JAPAN Faced with demographic collapse, Tokyo targets the descendants of émigrés

The government wants to review permit rules for Nikkei Yonsei, foreigners of fourth-generation Japanese descent. The first incentives for immigration began with the Abe government in 2018, although within strict labor, social and language knowledge terms. The changes were necessitated by an aging and declining population, along with a reduction in active workers and consumers.

Tokyo () – The Japanese government has decided to review the current policy for granting residence permits to Nikkei Yonsei, foreigners of fourth-generation Japanese descent. One of the most important changes will be the possibility of obtaining permanent residence permits for those who respect certain parameters.

The current policy, which took effect in 2018, offers a work visa of up to five years for fourth-generation foreigners of Japanese descent who are between the ages of 18 and 30. According to the current system, in order to obtain this work residence permit, in addition to being within the age range, it is necessary to meet other requirements, including possessing a level 4 Japanese language certificate (A2 according to Cefr); not have a police record; Have health insurance coverage and sufficient funds to return to your country. In addition, the permit does not extend to the family unit, except for spouses and children.

When these laws are updated, several of these parameters will change. In fact, the permission can be extended to members of the family nucleus, as long as they have a command of the Japanese language that allows them to interact in daily life. The age range is extended and the established limit goes from 30 to 35 years. Finally, those who have already obtained the permit and have lived in Japan for five years will be able to apply, after passing a level 2 (B2) language exam, for the permanent permit. The changes will allow foreigners of fourth-generation Japanese descent not only to work for a limited time but also to gain permanent residence. According to Kyodo News, the Japan Immigration Services Agency hopes in this way to encourage a stable residence in the country.

Japan is known for the severity of its immigration policies. However, since 2017 the country began a change of course by softening many of its regulations, especially those that affect the workforce. In 2018, during the government of Shinzo Abe, Tokyo had simplified the laws that regulate the entry and permanence of foreign labor with the creation of two new categories of visas to encourage hiring in sectors with a labor crisis: construction, agriculture and nursing. . Less-skilled workers were granted a five-year residency, while permanent residency was possible for the more highly-skilled.

The measures to mitigate the policies that regulate immigration are a direct consequence of the serious demographic crisis that Japan has been experiencing for more than a decade. The Abe government targeted policies to encourage immigration to cope with the rapidly aging population, with fertility rates dropping to 1.25; only in 2022 the population decreased by half a million people, for the twelfth consecutive year. Hence the inevitable reduction in the working age range (15-65 years), where the decline is expected to continue in the next 50 years, which would bring this group to only 45.35 million in 2070.

The decline in the working-age population will also lead to a tightening of the consumer base, with potentially dramatic consequences for the economy. Encouraging permanent residence for people between the ages of 18 and 35 -especially those who, like the Nikkei Yonsei, have a link to Japanese culture and therefore may have less difficulty integrating into society- could represent part of the solution. . The most important objectives are to raise the fertility rate, reduce labor shortages in some sectors, and mitigate the decline in the consumer segment of the population. In less than a month is the fifth anniversary of the scheme that began in 2018, and it will be interesting to see how many of those who first obtained visas five years ago decide to stay in Japan indefinitely if they can meet the requirements.