Libmonster ID: JP-1552

As a result of intensive economic growth, Japan is now the second largest country in the world in terms of economic capacity. The long-awaited opening of Japanese society to the outside world has taken place. But for the majority of the Japanese population, the country's openness has caused some concern due to the sharp increase in the number of immigrants from Asian and Middle Eastern regions. The state and population of Japan were clearly not ready for new immigration flows, which is confirmed by the lack of a clear concept of the government's immigration policy and a consensus in society on accepting migrants.

This article examines the attitude of Japanese people to foreigners, analyzes the results of sociological research on the problem, conducted both at the pan-Japanese level and at the regional level.

The current immigration policy of Japan is mainly guided by two laws: the "Law on the Control of Departure from Japan and Entry into Japan of Citizens, including Foreign Ones, and the Recognition of Refugees" (hereinafter-the Law on Migration Control) and the "Law on Registration of Foreigners".

The first law controls the external migration movement of all citizens in Japan and provides for 28 statuses for foreigners that determine their activities and duration of stay in the country. In accordance with the status of a foreigner, he is issued a visa to enter the country. These 28 statuses are divided into three groups. Foreign citizens of the first group are given the right to work in Japan. Foreigners of the second group are not allowed to work in principle. And the third group of statuses is granted to foreigners not according to their activities or purposes of arrival in the country, but according to their personal origin, for example, their family ties with Japanese citizens. Foreigners of this group have no restrictions on the types of activities in the country, including labor.

The Law on Registration of Foreigners was passed in 1952. According to this law, foreign citizens who stay in Japan for more than 90 days are required to register with the municipal administration of the territory where they live. This rule also applies to those who have entered the country illegally. When registering, the local administration issues a "Certificate of Registration of Foreigners", which persons aged 16 years and older must always carry with them.

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you can also show it to them when requested by the authorities. If a foreigner does not carry this certificate with him, he will be fined up to 200 thousand yen. And if he refuses to show the certificate to the police, he may end up in prison.

For those who are 16 years old or older and intend to live in Japan for more than a year, there are additional responsibilities: they must submit their photos and fingerprints when registering. Violation of this rule is punishable by imprisonment, either with or without forced labor, or a fine of up to 200 thousand yen (1, p. 28).

Often, the Japanese public criticizes such harsh, discriminatory attitudes of the Japanese authorities towards immigrants from the standpoint of protecting human rights. It is indicated, for example, that a Japanese citizen is not required to carry an identity card (note that in Japan there is no uniform document of the type of civil passport). But the most acute dispute is about fingerprinting foreigners, because in principle this is done only when a criminal case is initiated. Koreans who stayed in Japan after World War II but lost their Japanese citizenship due to the country's signing of the San Francisco Treaty are particularly outraged by the fingerprint rule. They consider it a violation of basic human rights. This issue has become a problem of relations between Japan and South Korea. After a long dispute between the Japanese government, on the one hand, and Koreans, as well as their supporters from human rights organizations, on the other, in 1992, this rule was abolished, but only for those who have the right of permanent residence (1, p.29). According to the latest information, the Ministry of Justice of Japan intends to cancel this rule for all foreigners without exception.

Traditionally, the Japanese state has refused to use unskilled foreign labor to develop its economy. Therefore, it issued work permits only to those foreigners who are highly qualified specialists or will be engaged in work that requires special specifics. But since the mid-1980s, when the Japanese economy began to feel the shortage of labor more acutely, especially after the beginning of the so-called "frothing economy", the authorities were forced to partially open the way to the country for foreigners who are ready to engage in those types of work in which the Japanese themselves are not interested. In this regard, a number of changes were made to the Migration Control Act in 1989, including granting second-and third-generation Japanese emigrants the right to all types of work in Japan, as well as punishing employers who illegally employ foreigners.

These changes have had a noticeable impact on the immigration movement to the country. If in 1988 16,789 people came to Japan from Brazil, where there is a large Japanese diaspora, then in the following year the number of Brazilians who entered Japanese territory was 29,241. In 1990, when this change took effect, this number increased to 67,303, and the following year it reached 96,337 people. Thus, in just three years, the number of Brazilians coming to Japan has increased by almost 80 thousand people (2, p. 6).

