Foreign-born CEO says Japan needs immigration to thrive

Yeah, just as Canada, Sweden and several western European countries are learning the folly of mass immigration and are sharply cutting back the numbers in response.

the hungry spirit to (have) the guts to go global started disappearing a bit".

That's because Japan has become such a safe, comfortable and affordable place with an ever improving infrastructure, environment and healthcare system, without having to resort to mass immigration. Not like population-pumping, down-the-tubes Canada, that's for sure. LOL.

The country "has no choice" but to allow in more immigrants,

I prefer it when people and their governments do have a choice on these matters. I bristle when a corporate bigwig with vested interests tells us we have "no choice."

Japan needs to more than triple its number of foreign workers

So that the service industry is populated with millions of near-poverty workers earning 1,000 yen a hour under harsh working conditions while living in run-down dorms. Sounds like paradise.

Do corporate CEOs see immigrants as anything other than cheap labor?

However JGovt just want foreigners as cheap labor, like those Vietnamese labor in Japan or low pay English teacher

We don't need lectures from executives who think flooding countries with unchecked immigration is the solution to every problem. A nation's strength lies in its unique culture, social cohesion, and identity - values that uncontrolled immigration erodes. Uber Globalists like Juneja think immigration is some sort of magic fix, but it's not; it's a Trojan horse for division, crime, and the dilution of what makes this country we all moved to in the first. Stick to business Lekh.

@JeffLee

Unlike those countries, low birth and low people in work force already impacted Japan workforce count, tax, pension and also GDP.

No immigrants.

Don't be like Europe or US.

Just search selective and keep all other out.

Because live will not be better.

Immigration will happen.

It is a question of not if but when.

However, can Japan handle its immigration needs better than other countries?

I doubt it on the basis of how trainees are treated, foreign CEOs vilified and abused, housing discrimination and a lack of laws protecting foreigners.

Still, a weaker Japan will gradually become a de facto colony of China as its power rises and Japan’s diminishes…

Totally agree with the CEO,but Japan has still a very inward and xenophobic mindset which is hard to eradicate in just one generation.

I'm nor sure it many of you noticed but he also seemed to state that using the Japanese language is a barrier, so does he also want English to become the defacto language? He states that young foreigners come to Japan but communicating is difficult. Why not just throw everything out and start over, right Mr. Juneja!

According to a recent study....?????

Let me guess

The study "How to destroy a country and culture from within by fear mongering that growth equals prosperity". A study by the IMF Globalist Manifesto Group

"He didn't generate a very good image for foreign CEOs here," Juneja said. "But the difference between him and me is that I have got a Japanese passport."

Wrong, it's Japan that didn't generate a very good image for foreign CEOs. Ghosn was arrested after the Nissan board lied to him to get him back to Japan, after which he got arrested for allegedly failing to report earnings which he hadn't yet received. And yet, Japanese politicians get caught red handed doing the same thing constantly and nothing happens to them.

Who in the right mind would want to be a high ranking CEO in this country?

An article on Japan's (obvious) need for immigration. Sure to keep the comment section, largely composed of immigrants, sorry, expats, going!

"We need to suppress wages so I get to take credits and paid billions for my "amazing intelligence" of bringing in profit"

There, no need to sugar coat it with "liberal" ideas and paint those that disagree as "bigoted racists".

Do corporate CEOs see immigrants as anything other than cheap labor?

You country's government does too currently but you vote for them.

I love it that everyone here is an expert when compared to a successful businessman who's been here 40 years.

A nation's strength lies in its unique culture, social cohesion, and identity

Surely these are things that all change over time? I mean Japan 40 years ago (when this fellow came) isn't the same as Japan now, by a long shot.

He probably just sees immigrants as cheap Labour, or at least a way to not give anyone a pay rise. I wonder what his record is on giving his staff a pay increase, holidays and laying staff off is.

let’s be honest, the CEO isn’t struggling, and he came from a family in India that had money enough for him to come to Japan. Yes we need immigration, but not to just be your reason for cheap labour to keep costs down. Demand and supply is what they say influences prices. Well if there is a shortage of staff “increase the base pay”. Why is inflation always seen as good when it comes to “debt”? cause they inflate debt away! Why is inflation is seen as good for house/land prices? cause people think they’re richer? Cause hopefully their salary has gone up. but salary inflation…. Terrible! Mustn’t happen, must squash those pay rises. Now for decades in Japan, UK, the US, people haven’t had a pay rise. But their debt has. CEO pay, gotta pay for the best. What a load of…..

