What Do Japanese Think Of Immigrants? | Street Interview 

“Immigrants might take away jobs that Japanese people don’t want to do. So it might be harder for us to find a job.” Peak logic right there.

I do love how Japanese people are so good at dodging answers. The translation makes it seem like they are providing definite statements but in reality its a lot of "I dont know", "maybe that". Living in Japan for 5 years, I can say it is a great place to live but comes with the understanding your place as a foreigner will always be as an outsider. That doesnt mean they are racist or anything but definetely they arent aware of how other parts of the world work and most dont want to learn either.

"They should be more concerned about AI than foriegn workers because there's a higher chance of being replaced by it." TRUE, and with Japan's aging population, young workers who can do physical and other menial labor should be a priority.

One of my Japanese teachers once told us: "Give your best in learning the language (Nihongo), because you would encounter people, not all, but you'll surely meet someone that will judge your skills/intelligence/your whole being depending on how well you can speak Japanese. And that could never be more true.

I have been living in Tokyo for more than 6 years. Discrimination against immigrants is quite common, but also against their own people who cannot fit in the society. I understand that they want to keep their society unified and peaceful even though they have to leave their own people behind.

I moved to Japan last year. My career is in IT. Nobody would hire me without business level 日本語. And even then the salary range was about half or less than my US based chances. I hated to disappoint my family but I had to move back. I am fond of Japan but I have no chance there. Sad really, but you do what you must.

3:02 this guy is so right. It’s not the same being an immigrant from Europe or America to begin an east Asia or Chinese immigrant. Even if you are from America if you are white or black has a lot to do with how they will treat you. I am white but I’m from Latin America so my experience is always 100% Better than my Indonesian and Philippino friends

Imagine these are the opinions of the Japanese population with the most exposure to non-Japanese residents and possibly the most liberal. Now imagine what your average Japanese in a small town in Aomori or a rural village in Yamaguchi think about immigration. Of course it's Japan's choice.

It's not that I'm hated just because I'm a foreigner. We want foreigners to come to Japan who respect Japanese rules and culture and protect public safety. There are too many immigrants who don't respect Japanese culture, destroy things that Japanese people hold dear, and are selfish and religious. Many believe they are destroying Japan's security.

Have lived in Japan for 40 years since I was a teenager. Japan is an easy place to live and work and raise a family if you learn the language and learn to accept that a foreigner will always be a foreigner. Embrace it and make an effort to assimilate within your local community and peers. If you come here with zero expectations from your own culture, learn the language, and don’t try to impose your culture or expectations onto the Japanese, you can build lifelong bonds that can bring happiness and a sense of home despite being a foreigner.

The lady with glasses was pretty spot on her answers, she clearly has empathy and her takes are very insightful.

People need to understand the real japan is completely different from the “Japan” in animation and comic book.

As much as I genuinely like their culture, I think I'd never move there, same with South Korea. Both countries strike me as the "no matter how long you live here, you'll never be fully welcomed". My third world country is enough, I guess 😂

As an American living in Japan, most of their answers were expected. I've met Japanese from various backgrounds. AI will likely replace many routine jobs but it's already difficult for foreigners to work at Japan Inc anyway. The stereotypes are really unfortunate but I saw the same crap in my hometown of LA too. Depending on what type of job people want to do, do your research carefully before considering moving here. It's highly recommended to have conversational Japanese. English only jobs are usually in specialist roles or IT. They may or may not pay well depending on what someone may consider as a good paying job. I like my life here and it's a major upgrade from LA. Met wonderful people. My best advice for coming here is to accept Japan for what it is, not what you want it to be.

I am Japanese American 2.0. My wife is from Japan and my daughter was born in Hawaii. We recently moved from New York to Tokyo for my work. A little context before I chime in my thoughts. I’m a Business Development Consultant here In Tokyo raising our beautiful daughter with my wife. We left New York because the list of growing problems that continues to grow… Japan has its share of problems but it’s stressors are different from the states. I will always identify with being American but when I come to Japan, a hard identity switch turns on. I start to immerse myself culturally and linguistically and it can be tiring and stressful. I understand why visitors would want to flock here but living here is no easy feat. Luckily I have my wife who navigates everything but still it’s tremendously challenging navigating life here. Although it’s peaceful, cost of living is affordable compared to New York and Hawaii, healthcare is cheap, hardworking culture, monolithic perspective, punctual, punctual, punctual, topical kindness, safe, trustworthy, great food, abiding citizens, etc… The downside is hard to immerse within the rules if you are more free spirited, society is not friendly for kids and seniors, lack of diversity, stress, depression, any illness and anxiety, lack of resources for mental health, and disability for kids, educators are weary on providing advice for “grey” kids, low salary from local players, actually quite dirty if you look closely, lack of community involvement and support, etc… Ask me anything! I live in Tokyo minutes away from Shibuya. Thanks for listening!