And another document that changed the immigration trend and led to an increase in the number of illegal immigrant workers in Japan is the "Project of one hundred Thousand international Students". It was adopted in 1983 in order to attract foreign students to the country, the number of which in 1982 was only 8,116 people - significantly less than in other industrialized countries (in the USA - 311,882, in France-119,336, in Germany-57,421, in England-52,899 people). (1, pp. 182-183). According to this project, the number of foreign students in Japan in 2000 should reach 100 thousand. To encourage the flow of foreign students to the country, they were allowed to earn money in order to improve living conditions in a country that is the world's leading cost of living. Currently, international students in Japan can legally work up to 20 hours a week without special permission from the authorities for work that is not legally required for their status. Moreover, in 1984, the procedure for issuing a Japanese study visa was simplified (1, pp. 188-189).

Naturally, as the immigration process intensified in Japan, this phenomenon was discussed more and more from different points of view. And the mass media, as usual, gave sensational messages about new flows of immigrants, attempts by foreigners to illegally enter the country, criminogenic features of certain nationalities, etc.

Despite the active participation of academic researchers and publicists in discussions, the reaction of the majority of the Japanese population to the sharp increase in the flow of foreigners to Japan can be clearly seen.

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call it relatively calm. This, in our opinion, can be explained by the fact that the share of foreigners living in Japan in the total population is only 1.18 % (3. p. 3).

Recently, Japan has been trying to find out the attitude of the population towards immigrants by means of sociological surveys using various methods in order to determine the impact of immigration on Japanese society.

Thus, in 1997, the NHK Institute of Television Broadcasting and Culture published the results of a number of sociological surveys in the collection " Study of the consciousness of residents of prefectures throughout the country. 1996 " (survey method-individual interview; characteristics of respondents: 900 people. over 16 years of age from each prefecture, a total of 42,300 people. number (share) of actual respondents - 29,620 people (70.0 %) across the country). In the course of surveys on foreigners, respondents were asked 2 questions: "Do you think that foreigners living in Japan should also be provided with the same rights that Japanese people have?" and "Do you have any experience of working or studying together with foreigners?" (4, pp. 371-384).

56.5% of all respondents gave a positive answer to the first question, and 17.7% gave a negative answer. In general, the younger the respondents, the more they support this idea. More than others, 73.6% of Japanese people aged 16 to 25 years, as well as 75.6% of students and schoolchildren supported it. 62.6% of respondents - employees of the humanities and natural sciences profiles, 61.4 % - salesmen and service workers, 60.1 % - workers, etc. - consider the equality of Japanese and foreigners before the laws necessary. The idea received the least support among farmers and fishermen - 43.1 %.

As for the results of this prefectural survey, there is a fairly general Japanese trend, although, of course, there are regional differences. It should be noted that the preponderance of negative responses to the question under consideration over positive ones is very rare in all categories of respondents in all regions.

Let's analyze, for example, the attitudes of residents to foreigners in those 10 prefectures where foreign citizens live in a concentrated population. In most regions, the share of those who advocate for equal rights between Japanese and foreigners exceeds the Japanese average, with the exception of Tokyo (51.0 %), Saitama (49.5%), Chiba (52.8%) and Shizuoka (50.2%). Hyogo Prefecture residents are most concerned about protecting the rights of foreigners - 63.6 %. In this region, almost 80 % of the younger generation below the age of 35, including more than 81% of students and schoolchildren, spoke in favor of improving the legal status of foreigners.

If we look at the nationality of foreigners living in these prefectures, we can see an interesting trend. Where a significant share is occupied by Koreans, foreigners are treated very positively. The share of Koreans in the number of foreigners and the share of supporters of equal rights for Japanese and foreign citizens in the regions, respectively, are as follows:: in Osaka - 79.3 % and 57.0 %, in Kyoto-78.5 % and 60.7 %, in Hyogo-68.5 % and 63.6 %, in Fukuoka-65.2 % and 59.2 %, in Aichi-40.3 % and 57.9 %. The situation is different in regions where foreigners are treated worse than the average Japanese. In Tokyo, for example, similar figures are 36.5% and 51.0%, respectively, in Chiba-26.1 % and 52.8 %, Saitama-24.1 % and 49.5 %, Shizuoka-12.9 % and 50.2 %.