I wanna know how much his company pays? Profits and bonuses for the staff.

That mind set is called the faxoid Showa Ossan syndrome. It permeates every level of society, especially at the top of the government, that's why there's no change. And guess what? The people keep voting them back in so Japan as a whole is reluctant to change.

he also forgot to account for the Olympus CEO who was fraudulently blamed for the company’s accounting scandal. After he blew the whistle! Japan isn’t giving itself a good reputation in regards to immigration either!

If you're not having babies you either have to import them or move closer together. That's just math. How happy is everyone going to be when the manufacturing is all done by robots, stores are staffed by robots, restaurants are all just conveyor belts stocked by robots, and nobody can afford a home because literally all the money goes to whoever owns the robots? Because that's where the world is headed with depopulation and a lack of workers. Japan is something like number 2 or 3 on the list of fastest depopulating countries. I bet a lot of people would like to come and integrate into the local culture for a chance to succeed.

The thing is that we can’t see a change in the near future.

And it is not about accepting refugees but to welcome more regular immigrants and give them the same rights as they not only help and contribute to their society but also help to pay the local elderly pension etc.

I'm combing the article for the terms "mass" or "unchecked" immigration and I just can't find them

"Immigration" is one of those words which knocks peoples' rational thinking processes off-course. They hear "immigration" and their brain says "poor people who look different to you, coming to take your jobs and murder your family". That's why running on an anti-immigration platform is a surefire winner for any politician, because the average voter is as thick as two short planks and easier to manipulate than wet clay.

The reality is that Japanese leaders, legislators, and their bureaucratic staffs are predominantly conservative males. To this day, they kow tow to the industrialist sectors and keep minimum wages low and deny women upper mobility and equal pay for equal work. They do not have the foresight nor the political will to meaningfully take steps to save Japan’s diminishing population.

Trying to change Japan?

Sadly Japan cares more about language than skill in many aspects hiring unqualified people based on N1 N2 N3 vs the actual skill set of the job. The lack of effort to intetnationize Japanese people frankly to English has caused and will continue to cause Japan to be on the downward trend of economies as they scary the level of younger people’s skills when dealing with foreigners even in a retail setting. I’ve even heard people say “this is Japan” as their reasoning. I like many European countries where it’s assumed you have basic English skills especially in retail. I’ve even heard someone say to a foreigner he didn’t understand the words “how much” which in retail is pretty much a staple word. Sadly as the country continues to ignore the real issues nothing will change.

The multi-armed deva approach in the photograph is rather eye-catching.

Hawk & Some Dude - exactly.

Where is there any mention of unlimited, unchecked immigration?

The facts as stated were for an increase to 6.8 million by 2040 which would roughly equal 5-6% of the population leaving 94-95% of the population ethnically Japanese.

Hardly the fall of Rome.

Scaremongers keep pushing their tainted visions without providing any viable solutions to the huge worker shortage that looms.

Recently, we have observed that indian CEO Or high officials in foreign countries are trying to bring more family, friends to settle down as well as target to enlarge their business. For an example, you can find many indian curry shops are now selling their own curry paste to different japanese super markets to create more competitions among japanese SME companies. As a result, quality tend to be low at the final stage. We found that "A price" supermarket is selling one of the indian spice brand MDH and EVEREST which is banned in USA for salmonella contamination. You can find many more articles in internet. They are just making their own ground for advantages.

Finally, Canada, some African countries ( Nigeria, Uganda, DRC) is now realizing it's final outcome - house rent, inflation, destroy one's' own culture, drug violence and so on. More money flow, more inflation will rise. Immigration policy is the key holder for any countries like Japan. That's why american people choose Trump for it's deeper meaning.

Totally agree with the CEO,but Japan has still a very inward and xenophobic mindset which is hard to eradicate in just one generation.

