Cute racism a la japonaise ?

[Maciamo]

So in just one year alone, there are the equivalent number of residencies granted in the states as there were in Japan for fourty seven years. I've not read contrary opinions to the nature that Japan does not seek to internationalize it's country in any way, rather it seeks to preserve it's culture (if you will----), by preventing immigration.

I have found similar statistics on Nationmaster

Out of 110 countries listed, Japan ranks 101th for the acceptance of refugees per capita, with 0.0158535 refugee per 1,000 people. South Korea is last.
Here are the rates for a few selected countries for comparison (don't have the figures for the US or UK) :

Germany : 16.0037 per 1,000 people
the Netherlands : 8.03316 per 1,000 people
Canada : 4.84682 per 1,000 people
France : 2.3114 per 1,000 people
Italy : 1.1755 per 1,000 people

So Germany, the "pure Aryan country" of Hitler only 60 years ago, and by no means a traditional immigration country like the USA, welcomes about 1000x more refugees per capita than Japan ! Italy, at the bottom of the scale in Western Europe, still admits 75x more refugees than Japan. The Asylum seekers acceptance rate in Japan (9.2%) is the lowest of the 18 countries listed (top = Denmark with 73.5%). Overall, Japan has 230x less asylum seekers than the UK (although Japan's population is over twice the UK's), and 220x Germany or the USA's...

Looking at the percentage of foreign population for OECD countries, we see again that Japan has one of the lowest figures, just before Poland, South Korea, Mexico and Slovakia (well, these 4 do not have the same economy to attract foreigners, to be fair). This does not even take into account that Western countries make it much easier for foreigners to be naturalised, lowering the number of "foreigners" in each country (of course, 10% of foreigners in the USA, but maybe 30% of "foreign-born immigrants").

Indeed, when we check new citizenships (per capita), Japan is second to last (Portugal is last). Japan grants citizenship to 24x less people than France or 54x less than Belgium.

over all, the feeling is that you are welcome to visit, but please leave when we are done with you.

That's exactly how I got the message, and so I left.

[goatz]

That's exactly how I got the message, and so I left.

;( this feels like a warning that i should reconsider my visit to Japan. it seems very unwelcoming, the thought of others wanting me to leave as soon as i'm done visiting.

[Pachipro]

;( this feels like a warning that i should reconsider my visit to Japan. it seems very unwelcoming, the thought of others wanting me to leave as soon as i'm done visiting.

Everyone's experience is different. For example, Maciamo's and my own experiences were quite different as were others'. You'll just have to go there and experience it for yourself. But please do not deny yourself the experience of visiting a foreign country based on the experiences of a few people who have posted on the internet. A culture and country, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Experience it and then decide.