No country is perfect. In the United States, people take pride in the fact that the United States is a melting pot of diversity. The comments of the story that I am sharing even displays this pride. But, America still has a long way to go. I am not sure if prejudice, racism and xenophobia ever disappear, but I hope it does. Japan, in this regard, has a longer ways to go.
NYTimes: Japan Pays Foreign Workers to go Home.
To me, it is obvious that Japan needs to end its strict immigration policies and racist/xenophobic attitudes towards immigrant workers, especially since Japan's population is declining. Japan is facing a tsunami of demographic problems because of its low fertility rate (1.3 babies), it can no longer replace its population (2.1). This has significant economic and social problems. Japan also lacks an appropriate system to care for its elderly, especially since the government covers health and pension expenditures. What will the future generations do about this problem? It is also reported that younger generations of Japanese people are passing away earlier due to poor diet, aka eating western foods. It is often the younger generation that cares for the elderly. The problems seem endless...
Solution? Some look towards women (Prime Minister Aso just announced $1.5 Billion to Child-Care Spending to keep Mom's working), some to immigration, and others (a smaller community) say robots. I think a three pronged approach would be better, but I would put emphasis on better working conditions for women, changing traditional views of gender roles, and increasing immigration to skilled workers. Less emphasis on robots due to crimes perpetrated by robots.
No country is perfect and every country is facing difficult problems, but their success is dependent on how each country reacts to them.
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