Myanmar workers among fastest-growing group of foreign workers in Japan as society ages - CNA

XENOPHOBIC AND RACIST?

As new policies are being formulated to bring in more foreign workers like Ms Myo Myo Thein, Japan suffers from a perception problem, having been accused of being “xenophobic” and “racist” by some.

In January, three foreign-born residents filed a lawsuit against the Japanese national and local governments over alleged illegal questioning by police based on racial profiling.

More recently on May 1, United States President Joe Biden said that "xenophobia" from China, Japan and India is hobbling their economic growth, and that they do not want immigrants.

However, experts said that the Japanese people’s acceptance of foreigners is improving.

“Of course, some kind of apprehension remains,” Mr Akio Kawato, the former Japan Ambassador to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, told CNA’s East Asia Tonight.

The ex-diplomat, who is also a columnist at Newsweek Japan, added: “As far as Mr Biden’s statement, I’m not so much worried about it.

“I think maybe Japanese media has made … too much fuss about it. I think Mr Biden’s statement is mostly oriented to the domestic audience.”

As for whether Japan will eventually fully accept foreigners, Mr Kawato said he did not think it was a matter of ideas or ideology, but rather the needs of certain sectors that require foreign workers.

“Also, our data is mostly limited to so-called physical work. As far as intellectual work is concerned, several CEOs of major Japanese companies are now foreigners,” he added.

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2024-05-16 02:20:00Z
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