Othering of Others: Japan’s Struggle to Improve Immigration

Japan is a country that has always been known for its national pride, and that same pride had once led it to isolate itself from the rest of the world. Even though that isolationist position has long been abandoned, it has affected immigration to the country. Though policies have changed and stances have become more lax in the present day, they are still incredibly restrictive with regards to letting foreigners truly enter the country permanently. Despite the great need to fill the depleting workforce with skilled labor, immigration has still been noticeably low in comparison to other countries with the similar issues. Governmental Immigration policy, immigration numbers by country, as well as the socioeconomic issues in Japan today were examined to determine relationships between factors. Japanese immigration policy expresses how necessary it is for Japanese culture to be spread to others to facilitate understanding but there is a lack of reciprocation to understand others in turn. Compounding the issues is that education limits the success of foreigners by “othering” them and provides them limited outlets for support. This study examines policies relating to immigration, whether the education system reflects those policies, and attempts to explore possible solutions