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Dossier

Only two million foreigners live in Japan. (This number includes all foreigners registered as resident in Japan. Registration is compulsory in the case of residence exceeding 90 days for all status groups except members of the US military and holders of diplomatic and other official or service passports (Behaghel and Vogt 2006: 116).) In other words, immigrants make up no more than 1.63% of the total population – a tiny percentage for an economically successful and politically stable nation and astonishing in view of its long history of international immigration and emigration. If we consider the history of Japanese migration as one of extremes, in which phases of totally unrestricted contact with the international community alternated with others of almost hermetic isolation, the present phase would have to be seen as one of half-hearted opening. This is evident both in Japan’s international relations and in its immigration policy. What should be noted here is that Japan’s government sees the current tentative opening up of the borders of the national labor market as covered by other areas of international policy – repatriation of ethnic Japanese, development cooperation or free trade agreements. The topic of international labor migration and its economic necessity is not, however, addressed. Hence there is in Japan’s immigration policy a quite remarkable discrepancy between political aspiration and actual result.

Erscheinungsdatum:

Historical Development of Migration

Archaeological evidence exists showing that immigration to Japan from what is now Korea and China was already taking place in prehistoric and early historical times.

Gabriele Vogt

/ 5 Minuten zu lesen

Current Development of Migration

In 1990 there were 1,075,317 immigrants registered as resident in Japan (0.87%), in 1995 the figure was 1,362,371 (1.08%) and finally in the year 2000 it was 1,686,444 (1.33%). In 2008 the immigrant…

Gabriele Vogt

/ 3 Minuten zu lesen

Migration Policy

The channels of labor migration to Japan outlined above – the programs for ethnic Japanese, for international trainees and for care workers – are all, without exception, state-initiated channels,…

Gabriele Vogt

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The Immigrant Population

As an immediate consequence of the revision of the Immigration Law of 1990, the Chinese, Brazilian and Peruvian populations in Japan experienced a rapid surge in numbers. In 2007 the Chinese…

Gabriele Vogt

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Citizenship

Open access to citizenship is regarded as offering the best opportunity to protect the rights of immigrants. This is particularly true of a country like Japan, where it is a matter of legal dispute…

Gabriele Vogt

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Integration

The concept of integration was first mentioned as a political aim of migration policy in a Japanese government document in 2006. This document represented an outline plan for individual prefectures…

Gabriele Vogt

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Refuge and Asylum

As in the field of integration, in that of refuge and asylum too Japan is a "belated nation". Japan did not ratify the UN Convention on Human Rights until 1981 – thirty years after it had come into…

Gabriele Vogt

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Irregular Migration

Irregular migration is attributable to one main cause: failure to leave the country after the expiry of the residence permit. In 2011 the Ministry of Justice recorded 78,488 irregular immigrants in…

Gabriele Vogt

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Current Developments and Future Challenges

Officially, Japan’s immigration policy opens the country’s borders exclusively for temporary immigration and the highly skilled group. De facto, however, two thirds of the immigrant population…

Gabriele Vogt

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References and Further Reading

Here you can find literature and further reading for Country Profile 24 "Japan" by Gabriele Vogt.

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