Japan Is So Desperate to Increase Its Birth Rate That Tokyo Is Trying Out a New Idea: Free Daycare
Japan Is So Desperate to Increase Its Birth Rate That Tokyo Is Trying Out a New Idea: Free Daycare
Japan has been grappling with its demographic statistics with a sense of urgency, particularly regarding its declining birth rate. In 2023, the country...
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They've tried everything except immigration. Now there is nothing left to try!
They have a surprising amount of immigration from Brazil.
It's odd though, because the people immigrating to Japan from Brazil are the adult children of people who previously immigrated to Brazil from Japan. Not that that doesn't happen with other countries.
It's just an interesting tidbit I learned not that long ago that I really didn't expect.
I had to visit a factory in Japan over the summer and was shocked at how much Portuguese I saw in a small city in Japan. And how many people I saw who were clearly of mixed Japanese and Brazilian ancestry
Kind of goes full circle with Portugal being some of the earliest traders arriving at Japan, lol.
They do try immigration, but they focus on young ppl who are useful. They want workers. If I remember correctly have they doubled the immigration since 2000. And since 2018 did they put up a legislation to take in 345 000 more immigrants in 5 years. I think they went for the "slow but steady wins the race" but they seem a bit desperate right now so I wonder if they will open that immigration gate more soon.
If I'm not mistaken, Japan is open to hire skilled workers from abroad. But anecdotally, I heard that the country is having issues filling up "less skilled" workers such as in construction and shopkeepers. Moreover, I think Japan is very stringent with extending visa for most immigrants even for skilled workers.
Compared to other countries, the immigration rules are very straightforward for each visa category. And the cost is so cheap (¥8,000 at most). In addition, you only pay if your application is successful.
If you legally reside in Japan for ten years you can easily switch to a permanent residence status. This can be fast tracked to just three years (I think) I think if you are originally on a highly skilled visa.
In countries with lax immigration they would be more lax about extending visas.
The Japanese government can choose to address these issues whenever they feel like fixing their population collapse.
On the one hand, there is little to no racial tension in Japan. I'm not saying I agree with their policies, but it's on them even if it means their population becomes 80 million from 120 million in the next two generations.