SOUTH KOREA Economy Crashing as Unique Jeonse Rental Market Implodes & Population Decline Continues

I agree with your assessment. I think the Japanese are "strongly opposed" to the lawless, uncontrolled, and massive immigration we see on America's borders.

Hi there, GS Conservative. Born/raised/career-trained in Massachusetts, now a 70-year old resident of Japan as of last November. My wife, who was born and lived in Japan for 24 years, became a U.S. citizen, and therefore had to go through a highly detailed immigration screening to allow us to come to Japan on a five-year residency (which we hope will be upgraded to full resident-alien [green card] status.

There were about 50 pages of Japanese language documents she had to produce, essentially documenting her 40 years of life in America and explaining why she wanted to return to Japan. It included sending pictures of our family history and showing a net worth of at least $200,000 and a sufficient future income stream (U.S. social security).

So this is a country that knows "due diligence" and where the governors are careful about allowing dangerous, uneducated, and lawless "cats out of the bag".

I think the Japanese view limited immigration is as very strategic. There are many engineers and tech workers from India, Bengladesh, Vietnam, and other countries here who are brought in to help Japanese companies. And Japan does plenty of international and import business with such countries.

The mid-sized city (north of Tokyo) where we live has an excellent program to help we "gaigins" learn a bit of the Japanese language and get educated on how to fit into the country's fabric.

The national medical system is also excellent and affordable. The biggest troubles here are natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons) and a lack of oil and other natural energy sources that are abundant in the U.S.

Yes, population decline is a big problem. But given the strong work ethic, law-abiding, and natural inventiveness of the people, I'm confident Japan will solve it.

My girlfriend is Korean...born there and lived there until she was 45.She's now a US citizen and,under ROK law,she automatically lost her ROK citizenship (they don't allow dual citizenship). I'll bet the same is true for your wife under Japanese law.

My (limited) understanding of Korean and Japanese culture shows that their people aren't afraid of hard work...and long hours. But unless I'm mistaken (distinctly possible) China's growing power will make their neighbors' futures very uncertain indeed.

And as for immigration it's my understanding that both Japanese and Korean citizens oppose *all* forms of immigration,,,at least partially in the interest of racial and cultural "purity" and harmony. IMO it's not a coincidence that Japan is,by far,the most peaceful and stable large country on earth...because of the lack of racial and ethnic tensions.

My comments in blue:

My girlfriend is Korean...born there and lived there until she was 45. She's now a US citizen and,under ROK law,she automatically lost her ROK citizenship (they don't allow dual citizenship). I'll bet the same is true for your wife under Japanese law.

Many Japanese try to keep both their Japanese and American passports. But the Japanese government doesn't approve. So before my wife submitted her request to immigrate, she called up her local city government in Japan to properly inform them of her new American citizen status.

And this was the right thing to do, for Japan is a country of rules and respect for laws.

...But unless I'm mistaken (distinctly possible) China's growing power will make their neighbors' futures very uncertain indeed.

The well-to-do Chinese (of which there are more than 100 million) love to visit and shop in Japan. Covid disrupted this tourism, but Japan will remove mask restrictions shortly and I think that will help cool the tensions in the Far East.

India and southeast Asia are on the rise. And the Chinese people are increasing alarmed at their government. Xi is under a lot of pressure. So I think these factors will cause China to modify their course.

...it's my understanding Japanese and Korean citizens oppose *all* forms of immigration,,,at least partially in the interest of racial and cultural "purity" and harmony.

When I was stationed in Japan 40 years ago at the U.S. Navy base in Sasebo, Japan, I'm sure a lot more people cared about "ethnic purity".

For instance, just before we married, my wife's mother told her for the first time that her father, a skilled orthodontist, was of Korean ancestry. And this was a shock for her to learn that she was not a "pure" Japanese.

Around 1600, Hideyoshi, a key unifier of Japan during its civil war days, had his samurai invade Korea. And along the way, his army kidnapped and brought back to Japan many skilled Korean craftsmen in trades such as chinaware. For example, Indeed, many of the Koreans lived and worked in the town of Arita in Kyushu, which even today is considered one of the finest pottery/chinaware craftsmanship areas.

Times have changed. Just as America made big strides in accepting all races and ethnic groups, Japan has done the same. And the digital age has certainly helped melt the pot even more.

I think the more important factor is language, cultural, and good-citizen assimilation.

The cities here have semi-pro baseball, soccer, and basketball teams that feature a few foreign players. And the fans cheer for all the players and focus on the level of professional play, not their racial, national, or ethnic heritage.

They especially cheer on the foreigners with a Japanese heritage like Naomi Osaka (tennis). Last night, Lars Nootbaar of the St. Louis Cardinals, whose mother is from Japan, was playing (for the first time) for the Japan National team in the World Baseball Classic series. He was a star of the Japan team's victory against Korea. He had a timely base hit and made a spectacular catch in center field. This morning, the sports commentators on TV lauded him as a national sports hero.

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