Japan begins immigration experiment: more foreigners, less homogeneity

Japan could go the way of many European countries after beginning a major and unprecedented experiment in immigration, Bloomberg reports.

According to columnist Noah Smith: “In 2018, 1 out of 8 young people turning 20 in Tokyo wasn’t born in Japan. That doesn’t even count the people who were born in Japan but aren’t ethnically Japanese. Although Tokyo isn’t close to becoming a multiracial metropolis like New York City or London, the word ‘homogeneous’ no longer fits the city.

“Tokyo is an early harbinger of changes that are coming, albeit more slowly, to the rest of Japan… The government reckons that there are now about 2.73 million foreigners living in the country — a 6.6% increase over the previous year, even as the overall population shrinks rapidly.”

What a contrast to the Hungarian government who’s growing their population by increasing support for families and encouraging their own citisens to have large and stable households, rather than turning to the immigration of foreigners and threatening their culture and heritage.