Japanese population is decreasing just solve this and japan is fine. Already some cities are moving on childcare system. No need immigrants. It is considered taboo to say this, but the Kurds have been a problem lately. Imagine a situation where you were actually living quietly in the house you bought, and then a hundred or so foreigners gather nearby and start partying into the night. You don't want this, of course.

Ah the immigration issues seem to be the same no matter what culture is being asked. Crime, language issues, diluting the present cultural beliefs.

I'm Japanese, but I've never seen a Japanese who agrees with immigration and increasing the number of foreigners. If you take a survey on SNS, you can easily see that the majority are against immigration. I think it would be better not to pick up only the opinions of some Japanese people.

I’d love to see a video on what life is like for disabled people in Japan! As an autistic person, I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to follow and understand all the unspoken rules of Japanese culture

The stereotype of foreigners not being vaccinated is a gold one, considering how Japan was one of the last developed countries to very reluctantly start dishing out the vaccines.

As someone who was stationed in Japan through the military. Being white and American I didn’t have very many negative experiences. Like being turned away and not allowed in some places because your a foreigner. Or while on trains or buses people may not want to sit next to you. But japan is a very homogeneous country so it should be somewhat expected. I personally loved japan. Japanese people are some of the most polite and nice people in the world. The crime rate is low and people follow the rules and even children are well behaved and follow the rules. Family is very big in japan. You definitely get stares and you have to know your an outsider but despite that it is a lovely place to visit.

Japan is peaceful because of less immigration we can take example of Europe specially France uk Sweden what's happening there

Why mix up 移民 (Immigrants) and 難民 (Refugees or asylum-seekers) in your interview? And 定住外国人 are not necessarily 移民. They are foreign-nationals who work, study, or live in Japan with visas. In the most narrow interpretation, 移民 to Japan would be those who naturalize to Japanese citizenship or receive permanent residency status each year.

😊 interesting- no matter where you go many people feel and say the same about their country, immigration and jobs.

I live in japan for 7 years, what i can say is please learn the language before or when enter to japan, take a japanese language school. It will smooth your live in japan at least 75% than you can't speak japanese.

The debate over immigration is bit tough for homogenous countries like Japan and it makes sense.

All the responses were all good! Brought more perspective on opinions of this topic. Would be nice to see a bit more of older interviewees, but understand they may not like to be on camera in general.

The person saying that they should be more concerned about AI replacing them than foreign workers...he GETS IT

I liked the young man from university. He had a good perspective. My personal view as a non-Japanese person, is that it’s hard for foreigners to integrate into Japanese culture. There are so many little things that can be overlooked by people raised in other countries. In that sense, it’s hard for immigrants to be accepted generally (for highly competitive jobs, marriage, etc)

Japan would do well to learn from the mistakes of Europe & America when it comes to immigration policies. The fact that ppl want to move there despite language & cultural barriers attests to the strength of the economy & society. On the other hand the ability to handle diversity is a testament to the strength of a nation's government.

Japan has a brain drain program that has been running in poorer Asian countries like Vietnam, Mongolia etc., since at least late 90s. It's called Monbusho and it's for high school seniors, they can take a test either in Japanese or English on Math, Physics, Chemistry, History etc., depending on whether they choose: STEM degree or social sciences degree from a university or a technical degree from a college. Those who pass gets generous monthly stipend to study without paying a tuition fee, and they can stay and work in Japan afterwards.

Japan should not do the same mistakes Europe is doing,they will also lose their culture in long term if they open the borders They don’t need to change, like many of us Western’s are forced to

One forgets that even people from developing countries who tend to export immigrants are not willing to accept mass immigration in their countries. It is just weird to accuse others of ignorance and superiority when they think the same way.

2:22 is wrong translation I guess. It’s not “even little kids” but “it’s a small thing but”. He said “小さな事なんですけど”. But maybe the translator misunderstood as “小さな子となんですけど”. Both are same sounds. It’s a small thing but just for your information.

Regardless of country or race, Japan does not need immigrants. The Japanese firmly refuse to accept immigrants. It is impossible for this country, which has a narrow land area and a long history, to become a multiethnic mixed race nation.