To this point, I have a Japanese wife and I remember moving to Tokyo because I found a new job and we needed an apartment. I remember going to the real estate agent and he showed us a layout of a place and we were super interested. He calls up the landlord and I can hear the conversation. "foreigner? Nope. I don't rent to foreigners."

All I could think of is, my wife is a Japanese national. Her parents could act as guarantors if a guarantor was needed, but nope, my race just automatically disqualifies us both from renting.

Now think about how this article says we need 1 million more immigrants.

Adding more workers won't fix the problem.

One of the core issues with the economy is how work is done in Japan. Highly inefficient procedures and nonsensical rules, no support for taking time off or earn enough to raise a family. It's not comparable to northern European countries at all. Randomly pouring in a lot of cheap labor will just result in culture clashes as we've seen in western countries, and the safe Japan image will remain no more.

Despite being a modern country, Japan has these issues plus the national English level is not just low, it's disrespectfully low. Maybe start with flushing out the dinosaur-aged people at the leadership levels and get someone younger, smarter, who has ideas for a sustainable future.

Any foreigner who comes here to live should study and speak the language ..Simple as !

True! However...

Japan is at a point where it must globalize. Japan imports EVERYTHING and I feel it exports very little. English is the language of the world and Japan has to get on board. We are seeing the consequences of Japan's hubris by not adopting a more global mindset every day.

260 yen for a regular sized apple? It's only going to get worse from here

Indian food’s brilliant. Nothing beats a good curry with a few pints of lager.

Good luck to the feller. Whereabouts is his restaurant, by the way?

TT

Bring in some foreigners, sure. But don't bring in the wrong cultures.

Bring in some foreigners, sure. But don't bring in the wrong cultures.

I reckon this is what most people are actually thinking. Yeah, it's OK if they come, but it's not OK if they come.

To thrive (and, SURVIVE).

For the first time in history the realization that ALL humans are one and the same species deserving of mutual and equal respect is transforming the relations between peoples. The racism and bigotry that divide us such as the conflict between Jews and their Arab neighbours and among the different sects of Islam are already an anachronism. The bell is tolling for the diminishing number of Japanese who very soon will have no choice but to open the gates of "Fortress Yamato" and embrace our multi-ethnic world.

This is a tricky one.

some facts firsts

1.0 Japan rode the growth wave in the 1960s backed by movement from primary to secondary industries

2.0 the growth continued with high population growth supporting the manpower needed in industries is 1980s and 1990s

3.0 year 2015 was the first year Japan saw a pollution decline by 0.5%

4.0 By the year 2070 Japan’s population will be 85mm from current 126 mn

as a society, the age pyramid is totally inverted

Now this is a real problem at hand for those who understand

The only way to grow population is internally or have the right immigration in place

to do that, Japan needs to learn from the mistakes of Canada and Europe and focus on having a policy that promotes the right kind of skills being imported into the Japan required from 2030 and beyond

having said that, Japan is a very native land, the rooted in its culture and heritage. For skilled immigration to follow the government must ensure that the immigrant gets excepted and intertwined with the society

without that, there will be a deep divide in a nation between the immigrants and the non-immigrants

It's surprising to me that someone so integrated as to become an inaka company president does not think integration through language is essential.

I believe becoming good at Japanese means taking on Japanese cultural traits, essentially assuming a different personality. You cannot sound good in Japanese by merely changing English words to Japanese ones. The result of that would be weird and grating.

Anyway since he is shacho sama,he has power and can be the change he wants to see. Somehow I doubt the other directors want him to fill the company with English only speakers. Some non-Japanese soeaking people are lovely and diligent, of course, they are way better examples of humanity than myself. However this may not come across to Japanese without meeting certain specific cultural expectations. This is a socially conservative country.

He does have a point, BUT, he also mentions the language barrier, which is why Japan has difficulties in recruiting foreigners in the same way that the US or Europe can. Most foreigners don't speak enough Japanese to be able to work in a Japanese company.

Get a bit acquainted with the facts and the situation, that it is already too late for all similar countries in Europe, North America and Japan too, regardless if caused by no or by too much immigration had been applied. If you like more direct words, game over in any case.

