residents with long-term work and student visas, as well as permanent residents, is what has some members of the foreign-resident population concerned.
With tourists now approaching 4 million per month, with year-on-year increases over 20%, local businesses and residents from Hokkaido to Okinawa are pleased with the increased revenue, but not with the overcrowding, public-transportation congestion, littering, localized price inflation, occasional vandalism and an increase in petty crimes.
Some spin-off issues have also arisen with a relatively small number of tourists that are taking advantage of Japan's poor management of some basic systems, such as allowing in 2024 about 68,000 short-term tourists to acquire a Japanese driver's license using a hotel address, some tourists gaining access to the national health care system and then skipping payment, and worse, not being blocked from returning to Japan on future trips to do it again. These can become emotional issues, but they have not yet risen to the level of being material. Fixes are under way.
The underlying problem is twofold: First is the need for the government and media to distinguish between tourist crowding challenges and the nation's commitment to a continuous but controlled inflow of foreign talent willing to assimilate over the long term. Second, government financial support and regulations have not kept pace to alleviate the stresses of overtourism and address the distinct set of challenges associated with attracting, retaining and supporting foreign nationals and their families who possess the desired skills and are willing to integrate into Japan. Both groups are seeking a positive experience in Japan and the country needs both groups to support its economy.
In 2024, the foreign-resident population reached 3.77 million, representing a 10.5% increase from 2023, or 358,000 new arrivals, and a new record for three consecutive years. Over the past three years, 1 million new foreign residents have arrived in Japan. Most came to seek jobs under the "specified skilled worker program" and the "highly skilled professional" visa classes.
Chinese nationals are the largest group, at nearly 850,000, including 67,000 Taiwanese, who will be listed separately under new rules. Vietnamese nationals are the second-largest group at almost 650,000. Nationals from Vietnam, Nepal, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines were the fastest-growing groups in 2024. South Korean nationals are the third-largest group, and Brazilians are the sixth, but, like the Chinese, their numbers remained generally flat compared to the prior year.
The importance of increasing immigration flows is clear when one considers that in 2024 Japan's total population declined for the 14th straight year to 123.8 million, which includes just over 120 million Japanese nationals, down nearly 900,000. Foreign residents now account for just over 3% of the total population, yet only about 20% have acquired permanent residency status, implying a relatively weak long-term commitment to Japan.
Immigrants to Japan are overwhelmingly from our closest Asian neighbors, with whom the Japanese share many cultural, religious and societal customs. Those shared traits impact their willingness to assimilate into Japanese society, which is a net positive.
Has the experience been stress-free so far for all parties involved? Well, no. But comparatively speaking Japan is doing far better than many other countries seeing an influx of immigrants from nations that share fewer religious and cultural traditions.
First, let's deal with the unfounded fear issues. Although overall crime rates in Japan have increased slightly for three consecutive years, with more street snatches and bicycle thefts, serious crime has declined during that period. The available evidence refutes the claims that increased immigration is leading to higher crime rates. Second, foreign residents are not becoming a financial burden on society, as they are overwhelmingly gainfully employed, paying taxes and contributing to the social welfare system.
As noted earlier, concerns have recently surfaced about short-term foreign visitors gaining access to Japan's national health services without covering the associated payments. Legal changes are pending that would prevent any foreign national who dodged medical costs during a visit to Japan from returning to the country. Still, the analysis shows that the disbursements from the national health fund to foreign nationals account for only 1.2% of the total, while foreign residents make up 3.04% of the total population.
That's not to say that some communities, especially in smaller cities, aren't facing challenges. Towns in Saitama, Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures, for example, face ongoing challenges educating children who do not speak Japanese, requiring them to hire teachers who can speak Chinese, Vietnamese or Indonesian. In Gunma, a large influx of Brazilians in the 1990s led to local schools hiring Portuguese speakers, while recent arrivals from Nepal have introduced yet another language requirement. Other towns with growing Indonesian Muslim populations are struggling to find enough cemeteries that can accommodate their burial customs, which exclude cremation.
In the city of Kawaguchi in Saitama Prefecture, about 2,000 to 3,000 Kurdish people who are refugees from the Turkey-controlled parts of Kurdistan have garnered unwanted attention because of noisy festivals, garbage collection complaints and one famous intergroup confrontation that required police intervention. But otherwise in Japan, fortunately, such incidents are very rare.
Not all immigrants are coming to Japan to work. Some wealthier foreign nationals come for recreation and investment opportunities, causing real-estate values near Hokkaido ski resorts and high-end areas in Tokyo and Osaka to skyrocket. Related issues have surfaced, including nonresident investors failing to pay local taxes or monthly maintenance charges, resulting in financial difficulties for the owners' association and government confiscation of some properties due to unpaid taxes.
Others come to Japan so their children can access international and Japanese schools. They tend to concentrate in the few Tokyo wards where the most prestigious high schools and universities are located. Not surprisingly, complaints have arisen from the families of Japanese students squeezed out of those schools. That is also the case concerning graduate universities, where foreign graduate students now occupy more than 50% of the seats in some of Japan's most prestigious schools, such as the University of Tokyo.
The enrollment of foreign nationals in schools and universities is not an issue exclusive to Japan, of course, but it does present unique challenges here. In the U.S., for example, universities see international students who pay exorbitant out-of-state tuition as a profit opportunity. In contrast, with tuition already far lower, Japan provides an annual subsidy of ¥2.9 million to every doctoral student, regardless of nationality. Not only are Japanese nationals squeezed out, but they are also subsidizing non-Japanese nationals to take the limited seats available. That is bad policy and is being amended.
Interestingly, the number of foreign residents who become Japanese citizens has remained relatively constant at around 10,000 per year. That may change in the future, but such a modest number of naturalizations helps ensure that Japan will not experience a growing issue in the U.K. and elsewhere where a concentrated diaspora who become eligible to vote and run for public office elect people solely from their ethnic or religious background or become vulnerable to influence operations by their former country.
While it's true that the number of Japan's foreign residents reached a record high last year, it's still barely over 3% of the total population, low by international standards. Despite the election hype, Japan can continue to accept a controlled flow of new foreign residents with backgrounds that most easily facilitate their integration into Japanese society over time.
However, our elected officials must also fully support the integration processes so that this experience is a positive one for new arrivals and Japanese citizens alike.
Edo Naito is a commentator on Japanese politics, law and history. He is a retired international business attorney and has held board of director and executive positions at several U.S. and Japanese multinational companies.