The relatively high level of consciousness of residents in the first group of regions against national discrimination can be explained, in particular, by the presence of a fairly large diaspora of Koreans, the overwhelming majority of whom are actually carriers of Japanese culture, as well as the results of active efforts to overcome stereotypes in the ideas of living space, carried out after the defeat of Japanese imperialism. The latter factor is evident in the broad support of students and schoolchildren for the idea of equality of all nationalities. In this context, one can understand the positive attitude of the majority of residents (61.6 %) of Kanagawa Prefecture, which is known for its liberal-progressive orientation and at the level of local administrations, despite the relatively low proportion of Koreans among foreigners in the region - 29.6 %.

On the other hand, we can say that where foreigners of non-Korean origin, in other words, the so-called "new arrivals" are more accepted, the attitude of local residents towards them is cooler. Some suggest that Japanese people are not used to dealing with foreigners from different regions; there are still discriminatory views of developing countries in Japanese society.

However, if we analyze the respondents ' answers to the second question (about joint work or study), it seems that there are no direct links between the frequency of contacts of the local population with foreigners and their attitudes towards them. For example, residents of Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa actively communicate with foreigners almost equally: 42.9 %, 43.1% and

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43.1 % of respondents from these three regions have experience working or studying together with foreigners. But only Kanagawa has a higher percentage of Japanese people who have a positive attitude towards foreign citizens than the Japanese average, and the gap between this region and the other two is quite large. And in Shizuoka and Aichi, people modestly come into contact with foreigners - 29.2 % and 32.6 %, respectively-but in terms of the activity of public support for the idea of equality, Shizuoka ranks 9th, while Aichi ranks 2nd.

This indirectly indicates the difficult moments of contacts between the local population and immigrants: they can have both a positive and negative impact on the relationship. And, one might say, they cannot solve a number of social problems by themselves, contrary to some humanitarian ideas. This requires efforts to ensure that immigrants and local residents can adapt to new living conditions, manage emerging problems, and prevent possible conflicts both on the part of local administrations and on the part of local residents and foreigners themselves. It is often noted that new immigrants do not have the desire to learn Japanese, to make contacts with the Japanese.

Now we will briefly consider the results of a study of the relationship between Japanese and immigrants in their joint life. In 1997, the Japan Institute of Labor published a scientific report "On the consciousness of the local population and the real situation in areas where foreign workers work "(5). The Institute conducted sociological research through individual interviews in cities where the concentration of foreigners living is higher than the average Japanese level.

For example, in the city of Daisen in Gunma Prefecture, the total population in 1993 was about 40 thousand people, and the number of registered foreigners exceeded 2.5 thousand, i.e. the share of foreigners in the city's population is about 6 %. Daisen, as an industrial city, suffered from a serious shortage of labor, and after the lifting of labor restrictions for foreigners of Japanese origin, entrepreneurs in the city began to willingly accept them to work with the condition of ensuring material well-being. And the Daisen City Administration actively promoted this, providing immigrants with administrative services on an equal level with the local population. At her initiative, Japanese language courses were opened, translators were allocated for immigrants, and classes were held for her employees to master the Portuguese language.

Thanks to the efforts of the local administration and local businesses, the feeling of misunderstanding among the residents of this city quickly disappeared. Foreigners are considered important suppliers of personnel for the development of local industry. There is a high level of health insurance for foreigners, and the arrears of payments of insurance premiums are an exceptional case. As for offenses by foreign citizens, which are often sensationally reported, judging by the statements of local residents, in particular shopkeepers, such rumors turn out to be groundless. Regarding minor thefts, Japanese teenagers are particularly concerned here. Almost the only thing that causes misunderstanding between the local population and foreigners is the failure of immigrants to comply with the rules for throwing out household garbage. To preserve environmental cleanliness in Japan, there are quite a lot of rules for garbage disposal, which are difficult for foreigners to understand due to the fact that they simply do not have such detailed rules in their homeland.

