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The Diplomat
2 hours ago
- The Diplomat
Post-Election, Japan Reassesses Policies on Foreigners
Japan's famed hospitality is under strain as a post-pandemic tourism boom pushes the country's infrastructure and patience to its limits. A surge of foreign visitors crowding popular attractions and public transit has set off a national debate over the economic benefits and social costs of the country's growing foreign presence. At the same time, Japan's foreign resident population is growing at twice the pace the government had forecast, reaching a record 3.77 million at the end of 2024. A recent NHK opinion poll found 64 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that 'foreigners are overly favored in Japanese society.' At the tip of the iceberg are the daily missteps committed by foreign tourists and residents. Foreigners have attracted criticism for flouting Japan's social norms with littering, jaywalking, and boisterous behavior, which locals say disrupts the country's emphasis on order and public courtesy. But, on a deeper level, Japanese society has begun to question policies underpinning the influx of foreigners. In the lead up to the upper house elections on July 20, opposition parties sought to spell out their position on foreigners in light of growing public concerns ranging from reckless driving by foreign nationals to the misuse of Japan's healthcare and welfare systems. In response, the government launched the Office for the Promotion of an Orderly and Cooperative Society with Foreigners in mid-July. The new body serves as a cross-ministerial 'control tower' within the Cabinet Secretariat and aims to address a mixed bag of issues arising from the country's growing foreign resident population. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research estimates that Japan's foreign resident population could grow by about 165,000 a year, surpassing 10 percent of the total population by 2067. But, with births falling faster than predicted, that threshold could be reached much sooner if current trends continue. According to the Immigration Services Agency, the surge is driven by an influx of workers from Southeast and South Asia. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's policy on foreign residents hinges on a dual strategy – sustaining the economic role of foreign workers while enforcing tighter compliance. During the upper house elections in July, the LDP unveiled its 'Zero Illegal Foreign Residents' initiative. It's a hardline, action-oriented message tapping into public unease over immigration, national security, and 'orderly coexistence.' The LDP has pledged to tighten what critics call overly lax rules for converting foreign driver's licenses, crack down on rule breaking, and impose tougher restrictions on foreigners buying property. In 2024, more than 76,000 foreigners swapped overseas driver's licenses for Japanese ones – more than double the number a decade ago. The increase coincided with a rise in hit-and-run cases and foreigners driving the wrong way on roads, fueling criticism that the current 10-question traffic test is too easy and open even to tourists. Most foreign license conversions in Japan involve drivers from countries that have not signed the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic. From October 1, 2025, the traffic knowledge test will contain 50 questions, require a 90 percent pass rate, and will ban temporary visitors from converting their license. A shift is underway in Japan, driven in part by social media claims that an increase in foreign residents is making Japan less safe and that they are moving in to buy vast sums of real estate. These narratives helped fuel the popularity of the populist right-wing party Sanseito and its 'Japan First' message. With metropolitan Tokyo land prices climbing, opposition parties plan to submit a bill this fall to tighten restrictions on property purchases by foreign individuals and companies. Japan is also planning to tighten visa rules to target foreign residents who are behind on taxes or social health insurance premiums. The plan would let immigration and welfare officials share payment records, after a survey showed foreign residents' health insurance payment rate was 63 percent, far below the 93 percent among Japanese citizens. Officials warn that arrears could strain social systems and fuel public resentment. Immigration is a sensitive subject in Japan. Research has shown that the word 'immigration' is rarely uttered in politics. In parliamentary debates, lawmakers from across the spectrum tend to avoid the term altogether, opting instead for phrases like 'foreign human resources,' or 'foreign workers.' The softer language presents the issue in economic terms and skirts a deeper, more uncomfortable reality – which is that for decades, immigration has remained one of the country's most enduring political and cultural taboos. As a result, Japan still lacks an official immigration policy. The government defines an immigration policy as 'accepting a certain scale of foreign nationals, including families, without a set time limit, relative to the size of the national population, to sustain the country.' As part of its growth strategy, the government has sought to expand the admission of highly skilled professionals as well as young workers from developing countries to learn skills in sectors plagued with labor shortages. The ruling-LDP maintains that these programs do not constitute an immigration policy, since residency is only granted for a limited period. Right-wing populists, viral social media posts, and deep-seated economic anxieties have amplified the belief that foreigners enjoy special treatment in Japan. Official data suggest otherwise, but the misperception has proved a powerful political tool.
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
British navy carrier group makes port call in Japan, 1st in 4 years
A British aircraft carrier strike group made a port call in eastern Japan on Tuesday, marking the first such visit in about four years in a show of deeper security cooperation between the two nations. The aircraft carrier Prince of Wales docked at the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo, while the destroyer Dauntless and the Norwegian frigate Roald Amundsen berthed at the near-by Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force base. The three ships from the Carrier Strike Group 25 are scheduled to stay in Japan until Sept. 2, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry. It is the second such British naval visit, after Japan hosted an aircraft carrier strike group in 2021 led by the Queen Elizabeth. A welcoming event was held at the MSDF base, with British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom saying, "We are deeply grateful for your hospitality and shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific." Tomohiko Madono, head of the MSDF's Yokosuka District, said that he is convinced that Japan, Britain and Norway will deepen their bonds given their "quite similar security environments." The Prince of Wales will move to Tokyo on Aug. 28 and stay there until Sept. 2, while the Roald Amundsen will make a four-day stay in the capital from Aug. 19, the ministry said. Japan and Britain have been strengthening their defense collaboration in recent years, with a bilateral reciprocal access agreement that simplifies procedures for their forces to engage in joint exercises and disaster relief operations taking effect in 2023. The two U.S. allies have also been running a trilateral joint project with Italy to develop a next-generation fighter jet by 2035. In a related move, the MSDF said Tuesday that British F-35B stealth fighter jets from the Prince of Wales, along with U.S. F-35Bs, landed on the Japanese carrier Kaga during multilateral drills in the western Pacific. Japan is modifying two helicopter carriers, including the Kaga, for future use as de facto aircraft carriers, adding heat-resistant deck coating and other upgrades. © KYODO
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
Philippine-Japan deal on movement of forces to take effect Sept. 11
The Philippines and Japan said Tuesday that a bilateral agreement facilitating joint exercises and disaster response between their forces will take effect Sept 11, as both allies face sovereignty challenges from China and work together to maintain regional stability. During an event at the Department of Foreign Affairs, officials from the two countries exchanged notes on the entry into force of the Reciprocal Access Agreement, signed in July last year and later approved by their legislatures. It is Japan's first such pact with a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro said the RAA signifies Japan's commitment to cooperating with the Philippines in its efforts to boost defense capabilities, while Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro praised the deal, saying it "also provides deterrence for those actors who may not see things the way we do." Japan's Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuya Endo said the agreement is more than "a bilateral milestone" but "a momentous contribution to the realization of a free and open Indo-Pacific" in close cooperation with the United States and other like-minded partners. China has been aggressively asserting its claims over almost the entire South China Sea, including areas the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in 2016 to be within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. Beijing also claims the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The deal to enhance interoperability between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Japan Self-Defense Forces will allow Japanese troops to participate as full members in the annual large-scale Philippine-U.S. military exercise Balikatan. © KYODO
