Care to elaborate on how this parallels Japan? Otherwise this just reads like a random drive-by at best, and a culture-war talking point at worst.
Then some extremist government is voted in to not allow foreigners at all (AfD, etc), or even the same government is pushed to have extremely strict immigration laws (see Denmark).
I don't consider myself a nativist, since Singapore shows a multi-ethnic society in relative harmony can be done. But that relies on both the local population and the government to be willing to live as one cohesive and multi-ethnic society.
The ICA says it considers factors including family ties to singaporeans, economic contributions, qualifications, age, family profile, length of residency, ability to integrate into Singapore society, and commitment to “sinking roots” in Singapore.
Emphasis on:
> ability to integrate into Singapore society, and commitment to “sinking roots” in Singapore.
It turns out, immigration problems are usually a "skill issue". It _can_ be done well.