All he sees is cheap labor and the opportunity to devalue the skill of foreigners speaking Japanese in Japan.

mist1

Yes, we've heard this many times. And?

And it is still not true. Immigration is s short-term remedy for a shrinking population, in the long term it makes the problem worse. Especially when the immigrants are from incompatible cultures. Europe is slowly awakening to that fact, Japan sadly seems still asleep.

Without immigration who will support the enormous elderly population? Who will keep domestic businesses running? Its the quick and easy fix to a problem that needed addressing decades ago. It is a hard pill to swallow, but it will become a do or die decision.

A lot of people like to blame everything in japanese work culture, but that doesnt explain why almost every country is experiencing declining fertility rates. Not just attitudes towards having children, but reduced physical fertility.

When he is saying "foreigners", he actually means East-Asians. Instead of bringing migrants and emigrants, Japan should do something about the natality of its current population. Like giving huge taxes cut to families with 2 or more babies, money incentives, etc.

Also they bring cheap labor and as already seen, they are diatroying the salary market, since they accept very little payment compared to Japanese or western foreigners.

Based on my own personal experience as well as conversations with others about recruitment at various places, a lot of places in Japan are becoming more averse to hiring foreigners, not less.

Foreign CEOs can have input on this issue, but ultimately Japanese citizens will decide on immigration policy - how it should be.

Japan is showing the world that it is possible to have a declining population AND economic growth. Previously thought impossible.

Population growth is not necessary for economic growth or a great living standard.

I find Lekh Juneja, chairman and CEO of Kameda Seika, disingenuous and frankly irritating.

There is a clear and generous process programme for skilled immigration companies can that full advantage of.

J Immigration services agency.....

https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/

Lekh Juneja is either completely unaware of to the cross sector support available or simply being deliberately mendacious.

If Lekh Juneja, chairman and CEO of Kameda Seika wants to advertise and promote his products then go ahead and do so. However making misleading statements that are frankly untrue is shameful.

He's not foreign. He has a Japanese passport.

Fair enough. I'd still say CEOs can have a say, but ultimately there is a risk they are slightly biased in their motives. It is possible they are after cheaper labor.

The country "has no choice" but to allow in more immigrants, said Juneja

I disagree with Mr Juneja.

What leads you to believe that Lekh Junej is not a naturalized Japanese citizen?

Foreign CEOs can have input on this issue, but ultimately Japanese citizens

His suggestion will not realize unless at least end LDP regime who supported by plural far-right religious cult groups hating immigrant.

Japan economy is open for business, and has relaxed immigration processes in a number of key area and skills

It is fair to suggest that has not always been the case. However read for yourselves.

https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/

Agriculture, healthcare, nursing, It, valuable essential high skilled immigration is very competitive.

Companies must also fully support across the board, "new arrivals" employees to retain staff.

He is right but not these trainee schemes that make employees financial prisoners and slaves to companies.

There are undoubtably unscrupulous employers that will shamelessly exploit immigration, the judicial system must harshly make examples of this type of villainy

Japan is showing the world that it is possible to have a declining population AND economic growth. Previously thought impossible.

I am absolutely against mass immigrations for economical purpose, it just does not work in the long term. But saying that Japan is in economic growth is crazy. The economy has been stagnant from the 90s or in decline. There is no way that Japan can achieve any significant growth with a population with such low productivity, a population also in decline. The best they can try to do is to change their silly mindset and be more productive. I doubt it will happen.

Maybe a historical higher birthrate would have made this unnecessary, but if Japan has to do it, then be very careful where you get them from, and decide in advance what you will do to them if they commit crimes, especially serious ones. Also make their status temporary for a trial period of several years.

When bridges and tunnels start collapsing due to lack of maintenance then the Japanese will start to understand the need for people to embrace the ‘other’

Canada, Sweden and several western European countries are learning the folly of mass immigration and are sharply cutting back the numbers in response

Not the mass legal/illegal immigration, but skill sets based immigration..this is definitely needed, and anyway this will never be like those countries as the potential immigrants will need to learn Japanese, and most skillfull ones will look for alternatives outside Japan.

Immigration isn't always the answer. As we've seen the immigrants that do come over here tend to encounter a ton of problems.

