Replacement Migration on the Agenda Amid Japan’s Demographic ‘Emergency’

Japan logged its fewest births on record last year and more than twice as many deaths, according to a new government report, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba calling it "a quiet emergency."…

Japan continues to post grim demographic milestones as births decline and its population shrinks. The country's total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman is expected to have, fell to 1.15 in 2024 from 1.2 the previous year, despite extensive local and central government incentives, and some of the world's most generous parental leave policies…

The number of foreign residents climbed to a record 3.6 million as of January 1, representing almost 3 percent of the overall population.

To address labor shortages in sectors such as elder care and manufacturing, Japan has begun easing its strict immigration rules. The reforms aim to triple the foreign workforce by 2040, allowing more workers to stay longer and bring their families.

Japan is not alone in facing such demographic pressures. South Korea, China, and Taiwan are also racing to boost birth rates, fearing the long-term drag on their economies.

The neoliberal think tank machine at home in the U.S. can barely contain its excitement at the prospect of gifting the Japanese with the migrant tsunami it’s already treated Americans to, calling for greater integration efforts, full citizenship granted to migrants, and “anti-discrimination” laws to thwart any popular resistance to the project.

Via Harvard International Review (emphasis added):

While Japan has seen little resistance to the recent influx of immigrants, the country’s policies provide inadequate support to newcomers to integrate into the Japanese economy and society. Japanese policies do offer immigrants access to healthcare and permanent residential status—valuable benefits, especially compared to pre-shrink policies. However, immigrants also receive minimal language support, access to education, disaster preparedness training, and resources that help build an understanding of Japanese culture and customs. Japan is also the only developed democracy that does not have an anti-discrimination law or judicial body, which means immigrants facing discrimination cannot seek justice.

Moreover, many immigrants cannot become naturalized citizens, which would allow them to vote, become civil servants, and travel to and from Japan without permits. Children gain citizenship status if their parents have Japanese heritage, but the process of becoming a naturalized citizen without family from the country is difficult. For example, applicants must live in Japan for five consecutive years, prove their ability to make a living from their assets or skills, and give up all other nationalities. This means that children can be raised in Japan for their whole lives by parents who are permanent residents but not Japanese citizens. Stringent naturalization requirements can turn off prospective immigrants considering a move to Japan…

Supporting immigrants, particularly in learning the local language and customs, can create “positive assimilation”: when immigrants earn more over time as they become familiar with the culture and work practices in their host country. Language programs upon arrival as well as measures to address immigrants’ struggles—such as discrimination support and on-the-job training—could facilitate salary increases. Because economic integration is essential to positive assimilation, support with job transitions, work culture acclimation, and job mobility are crucial to the livelihood of immigrants in Japan. These efforts could also include campaigns to encourage employers to hire foreign workers.

While the Japanese government and people might not be against immigrants, Japan could provide them with better support. Helping immigrants integrate into the Japanese society and economy is essential for not only recruitment, but also for the wellbeing and economic security of immigrants. These goals, in turn, are critical to solving Japan’s population crisis and consequent labor shortages. Immigrants could play a pivotal role in funding the ever-expanding social security net and fueling the country’s economy—if they are given the opportunity and assistance to succeed.

From an economic standpoint, given the exponential growth in technological capacity to replace human labor — indeed, the AI takeover of the economy is already full steam ahead — it’s hard to see why this is an “emergency” for one of the world’s most technologically advanced nations. If anything, pouring migrants into the equation would only serve to further alienate the native human workforce.

Related: The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire

But, even if it were a viable economic solution, importing hordes of Third World migrants, which the United Nations et. al. have been trying to force-feed East Asia for decades, is not any kind of solution Japan ought to have any part of. Indeed, they might look to the West as a cautionary tale for the consequences of all of that promised “cultural enrichment.”  

As a rule of thumb, whatever the New York Times suggests in the way of domestic policy advice, the nations of the world are best to do the exact opposite.

Via New York Times (emphasis added):

It’s not that there is anything bad about your hair, the police officer politely explained to the young Black man as commuters streamed past in Tokyo Station. It’s just that, based on his experience, people with dreadlocks were more likely to possess drugs.

Alonzo Omotegawa’s video of his 2021 stop and search led to debates about racial profiling in Japan and an internal review by the police. For him, though, it was part of a perennial problem that began when he was first questioned as a 13-year-old…

Racial profiling is emerging as a flashpoint in Japan as increasing numbers of migrant workers, foreign residents and mixed-race Japanese change the country’s traditionally homogenous society and test deep-seated suspicion toward outsiders.

With one of the world’s oldest populations and a stubbornly low birthrate, Japan has been forced to rethink its restrictive immigration policies.

I hope, for the natives’ sake, that increased Japanese riot police budgets are on the agenda.

Look at these poor cops, totally unaccustomed to, and woefully unprepared for, the hordes of migrants soon to descend on Tokyo.

Kurdish migrants are causing mayhem in Saitama, Japan and demanding that immigration policies be changed to allow even more of them in.

They need to be deported en masse before the country becomes as “culturally enriched” as France with these thugs. pic.twitter.com/FiZAKt5bsX

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) February 20, 2024