In Japan, push to lever open borders

Tokyo - is a strong group of politicians, academics and business leaders urge Government to an unusual campaign, open its doors for foreigners Japan start PRY, say the country's survival hangs its immigration policy renewed set.

Japan has one of the most restrictive immigration policies in the world, and the debate over whether to settle more foreigners in the country has long been a controversial issue for the nation politically charged.But before recently, calls to more foreign workers Japan can enter louder, continue to shrink the aging population and have competitiveness and economic growth of the country pales in comparison with its neighbours in the West: China.Eine tiny 1.7% of the total Japanese population are foreigners, compared with 6.8% in the United Kingdom and 21.4% in Switzerland according to the OECD.

87 Member policy of Council of Japan launches Forum of international relations, a powerful non-profit research foundation on Thursday a half-page advertising in leading newspapers, pushing Japan its immigration policy to Überdenken.Sie submitted your policy recommendations to Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of the country.

"Japan wants to survive in a globalised economy and its integration with the burgeoning Asian economy, in essentially no other option than to accept foreign migrants," says the announcement.

The Council's policy has several recommendations, including allows more skilled workers to the labour market, especially in sectors give edited where it lack of domestic workers, such as construction and the automotive industry. Click allowed under economic partnership agreements with Indonesia and Philippines Tokyo, nurses and care enter specialists from these countries to Japan but candidates are subject to a grueling test in Japanese that have passed only three individuals. The Council says, these tests will be facilitated.

"Foreign employment job creation for the Japanese can — it's Japan bypass, with the rest of the world," said policy Yasushi Iguchi, Professor at Kwansei Gakuin University and a member of the Council.

Despite Japan's stance that it does not accept unskilled foreign workers Chinese cashier are South Asian clerks increasingly more abundant in supermarkets and on construction sites a common sight in Tokyo ubiquitous convenience stores; these days.Their ability to work in these positions is you often numerous loopholes in Japan immigration policy that allows students in Japan to work a specific number of hours per week.It has also a technical training program to get the allowed younger workers in Japan and work as a "Trainee" for a year, although this as a cheap way to exploit foreign workers and pay low wages was maligned has.

Mr. of kan's Government has said it wants the number of highly qualified foreign workers as part of their strategy to revitalise Japan in its growth strategy report Government is compiled in June to verdoppeln.Die the introduction of a points system, looked at, where it alien according to their last career, immigration services and expertise preferred treatment gibt.Die Government to boost the number of foreign students to 300,000 through initiatives like allow you to accept foreign colleges of earned credits and the adoption of more foreign teachers.

But this means not that more foreigners are necessarily want to come in Japan: in 2009, the number of foreigners who lives for the first time in nearly a half Jahrhundert.Nur bucked a group in Japan dropped the trend: the Chinese one of the few minorities, their presence last year verstärken.chinesische citizens are now almost one third of the foreign population of Japan.

"" If we stop to discuss and to stop reform our system is not sufficient to the realities, cope with be ", said Mr. Iguchi."In rural areas, we do not maintain local industries - can it will increase our competitiveness."

-Miho Inada and Yoree Koh contributed to this article.

Write toMariko Sanchanta at the mariko.sanchanta@wsj.com

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