A significant problem in Japan is the outdated idea than the husband works and the wife stays home and does everything else.

First, the country needs to have more working opportunities for women. Give them better pay. This stupid contract worker system is no good. Work for one company for three years. The company won't make you a full time employee. So then you have to quit. Work somewhere else for three years. That company won't make you full time. And so on. And so on.

masterblasterToday

Immigration isn't always the answer. 

i tend to agree. Whe. We say, we need highly skilled, high tax paying immigrants. I flip it and read this.

we can be bothered training our own people to do these highly skilled, highly trained people.(and the college fees are expensive). So we’ll leave the cheap junk jobs to the natives, cause it is cheaper to get a fully qualified doct, nurse, engineer, etc from another cheaper country.

when really we need immigrants to do the low paid jobs, while we train our own to do those jobs. I used to think we needed highly skilled immigrants but I’ve started to see a different side to it.

now we lumber students with massive debt and the graduate salary premium has fallen since the 1970s as we’ve pushed as many as we can into pretty soft courses but very hard debt. So for me CEOs want the cheap option as do the governments. Now we’ve dumbed down our own population as we bring in the immigrants to do these jobs the government has failed to trained its own population to do. That doesn’t mean I’m against immigration. We might need immigration to work in shops, cafes bars construction etc. the poor immigrant nurses comes here for a better salary and job but the Japanese kid doesn’t really see the salary premium that the others see coming from the Philippines or Nigeria or Nepal or insert (country of your choice). There is a reason Americans, Australian UK, German nurses don’t want to come here. There is no salary premium. But there is if your from a poorer country.

Firstly Juneja ji should be happy that he has not ended up like Ghosn.

Secondly, American companies with Indian CEOs at the helm often have to face cafeterias where the olfactory organs get overloaded, and noisy breakout areas where the only conversations are related to cricket. Hope Japan does not go down the same road.

Culturally Japan is a maze, followed by a helter-skelter, language labyrinth, a mysterious conversational silence.

A sometime assault course of contradiction.

That is before you make it to your new job.

The challenge is making sense of it all.

I have upset every member of my J family, however bow low enough and join in, it is well worth the effort.

if infuriating.

The government must embrace change, depopulation an aging society, smart immigration policies could save the day.

Don't confuse immigration with refugees, asylum seekers. its a political rabbit warren.

Immigration into the UK/EU is mass illegal immigration with economic migrants and refugees. An organized immgration plan cannot be compared with that.

More than a million Syrians live across the continent, many of them arriving amid the 2015 migrant crisis that broke out as a result of the country's civil war.

If the Syrian political story is sorted out many of those will return home.

Japan needs immgration of qualified and trained people. Nurses and healthcare workers.

I like Kameda snacks

Some of the guys in the factories in the countryside live in company dorms. Their rooms are 4.5 tatami mats with common bathrooms and showers. If you're using these kinds of conditions to attract foreign laborers you're scraping the bottoms of the barrels of developing countries.

I like Kameda snacks

I like sembei, some of which are phenomenal, but not many of what Kameda make. Aside from Kakinotane, Happy Turn are super meh, like something you'd give five year olds. My favourite sembei in normal supermarkets is the ancient grains one.

https://www.e-amanoya.co.jp/product/kodaimai/

The UK will take in a net one million (population is 70 million) this year, but GDP growth will only be one percent or so. The idea of immigration getting Japan "back to the glory of its boom years" is laughable. That would take something completely transformative, nuclear fusion or AI that actual works perhaps, not a few more workers.

Too much immigration on the other hand had caused a cost of living crisis in countries like Australia. The average rent per month in Sydney for a house is a whopping $4000 a month! The minimum wage is around $25 dollars an hour.

The mere fact that Ghosn's name came up in this article shows the glaring xenophobia of the country. The hopelessness of it.

If you want immigrant workers who can quickly learn to read and write Japanese say 你好 to workers from China, Taiwan/ROC, Hong Kong and the wider Chinese diaspora.

Migrants benefit every country except their own.

Japan has industrialized, conquered half of Asia, resurrected from the ashes of war to become world power.

