Japan Prefectures and Foreigners: Ideas Later. Updated April 8, 2026.

 

75% of Japan prefectures boosting programs for coexistence with foreigners

Article source:   https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260329/p2g/00m/0na/005000c

Ideas

Japan is in the midst of an epic labor shortage along with an ageing population and a dismal birth rate that is one of the lowest if not the lowest in the world.

But unfortunately, whether good or not so good, for the most part, the powers to be in Japan seems to be tightening immigration and actually letting in less foreign workers into Japan now.

And again, fortunately, the provinces in Japan see the real challenge the real problems and are trying to take steps to do what they can to foster cooperation among foreigners in the their communities and Japan residents.

What is even less that good or whatever, the powers to be have suggested and are going to implement a new law or rule that dictates foreign professionals who want to work in Japan must have a level of Japanese at the N2 level, which is upper middle proficiency in order to get a work visa.

Multicultural existence has been around for centuries in most or many countries but Japan, or some in Japan, don't want mutual existence or even any foreigners or less foreigner in Japan.

It has been suggested that the powers to be, keep suggesting Japan is going to lose its unique culture if there are too many foreign residents in Japan. 

You might ask the UK, with it many different ethnic groups if it has lost it unique ethnic culture or even ask the US, with its even more diverse population has it lost any of its culture, and the answer is no, each foreign ethnic group in the US has its own culture that has easily adapted in the US and with some challenges there should be no reason Japan can do the same in the future, if it hasn't already in many of the provinces.

There are always going to be small pockets of resistance to foreigners in every country, but it seems recently the resistance in Japan has become more pronounced and the powers to be in the Japanese government have been swayed and have become alarmed that there might be too many foreigner in Japan.

How about this example for the future or what might happen in the future if foreign tourists suddenly decide they don't want to visit Japan as Japan has become a place that doesn't welcome foreigners. Japan wants tourists to spend money but they don't want to them to stay or live their and many foreigners can feel it and it could potentially get worse over time.

And then the foreign tourists are going to head to South Korea or even China for their vacation trips as those countries are more willing to accept foreign tourists and even more foreign residents in the future.

Yes, the problem alone is not that Japanese residents don't feel good about foreigners but foreigners need to learn and understand Japan community rules and social norms as much as possible so that they can get along with their Japanese neighbors in the future.

Yes, Japanese rules and customs can be hard to understand but foreigners should at least try to find ways to be a part of their community in Japan and try their best to follow community rules such as when to take out the trash, how to separate the trash on and which days are for which kind of trash.

Again, unfortunately, social media has become a major outlet for negative comments, globally, against anything or anyone that some groups don't like, and Japan has had its share for a long time against some foreign groups in Japan.

The Chinese and South Korean residents in Japan seem to get most of the negative comments as some niche groups in Japan feel they are superior to any foreign group and the residents of China and South Korea seem feel it the most.

Yes increased opportunities for exchange needs to be very important but even more important, which governments can't dictate is the day to day exchanges ordinary Japanese residents might have with foreigners in their communities at the post office, at the supermarket, at the conbini, and at the schools. 

Each group should make an effort to be polite to each other and try to reach out to the other side even if it's just a hello, thank you, or something like that to show they care about each other.

And, not to blame Japanese residents but they should try to improve their English a little bit to be able to communicate just a little in English, and the same with foreign resident in Japan they should try to improve their Japanese communication skills as much as possible too.

Yes multicultural existence is very important as there are many different ethic communities that exist side by side in the UK and in the US too and many other countries too, but unfortunately, Japan, or some groups in Japan, are not willing to accept that multicultural coexistence can actually take place in Japan, as again, there is this mindset in Japan, with some fringe groups, which seem to have infiltrated some in the Japanese government that multicultural coexistence is not possible in Japan, as the Japanese culture is superior to other cultures around the world.

Again, some in Japan, especially some Japanese groups, who think 4 million is too many in Japan and the number should be reduced.

The problem is, and the Japanese governments knows but because some groups have more control over the immigration situation in Japan, there is resistance to increase more foreigners into Japan.

But Japan needs more legal foreign workers as they pay taxes which help with the pension system in Japan which helps ageing Japanese residents and they spend money in the Japanese economy which Japan desperately needs to help grow the economy.

Its a complex situation and to be fair even the US and the UK and other countries are struggling with its own immigration issues but Japan's immigration situation seems to be unique and Japan really doesn't know what is good for itself and or how to really solve the problem.

Have a nice day!