Although there are some differences in the approaches to the acceptance of foreigners by the target cities of this study, in general, no serious negative attitudes of local residents towards immigrants were found. The reasons for well-being in these cities, apparently, are as follows. First, the main contingent of immigrants are foreigners of Japanese origin, who do not differ in appearance from the Japanese. Secondly, foreigners try to be law-abiding, taking care of their families and subsequent immigrants. Third, foreign labor is needed to develop the local economy. Fourth, authorities and businesses are making efforts to regulate problems between local residents and foreigners.

So, the solution of the issue of immigrants in Japan went through several stages. At first, most often it was a question of opening or closing the country to them. Then they began to say that we need to recognize the current situation with immigrants and protect their rights. It should be noted that immigration to Japan grew against the background of a serious shortage of labor due to an excessive economic boom and the threat of a reduction in the labor force in the future, which was based on the forecast that the annual economic growth here will be 2 %.

Since the mid-1990s, when the severity of the current economic depression became clear, less attention has been paid to this issue. As you know, the country's economy has been in an even more difficult situation over the past year. According to the government's forecast, its growth this year

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This year will be only 1.8 %. And the unemployment rate in the country exceeded 5 %. However, there is no mass dismissal of immigrants or displacement of domestic workers by them. Because, first of all, the number of working foreigners in the country is small. Secondly, entrepreneurs solve personnel issues mainly not for national reasons, but for economic and technical reasons. That is, they focus on the abilities, experience, hard work and their relationship to the salary of each employee. Third, the Japanese younger generation tends to wait for better times and not accept any job right away. This trend is especially true for women, who, as before, respond flexibly to changes in the labor market, which is considered one of the secrets of the traditional low unemployment rate in Japan. Thus, the economic consequences of immigration, which sometimes turn into national conflicts in other countries, are not yet acute in Japan.

Nevertheless, the question of immigrants remains open here. Since at the moment no one can provide a concrete picture of the future of the country's economy as a whole, it is very difficult to develop a conceptual immigration policy. At the same time, regardless of the specific economic situation, such processes as the aging of the population and the reduction in the number of people of working age are quite fast. Thus, according to official data, as of September 15, 1998, there were 20,490,000 people aged 65 and older in Japan, or 16.2% of the total population. It is predicted that the number of this group, amounting to 21,870 thousand people in 2000, will reach 28,130 thousand in 2010 [b]. According to the World Health Organization's forecast released in early October 1998, the proportion of the population aged 60 and over in Japan in 2020 will be 31%, and the country will take the first place in the world in this indicator (7).

Therefore, we believe that Japan will first have to find out the real potential of its labor resources, taking into account such factors as the possibility of actively mobilizing the labor force of women and the elderly population, determine the scale of investment in improving technologies to increase labor productivity, and take into account the demographic and economic prospects in neighboring countries that are potential labor exporters to Japan.

list of literature

1. Tanaka X. Zainichi-gaikokujin: ho no kabe, kokoro no kobe (Tanaka X. Foreigners in Japan: legal and psychological barriers). 7th issue. Tokyo, 1997.

2. Shutsunyukoku-kanri tokei-nenpo 1998 (Yearbook of Statistics on Legal External Migration. 1997) / / Department of Legal System and Research of the Office of the Minister of Justice of Japan. Tokyo, 1988.

3. Zairyu-gaikokujin tokei 1998 (Yearbook of Statistics on Foreigners staying in Japan. 1997) / / Japanese Immigration Association. Tokyo, 1998.

4. Zenkoku-kemmin-ishiki chosa 1996 (A study of the consciousness of prefectural residents throughout the country. 1996) / Collection of data / / Institute of Television Broadcasting and Culture at NHK TV company. Tokyo, 1997.

5. Gaikokujinrodosha-ga suge-suru tiiki-niokeru jyumin-no ishiki-to jittai (On the consciousness of the local population and the real situation in the areas where foreign workers work) / Scientific report / / Japanese Institute of Labor. Tokyo, 1997.

6. Nihon-Keizai Shimbun 1998/09/15 (Nikkei newspaper, September 15, 1998).

7. Asahi Shimbun 1998/10/03 (Asahi Newspaper, Internet version of October 3, 1998).

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