I consider finally swapping to maximum 9 hours/ day work and more vacation days in Japan could at least increase family Quality life. Ofc this will not solve it alone, but work life there is def. Not attractive for couples to have babies Also more part-time opportunities for mothers when the kid has a careplace at 3 years old, etc. I saw an Interview with a woman who established a small company in Tokyo and she solely hired mothers who can leave at 2 / 3PM to be able picking up their kids

Attracting skilled and educated labor is something Japan needs to prioritize. We should be grateful to foreigners who come here learn Japanese and Japanese culture and choose to work here. They are helping Japan in many ways. However, people that are uneducated and don’t respect Japanese language and culture should not be allowed. Skill, education, and attitude… are key. Race or ethnicity is not. Japan is not a refugee haven. It should be a win-win situation for people coming and the Japanese economy. How to effectively put that into practice is difficult though.

I'm curious about whether the statements made in this video will still be the same in 10 or 15 years and if these very people in the video will still have the same sentiments in the future as they've said today or if they've changed and why. The future always has the ability to change in a way we don't expect. I've always found it interesting to see what people had to say in the past and if those points are still relevant years later or if they're just old sentiments.

Much better interview than the previous one i think

As an American who has been to Japan twice and enjoys the city of Tokyo as a vacation destination, I have considered moving there, but then the process of obtaining a visa and a job and a place to live is what deters me. It’s hard enough in the US and with my limited Japanese I’d be making my life harder than necessary. I can’t imagine the amount of hardship actual refugees must face, having to uproot, learn the language and the culture in order to survive.

The girl with the glasses/ponytail as well as the guy with the buret gave some profound and insightful answers.

Kei still looking good as ever

I agree with the girl with pink ribbons. The birth rate issue will not be solved with immigrants.

Its their country. Let the Japanese themselves decide if they want immigrants or not, but seeing whats happening in America and Europe today, i cant blame them if they refuse to take in any at all.

They may not be outwardly say it but they have "No entry for foreigners" sign posted at the entrance of some bars and restaurants, even if you speak fluent Japanese. No culture is perfect.

I see a lot of commentators here trying to guilt trip the japanese. Japan do not make the same mistake as western europe.. Your strength is in your homogeneity.

The reason why Japanese people are negative about immigrants is not because they will lose their jobs. Because people who don't follow Japanese rules, people who don't respect Japanese culture and customs, and criminals stand out.

As an Australian i have to admit it. We have it pretty good here. We balance work and life very well. I get paid a good amount and i can spend time with my loved ones too even during workdays. As someone who loves Japanese culture I've always wanted to move to Japan. But watching all these videos ( Paolo, Abroad in japan , asianboss) has made me realize . I would be very idiotic to move away from something that everyone truly desires. I'd be giving away a golden opportunity.

I feel like the location of interviews are rich area where people are usually more open minded.

Used to go to a convenience store and there was a paper up on the wall apologizing to customers that the cashiers are mostly foreign so thank you for your understanding. I really wonder how the workers felt having to look at that paper every day….I could not do it…it’s amazing how the store manager thought that was a good idea to help his staff.

7:09 FACTS brother

Always fun to see how different cultures view foreigners. On my channel I have interviews about this, from Argentina, Brazil and Denmark!

I’m Brazilian and living here for over 30 years… During this time I had bitter experiences and good ones too… I remember when I start working here the government didn’t care about the overall quality of labor. No health insurance, paid vacancies, pension, sometimes even facing abuse… But who decide a country happy with foreign and locals in the government. Equal labor rights and also the foreigners to learn and adapt to the daily. In the end I pay my taxes equal to them or participating in this society….

Immigrants and refugees are completely different things and during the interview, some of the Japanese responders mixed them up. It made me mad that the Asian Boss staff didn’t correct them 😩

The hikki cosplay girl made deep and great points

I think they took interview at a foreigner's friendly area; I mean I saw foreigners passing by freely like 6:17 .

11:29 her claim that Japan is weak in preserving their own cultures and traditions is so far from reality 😅

Japan seems really nice, and a friend of mine really wants to move there some day, but i dont think id ever feel at home there if the people think that way about me, and id rather be living some place free of people in general

The main concern is how you can upgrade your population with demanding skillset that industries requires . If your population dont have the skill set required in the industry then obviously the industries will require foreign talents to work there to run their industries . Also due to low birth rate , Japan has low man power that are required to run the industries , so the companies looks for foreign talents to fill up the void of skilled workforce .

