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Comment by tossaccount123 | Hacker News Reader

wow, using technology to increase productivity to make up for stable population rather than importing millions of people who will be out of jobs due to technological advances in a few years. Truly a game changing strategy

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That doesn't make sense. If productivity increase is inevitable, it's not a game changer strategy. If technology increases human productivity, then immigrants won't be unemployed in a few years, consumers will be wealthier.

Consumers will be wealthier only if the productivity gains from automation end up in consumers' wallets--and because employment is the main way that money gets into consumers' wallets, this is not a given.

Japan doesn't have any obligation to enable more immigration and give everybody jobs.

Where exactly do you intend to fit all of those immigrants in one of the world's most densely populated countries?

And the jury is still out on if, when and how many people will be unemployed due to technical advances.

Japan’s local governments are trying to give away millions of abandoned houses: https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/japan-free-aban...

Similarly to rural Italy, France, Spain and USA, as people move to urban centers, rural population falls and small towns die. Japan’s demographic situation makes their case extra difficult at the moment.

Those immigrants want to move to the same urban centers because they're looking for work, not a retirement home, so the issue remains.

It's strange how these discussions are framed in terms of the dehumanizing "importing people". Maybe it's a reflection in the minds of those who say it of the idea that people are only means to an end, commodities to be imported and exported.

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