Suddenly because of a drop in muh GDP it needs to accept foreigners or die.

Only Japanese can fix Japan out spiders foreigners can say what they think or feel but Japanese have to change and accept that some things in the past doesn’t work in todays world. If they can get rid of some of the old and accept the new they will do well.

In an Inaka company I once worked in, I remember speaking Japanese to one of the senior managers in front of some visiting , non Japanese speaking foreigners.

He felt embarrassed not to be addressed in English as were the visiting foreigners and told me to NEVER speak to him again in Japanese.

Japan has some real odd cookies here and there.

masterblasterDec. 16  01:21 pm JST

Immigration isn't always the answer.

I think everyone has the right to live where they choose if they have the skills and qualifications to find work, but at the same time Japan isn't exactly making the most of its native population.

Mass immigration has destroyed social cohesion in countries throughout Western Europe, in North America, and Australia. Assimilation has not taken place. Instead, the pre-existing culture is being displaced and disparaged. Japan has a unique and historic culture. It should do everything it can to protect this. Very carefully controlling immigration and allowing entry only to those who respect the existing culture is a very important first step.

Another outsider trying to change Japan. Japan is fine the way it is. Who cares if it is not the top 5 economy in the world? Its strength and weakness is its cohesive mindset, and harmony. We are moving more and more towards an automated society anyway - why do we want to bring in more immigrants when they could potentially be a burden? Initially it may help but it wont end well.

Without immigration who will support the enormous elderly population? Who will keep domestic businesses running?

Who is going to take on the burden of paying for the unemployed when their jobs become obsolete within the next 2 decades?

To solve one funding issue...you've proposed creating 2.

Who is going to take on the burden of paying for the unemployed when their jobs become obsolete within the next 2 decades?

Wait, do you believe that in Japan foreigners that become unemployed can remain? Maybe you are confusing the country with one where the government easily gives nationality (because even the permanent visa can easily be cancelled here).

Foreigners who become unemployed with a PR visa can remain in the country and if they paid in they can claim unemployment benefits. The problem is for foreigners with a work visa tied to a particular job. Probably those will have to leave.

I have lived in Japan for 30 years and I have never had a job.

my, how times have changed.

Years ago, articles like this would have had majority, if not all, of comments harshly criticizing Japan for being so 'racist' and 'xenophobic' and not allowing in more foreigners into the country to live and work.

And now there are multiple comments pointing out the dangers of mass immigration, pointing out the nightmare that's happening across multiple European countries, and actually sympathizing with Japan protecting its borders and cultures.

The Japan today is a mix between old Japanese culture and corporate restructuring by the United States after the war.

The Japanese economy has been lost since the 1990s and is slowly declining.

There is nothing glamorous about working from eight in the morning until 10 at night without getting paid your legal required overtime which most employers don’t pay you. Out of some sort of gesture of hierarchy you’re supposed to give up your time to the corporation and your life pretty much.

He’s right if Japan wants to remain a global competitor, it’s gonna have to use the global business language of English and it’s gonna have to integrate into the rest of the world or it’s going to essentially die out because nobody in Japan is having children, the money is collapsing, and the government has some of the highest debt in the world.

Japanese culture the way it is that you cannot really be a unique person, you can’t stand up for yourself. You can’t stick out you can’t speak out. It is surprising. The Japan has actually kept up with the innovation that has.

So for it to maintain it status as an economic power or even take back the position it had with China, it’s gonna have to change in the mindset It’s gonna have to change.

Because working forever and drinking yourself to death is not a way to live

I think the younger generation is shackled by all the older people that want to hang on to the past, but the thing is the past that they’re hanging onto, is mostly from US occupation, anyways, Japan disappeared after World War II, yesterday they do a good job of keeping some of the customs alive from the past, before that, but the exorbitant amount of rules and everything in the culture is suffocating to its own people.

It ranks 152 and easiest places to start a business. Japan makes everything hard for no reason. Because processes and procedures that are meaningless still have to be followed just because they are there. Because nobody is allowed to question it.

So it’s a kind of like a change or die situation for the country, and sometimes it takes an outsider to point that out because the Japanese mindset is to never speak out against it, even though I know a lot of them would like it to change