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By Gearoid Reidy / Bloomberg Opinion
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Hello Kitty seems an unlikely trigger for an immigration debate, but that is what happened in Japan this week when Megumi Hayashibara, a prominent voice actress behind icons from Hello Kitty to the long-running anime franchise Evangelion’s Rei Ayanami, took to her blog to discuss the growing population of outsiders.
She called for a crackdown on rule-breaking foreigners and criticized overseas students on free scholarships while locals pay for their education. The thrust of her post was a call for readers to vote.
However, her most cutting remark was a fear that local habits and Japaneseness itself might be lost if current trends continue, like the native crayfish endangered by an “invasive species” of crustacean threatening its natural habitat. (After online outrage, Hayashibara deleted the reference to crayfish.)
While it is hardly the protests in Los Angeles, her comments show how immigration is becoming a heated topic in a country where it has only recently become a feature. And it is one that authorities should not ignore, as politicians elsewhere were content to do until fringe groups become seen as the only ones with the answers.
I wrote in 2022 about how Tokyo, long stereotyped as being closed to immigration, was accepting more foreigners than many realized. That trend continues, with immigrants nearly doubling in the past decade and a record 10 percent jump last year. It is less the absolute level as the pace of change: Foreign residents have gone from less than 1 percent to more than 3 percent of the population in the past three decades, and will reach about 10 percent in 2050.
Criticism is fueled by the mistakes of Western nations and promoted by influencers who conflate Japan with other countries. Tokyo’s strategy has been far subtler than many nations now struggling with anti-immigration populism, but it is no less vulnerable to the YouTube algorithm: A quick search for “Japan immigration issues” immediately turns up videos by the likes of the ubiquitous Hiroyuki Nishimura, the message-board entrepreneur with millions of followers and a controversial take on everything. The videos have titles like: “Why should Japanese have to provide for foreigners?” “Japan is defenseless” and “Japan will no longer be a country for Japanese!”
What they ignore is that Japan does not have a vast force of idle foreigners who are burdening the state. It accepts few asylum seekers, has been selective about the nationalities it attracts and has functioning border control. The number of illegal residents is one-quarter of three decades ago, despite the increase in foreigners; the number of foreign-committed crimes shows a similar downtrend. Copy-pasted arguments from other countries do not apply here.
However, there are also areas of legitimate concern where authorities have not kept pace. From worries that short-term stayers are exploiting Japan’s generous medical insurance system, to a bizarre loophole allowing tourists to easily get Japanese drivers’ licenses, there is a worry that the country’s hospitality is being exploited.
The declining domestic population is complicating things. Working-age locals fell by 224,000 last year. This simultaneously lifts the need for foreigners to supplement the labor force, while heightening concerns about Japanese being “replaced” in their own country.
The truth of Hayashibara’s comments lies in the fact that the thing many love about Japanese society — the “it just works” nature of public life, from mass transit to healthcare to the low crime rate — is deeply dependent on everyone following the rules.
Newcomers are often irked by all the procedures, from putting out garbage to talking on the subway, but these are necessary for residents, in particular those in cities stacked cheek-by-jowl, to coexist in harmony.
Hayashibara’s complaints about bad manners will be familiar to those who live in Japan, foreign or local; everyday annoyances have increased since the borders were reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a survey by the Japanese Ministry of Justice, nearly 78 percent said they most wanted foreign residents to follow local rules and customs.
The government has not kept up with the times. Only now is Tokyo discussing simple issues, such as stopping tourists with medical debt from returning or rejecting visa extensions for those who have not paid healthcare.
I recently noted that Japan does not track how easy it is for foreigners to buy property. A highly followed story since then concerns a Tokyo building where foreign ownership is seemingly seeking to force out residents to operate an illegal Airbnb.
Politicians are reacting, slowly. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has pledged that the country “will accept foreigners who follow the rules” while cautioning that those who do not “will be dealt with strictly.”
Ruling party leadership candidate Taro Kono has recently been burnishing his credentials by criticizing illegal immigration.
It is all the growing pains of a changing nation.
Talk of “invasive species” is unhelpful at best, but Japan also should not repeat the mistakes of countries that dismissed citizens’ concerns about immigration and ghettoization, only to watch them turn to fringe politicians when no one else would listen.
The way to stave off the rise of populist talking heads is to address these worries, and enforce a sense of fairness and equal treatment. After all, what else would Hello Kitty want?
Gearoid Reidy is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Japan, and North and South Korea. He previously led the breaking news team in North Asia, and was the Tokyo deputy bureau chief. This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
