Japan Minimizes Immigration to Defend Culture, Jobs

Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, told his parliament last week that he has “no intention” of accepting more migrants despite pressure from the UN Refugee Agency.

During a debate in Japan’s parliament, Mr. Abe argued that accepting foreign workers should is justifiable only where they are truly needed to “keep Japan’s economy and infrastructure sustainable.”

The 63-year-old prime minister is a confirmed nationalist and an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump, and has pursued a “Japan-first” economic policy that has been compared to that of Mr. Trump.

The admiration seems to be mutual, and the two leaders spent a fair amount of time together during Trump’s Asia trip earlier this month. “Our relationship is really extraordinary,” Mr. Trump said. “We like each other and our countries like each other. And I don’t think we’ve ever been closer to Japan than we are right now.”

Japan is an ethnically homogeneous nation, with less than 2 percent of the population foreign born, and its immigration policies are designed to defend Japan’s cultural identity as well as to insure national security. It also aims to protect the local job market to keep unemployment to a minimum.

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