Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [1]
In order to address the problem, Japan has recently been experimenting with a solution familiar to those in Hong Kong: importing workers from Southeast Asia. Japan recently changed its visa policies to allow nurses from countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines to work in Japan on a temporary basis. Critics have assailed the plan as inherently racist, as these nurses are not eligible for eventual permanent residence. However, many observers see foreign nurses as the first wave of overseas workers who may eventually change Japan’s traditionally conservative (some would say xenophobic) attitudes towards immigration.
Changes are also taking place in many other spheres of Japanese life. The traditional foundations of Japanese life – cradle-to-grave employment, age-based promotion, and a strong social safety net – are gradually being abandoned in favour of an economy based on more flexible labour conditions and a tightening of privatised government services (eg in the case of the post office). Now, rather than priding itself on being a country where everyone is a member of the middle class, there is talk of a nation composed of two distinct classes: the ‘kachi-gumi’ (winners) and ‘make-gumi’ (losers).
Fortunately, it appears that the politicians and corporations behind these changes may have overplayed their hand, and the slightly more progressive Democratic Party of Japan has been gaining ground in the polls recently, based largely on popular discontent with the negative effects of the new economic model.
Relations (or lack thereof) with nearby North Korea continue to be a perpetual source of concern for the Japanese. In 2006 North Korea successfully tested a nuclear bomb. In April 2009 the country launched a rocket over Japan. While the North Koreans insisted the payload was a nonmilitary satellite, many Japanese feared that it was intended to demonstrate the ability of North Korea to lob a warhead over the Sea of Japan (they also feared that jettisoned parts from the rocket would fall on Japan). While American and Japanese analysts later concluded that the test was a failure, this did little to calm Japanese nerves.
Of course, the news is not all bad in Japan. Three Japanese scientists shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in physics, and the Japanese athletes garnered 26 medals in the Beijing Olympics, more than at any previous Olympics. The film Okuribito (Departures), by Japanese director Takita Yojiro, won an Oscar for best foreign film, and interest in Japanese manga (comics) and anime continues to soar. Meanwhile, the country continues to expand its brilliant shinkansen (bullet train) system, already the world’s most extensive high-speed train network.
Japan’s tourist economy has attracted travellers not only from the West, but also from neighbouring Asian countries such as China, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Australian skiers have flocked to ski areas like Niseko, so much so that some Japanese have started referring to the area as ‘little Australia’. Though tourist numbers have waned in recent times, it seems a safe bet that as the world recovers from recession, Japan will continue to increase in popularity, as more and more people are drawn to a country that manages to be both utterly foreign and incredibly welcoming.
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Getting Started
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WHEN TO GO
COSTS & MONEY
TRAVEL LITERATURE
INTERNET RESOURCES
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Japan is Asia’s most user-friendly country. It’s incredibly efficient, clean and safe. Indeed, many travellers will find it easier to travel around Japan than to travel in their home countries. While English is not widely spoken, communication is not as difficult