Japan (and its Real-Estate market) Rides Again

Agh! Pandering to the 1%. I'm disappointed Ziv

…who jet in from foreign shores and who are met by their Swiss banksters. Me… paranoid… never!

How's Japans immigration policy going? It seems not well if this guys open letter to Abe and his ministers is anything to go by. It would appear Abe says one thing but deep down is just as xenophobic as the rest of Japan.

Abe and his ministers give anti-foreigner rallies tacit green light

Freedom of hate speech: Members of the anti-Korean Zaitokukai rightist group demonstrate in March outside Tsuruhashi Station in Osaka. Tsuruhashi is a largely Korean district that straddles the city's Ikuno and Tennoji wards. | KYODO

You're trying to make Japanese political processes sound different to everyone else when they're not. Difficult policy often takes more than one term in office even in the west.

Blimey that's an old one – 3 to 4 years ago. Nice try to deflect from the real issue and that is if Abe and his ministers give tacit approval through their silence on such issues one cannot take their proposed immigration policies seriously. Any potential immigrant would have to consider a xenophobic environment would or will remain alive and well. I can see them coming in their droves

So Abe's policies are unlikely to play any real part in the delusional idea that somehow Japan can turn a maths problem into a policy problem and solve it that way. Maybe in a few decades Japan might be able to deliver a cogent immigration policy that overcomes all things xenophobic. Not in my lifetime I think.

Quote:

I know the west likes "quick fixes" about as much as you like demagoguery and crisis alerts, freckle, but for better and worse, it doesn't work that way here. Bummer, I know

Still playing the man…

Do you not get it?

We're talking about Abe and his government's reaction.

All countries to some extent or other are xenophobic and racist. Japan just happens to be up there with the worst offenders. How that plays out varies from country to country and minority to minority. What's at issue here is how the establishment deals with this problem within their own borders and what signal that sends to foreigners. Even after a century Japanese Koreans are still no better off than black Americans remaining second class citizens with limited rights. At least the blacks have equal rights under the constitution.

As far as the immigration debate goes I'm yet to see you put up any evidence that might remotely establish how this policy will in any way shape or form contribute to solving Japan's financial problems.

I'm wary of studies like these because they can be constructed to skew results in favor of whoever is running the agenda but lets accept this study for arguments sake anyway.

From your reference supplied above:

Table 2, estimated from the JGSS, contains the percentages of respondents who

are against an increase in immigrants among 20-60 yearolds in selected occupations.

Nearly 60% of the respondents who are in agricultural/forestry/fishery, or are

laborers/operators express anti-immigrant sentiments. Incontrast, more than 60% of

the respondents in service occupations express pro-immigrant sentiments.

So it appears that blue collar and laborers perceive immigration as a threat while white collar doesn't. Antagonists within societies are those who are for whatever reason socio-economically deprived (or threatened by immigrant groups). As the economic landscape deteriorates in Japan I would expect to see this section of society increasingly vocal.

The argument is moot in my mind because even if Japan has the best intentions to make change of this nature it will take decades and will more than likely take a generational change in mind set to be implemented effectively. The reality is that immigration policy such as this has been in motion now for several decades. There's absolutely nothing substantively new about immigration. (Source)

The immigration debate is a red herring. It's a distraction that is designed to placate the populace and suggest to them their government is proactively attacking the problems when in fact it's not. It's simply doing what it's always done and pitched it as some new initiative.

The real debate is the absurd financial policy that simply replicates the failed policies of the past 3 decades.

When the nutters in charge say they will use inflation to reduce debt then increase debt exponentially faster than inflation you know you're on a hiding to nothing.

In other words you don't have a clue how this will have any impact at all.

It's pretty simple stuff Ziv. Sound immigration policy is usually focused on 4 things;

1. those who can bring capital and start businesses
2. skill to fill holes in capability
3. to create internal demand, and
4. maintain a population base capable of growing the population.

While you may not speculate I will.

1. even in countries people want to migrate to like Australia the effect is miniscule
2. Japan doesn't lack the ability to attract highly skilled individuals where necessary but this again is miniscule
3. the most likely target of immigration given Japan's shrinking population
4. just to sustain it's population your report suggests according to UN calculations that Japan needs to import 381,000/yr out to 2050.

So to summerise;

– over the last 50 years immigration policy has failed to stabilise population declines or meet the skilled/semi skilled demand for workers.

But of coarse Abe is different and he will be Japan's savior. Good luck with that.

An MSM article I know however some of the statistical information is interesting.

What happens to a country when its young people stop having sex? Japan is finding out

I've always thought Japanese culture had its fair share of idiosyncrasies but these kind of trends presents some serious problems going forward. A century or two from now (given we're still around) the Japanese may well be a case study in extinct ethnic groups.

Today's Chart of the Day comes by way of SocGen's Albert Edwards who in one image shows why, with gross debt issuance needs between budget funding and rolling maturities at 60% of GDP, Japan has no choice but "to print and print and print"