It’s just like ‘gain’ or ‘pain’ to the locals and in many ways, from all aspects of your daily lives. I consider most of Japanese new ages are very generous, they are not mean. But for some old old-fashioned industry people, you never know. So it’s up to what kind of jobs do they have? Or what kind of international influence Japan wants to bring to the rest of the world? Do Japan also try to find more and more skilled workers?

It horrifies me how everyone seemed to have such a narrow and shallow opinion on basically everything

The girl with the glasses had the most thought out answers out of all of them. Or maybe as someone who lived in Japan, I have the same opinion as her.

Taking jobs would only be remotely plausible if it weren’t for the declining workforce. Also he said it himself (guy in red shirt), the non corporate immigrant would not initially be doing high value industries, in which case it seems it’d be even less impactful competition wise on high productivity labor.

It’s more like employers don’t want to pay a living wage. This creates a vicious cycle where foreigners are blamed.

若い時に海外に行く という経験はもしかしたら例えば大学で地方から都会に行くような韓国として これからは一般化するかもしれないし これからの時代では 移民 というのは先進国 もしくは発展途上国含めて普通のことになるのかなと。

Most of the issues they detail with losing culture or accommodating to immigrants is something most developed countries like Japan have already adjusted to, especially Western nations. I understand Japan has been ethnically homogeneous throughout their history, but as the one man in the interview describes, it also depends if the immigrant is a third world migrant worker or a corporate office worker. They will be viewed and treated accordingly to their social status, and immigration now has two wildly different connotations.

Peaceful is one thing, abandonment is another. Everyone wants to ‘get along’ immigrant or not, i hope there are better resources for immigrants for this very purpose.

i enjoyed that very positive answeres a feel that in the us it would be very hateful or totally Excepting Obviously this doesnt count for everyone but sort of shows a neutral similarity of the japanese opinions on immigrants good video ❤

If foreigners are doing the jobs that the japanese don't want to do, then how are they stealing it? I’ve been in japan for 21 years now, I go to college here and work in a convenience store. I never had a problem with a foreigner customer, but had a dozen problem with japanese customers being rude not just to me but to the other people too. The problem is that most japanese people dont actually know how the foreigners working here supports japan. Send us all home and see what happens to most companies here.

どの意見に対しても批判はできないよね。ただ日本のルールを守れない外国人は日本に要らないってこと。 そもそも日本は日本人の国だった。そこに外国人が混じってくる事は何とも言えないし。

My planning in this year is i wanna try work in japan as a caregiver, bcause in my country a lot people working as caregiver (mostly a women) i wnna try to looking for a job in aussie but one of whv requirements is must have to 5000 thousand aud, but yah every choice always has a contra, immigrants are coming because the country has a billateral diplomatic

As a European who would also be a foreigner there I say keep fighting to maintain your own culture in your own land! I don’t care what the people against it say… I agree with them. I would still love to visit sometime

Really interesting video! Japan is a homogeneous country, which means that the vast majority of people living there are actually Japanese. Japan isn’t the USA where everyone is considered an American even though they might have a different background / ethnicity. While having foreigners living in Japan can be good for the economy, Japan is still a homogeneous country though. I hope that Japan continues to be that way and doesn’t become a melting pot as a country in the future. It would be sad if that beautiful and unique country looses its identity… Cheers 🙂

Doesnt it come from the years of isolation untill ww1? Or is it because of some trust issue?

wow that interviewer dude went from a rocker to a professional dad

I am Japanese, moved to a foreign country, because my husband comes from that country. What difficult for even Japanese people is, is the polite, perfect, accurate work culture. When I see people from all over the world in my residential country, it seems much more difficult for foreigners to get accustomed to it. Japanese are very collective, you should do, what you are expected to do. I have worries as well like the riots in France this month could happen in Japan in the future. I think if Japan gives up this high expectation in service, it somehow works without immigrants. I personally want to work as long as I can like till 90 (I saw videos in RU-vid this week, that 95 yo doctor, nurse, carer work (not full time but like 50%). I used to see many elderly people in my work and it seems up to 75-80 you are relatively healthy and physically enduarable. I feel like in the country in which I live, people start to receive pension so early. But to work regularly on daily basis prevents one from waning of your body function and you can contribute to the society. The connection to the society avoid loneliness.

Its actually the same situation in every developed country.

