Japan officially overhauls permanent residency rules | Hacker News Reader

Japan officially overhauls permanent residency rules

japantimes.co.jp

21 pointsmikhael10 comments

I've been working in Japan for three years. I've been paying taxes, paying pension, spending money in the local economy, learning Japanese, and participating in the local community.

During those three years, I was interested in the prospect of gaining permanent residency.

But given the amount of anti-foreigner laws being passed by the Japanese government, I don't see the point in trying to pursue living in a country where you have to walk on egg shells your entire life or risk being removed. This is in addition to only making around a $25,000 USD salary due to how weak the yen currently is.

I understand that this is the point of these laws; to dissuade foreigners from living in Japan. It's still disappointing. I know several other people in a similar position to mine.

This seems like a missed opportunity by the Japanese government to attract youthful foreigners who are interested in Japan and Japanese culture. Especially considering the declining Japanese population.

I've been here for 15 years, use Japanese for 90% of my work, have a child here AND permanent residency. And even I'm considering leaving Japan.

I can't imagine many people in their first few years, facing these changes, desiring the long term goal of PR now.

I've had permanent residency in Japan since 2001, and this new review system is significantly tougher than it was when I applied. There is a zero-tolerance approach to minor infractions (traffic violations, tax filings, national health insurance requirements), much higher fees, and an explicit income and pension requirement (the minimum annual income is actually pretty low, at something like 20,000 USD per year plus 5000 per additional family member). Had these rules applied 25 years ago, I probably would have been rejected due to a few parking or speeding tickets.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49858810 [Japan moves to tighten rules for foreigners] (4 days ago, 666 comments, 206 points)

Doesn't Japan have a population crisis? Why are they making it more difficult to move there?

Probably to avoid the perceived issues other places have run into. You can always attempt to reverse a population crisis peacefully--you cannot reverse a migration crisis in the same way or with favorable optics. So, better to get ahead of it.

Haven’t you heard? Robots are going to care for the huge portion of the Japanese population over the age of 65, which is currently 30% of the population. Yes, this is a real plan that the Japanese government has.

https://japantoday.com/category/tech/japan-biz-labor-scarce-...

Allowing foreigners in would disrupt the glorious harmony of Japan, so robots it is.

I guess this is getting a bit into philosophy, but is it still even "Japan" if you replace the population with people from somewhere else?

The obvious: Only people with real intentions will attempt such process.

That automatically filters out, people with low IQ, and seeking to take advantage of the system.

Because a country has a population crisis, it should never mean open the gate for anyone. I mean, look at Europa atm, look at how beautiful is Europa as we speak after opening the gate from everybody.

Your question shouldn't even be asked, it is common sense.

It's just populist politics. Instead of solving the real problems, just distract people with a scapegoat.

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