12:04 日本人が嫌がるような低賃金でも仕事を受けちゃうから、日本人の賃金が減ったり、仕事がなくなるってことだよね。

The guy at 5:36 is insightful

When talking about discrimination, the local Japanese is the 1 who being discriminated by the society. There are so much of tolerance towards foreigners culturally& legislatively, but foreigners/PR/ foreign background Japanese citizens don't even know it or pretending not knowing that

What does "pure Japanese" even mean? It's no wonder the Ryukyuan people have their reservations about mainland Japanese people. After generations of assimilation and erasure of Ryukyuan culture and people, you wanna talk about pure? Let's not also forget what the military did to women in other countries during the war. Anyways, there's a lot to unpack in this interview, and the questions here were pretty introspective - which is good! I wish more introspective questions were common when interviewing Japanese people. It goes beyond the cliche "what should foreigners not do while in Japan" question. Thanks, Asian Boss!

"There are no prejudice and stereotype" I love visiting Japan, I love Japanese culture and self taught myself Japanese but that man is so utterly oblivious to the reality of Japan.

as long as your careful where and the education of the persons immigrating there.

The girl with ponytails is the best

I do support the views of the Japanese people. There is a real, heavy impact for immigration on a country. Look at places like France, being on fire and destroyed from within by the frictions of different values and cultures. Look how polarized the U.S is and the hatred that is on the uprise in Europe. These are places that lost their identities. You can't blame Japan for wanting to preserve their culture and peaceful way of life. You label them as xenophobics but the truth is that the western world is xenophobic towards the Japanese culture as well, just see how often their works are being censored and altered in the media. There's no wonder they don't want to let in people who hate them...

Im from the Philippines and i love japan maybe some of them have bad sides bur its ok...... I love fumiya sankai❤

As an person soon to be immigrant inJapan! I cleared my job interview a few months ago, the job was not so fancy an i don't think most Japanese people ddon't work in that field, because they told me that most are Filipinos, Vietnamese, mongolian, indian and Indonesian. i.e Forging, machinery, construction, fishing, farming etc. I have couple of my friends working there under 3 years contract(most of them went there because they are obsessed with Japan/Japanese culture/anime) The pay scale might be low compared to Japanese standard (900-1200 yen per hour). I don't know if we are stealing Japanese people job or not but, most of my friends have a bachelors degree,thats was the minimum requirements set by the sending organization. Apart from that We needed to clear JLPT N4 exam, I have also done my BA in English. I'm not here to brag anything But tell me we are just willing to grab every little opportunity because we have lack of opportunity due to high level of competition, but i guess its a win win, Japan gets to employ cheap labour, saving cost and resources and in return we get job to survive. ... If there is wny queries,Leave your thoughts in the comments🤷‍♀️.

There has been a problem about over immigration of jobs in Singapore and the government trying to loose it. Japan problem is high labor salary so the company try to call in from foreign and government need to adjust on that. When it comes to population, every Japanese only think about daily expenses.

Thailand an another aging country thinks similarly towards burmese/cambodian/laotian

Thank you Jesus for the gift of life and prosperity. The success behind every rich person today is the decision they made for themselves, I'm so happy I'm able to acquire my second house in January even as single mom at 41 and I believe if things keep going well I would retire early, All thanks to Mrs Helena, I really appreciate.

10:16 why “maybe it would be ok to include it” translated as “it should be included”? 🤔 sounds like a jump in terms of nuance.

We do and will do whatever we choose to. We keep it to ourselves and keep quiet about other nations. We like it that way. So it should be.

6:38 ...I lived in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, big modern city with skyscrapers and everything....but I did cross paths with girraffes on my way to work, and monkeys often visited my balcony....the most spectacular thing though was the bird life. One big tree near tge house had dozens and dizrns of different species of birds in a crazy continous choir from 6am! Birds of all colors and all songs. This is all in this huge modern city. So it is normal and a blessing to see wild animals in your city. Tge scary creature though was the hyenas in the outskirts of town, which would stalk lone people. Watch out for those.

I went and looked at the stats and immigration is so low in east asia that I don’t see how could it even be a problem that they might have strong opinions about, immigration is on a single digit in east asia. In Japan specifically is about 1.2 to 1.5% of the population, thats incredibly minimal, its a non issue

The population was avertised as real low for many years because of birth rates being so low. I have even seen free house's advertised here and there on youtube in Japan!

In Japan foreigners will always going to be in the right or left but never in the center.

Are Japapnese people conservative?

I think that countries like France, Germany or England have shown the beauty of immigration...

Where do they find people like this, i can barely form 2 sentences to express my opinions 😅

yay, my in-laws are from kanagawa!